Giving to the Undergraduate Research Centers
The number of Bruins seeking scholarships, faculty mentorship, guidance from peers, academic assistance or career advice has grown significantly as more students enroll in research courses. However, the university resources which fund these undergraduate research and professional development endeavors has not grown at the same pace, which means that the URC is unable to provide funding to all of our high-quality applicants.
The Undergraduate Research Centers seek your support to help us provide a life changing experience to as many students as possible. Studies show that undergraduate research increases retention, promotes critical thinking and helps students choose a field of study and enroll in graduate school. By partnering with you in philanthropy, UCLA will be able to sustain and launch new initiatives like the ones outlined below.
Student Support
By making a gift to discretionary student support funds, you allow for URC leadership to nimbly provide funds for current use needs of students seeking to financially support themselves and conduct research simultaneously. You can also support students by making a gift to the options below:
- Richard L. Weiss Undergraduate Research Quasi-Endowment – By making a gift to enhance the endowment you will support students seeking research opportunities, particularly underrepresented STEM majors with great potential for research careers. As a result, students will have the opportunity to gain experiences and skills that benefit them both academically and professionally, preparing them for graduate school and a wide variety of careers.
- Field Research – One of the most critical undergraduate research experiences and yet often not available for high financial need students is the opportunity to pursue field research. Your support will allow young researchers the chance to expand the depth of their research experience by covering travel expenses such as flights, passport fees and cost of living.
Program Support
Your gift will support a variety of programmatic needs for the URCs including research programs and the staff to support them, public events, symposia and speaker fees for a lecture series.
- HASS Summer Research Incubator – Your gift to the Summer Research Incubator will support students who are interested in pursuing research or creative inquiry on issues of diversity or social justice in the humanities, arts, or social sciences. Students will complete an original research or creative project under the guidance of a graduate student mentor and participate in weekly workshops.
Leadership Endowments
Endowments offer a reliable, renewable source of funds that help sustain vital research programs when other sources of revenue, such as state funding, may waver.
- Endowed Directorships – This significant investment will create permanent endowments for the leadership of the Undergraduate Education Centers to support administration and outreach efforts.
- Endowed Term Chairs – Endowed term chairs will support tenured faculty advisors in the Sciences and Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
We are grateful for your generosity that helps us provide funding to our greatest areas of need.
For more information on how you can support the Undergraduate Research Centers, please contact Samantha Booras at (310) 569-7877 or sbooras@support.ucla.edu