University of California Leadership Excellence through Advanced DegreeS (UC LEADS) program is part of the UC Office of the President's efforts to increase the number of diversity students pursuing graduate degrees in STEM. This undergraduate program provides two summers of faculty mentored research at UC campuses and leadership development.
Opportunities and Benefits
- Paid summer research experience
- Statewide research symposium
- Professional and scientific society meetings
- Travel to other UC campuses
- Academic enrichment activities
- GRE prep
Application
Our 2021 application is now closed. We look forward to opening up our application for our 2022 cohort during December of 2021.
Congratulations 2021 Cohort!
- Martin Beshara, Mechanical Engineering
- Thee Ho, Computer Science
- Isaac Sloan, Applied Mathematics & Modeling
- Alfred Vargas, Chemical Engineering
- Padma Venkatraman, Astrophysics & Data Science
2020 Cohort
- Jose Magana, Geophysics & Seismology
- Jesus Martinez Martinez, Astrophysics & Physics
- Irene Ortega, Cognitive Science & Computer Science
- Claudia Renero, Mechanical Engineering
- Wyatt Singh, Mathematics and Slavic Language/Literature
- Michaela Warady, Mathematics & Computer Science
2019 Cohort
- Gael Flores, Physics
- Vanessa Hernandez-Cruz, Mechanical Engineering
- Jason Jiang, Data Science & Math
- Eshaan Pathak, Comp Sci
- German Perea, Civil Eng
2018 Cohort
- Alexis Andres Palacios Duran, Physics
- Arismel Tena-Meza, Chemistry
- Camille Harris, Computer Science
- Emily Hill, Computer Science
- Evylyn Deagueros, Physics
- Mayia Vranas, Physics
2017 Cohort
- Cindy Barrios, Biological Sciences
- Lekha Patil, Math & Data Science
- Silvia Miramontes-Lizarraga, Math & Astrophysics
- Yasmeen Musthafa, Physics
- Brandon Tran, Computer Science
Overview
UC LEADS is a two-year program designed to identify educationally or economically disadvantaged UC undergraduates in STEM who show promise of succeeding in doctoral STEM degree programs. The program provides students with educational experiences that prepare them to assume positions of leadership in industry, government, public service, and academia. It is a UC-centric program that provides a paid summer research internship at UC Berkeley and a second summer of paid research at another UC campus. The program helps cover some of the costs such as housing, food, transportation to and from that UC campus and research stipend. Each spring five to seven UC LEADS scholars are selected.
Eligibility Snapshot
- LGBTQ, U.S. Military veterans, and transfer students are encouraged to apply
- Must be a registered UC Berkeley student at the time of the application
- U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or DREAMers
- Sophomore and junior STEM majors interested in going to graduate school
- 3.0 overall UC Berkeley GPA
- There is a two year/two summer commitment
FAQ
1) I have more questions, who can I ask?
—-Please text your questions or call Diana a #510.778.5165 or e-mail them to Chris at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
2) Is there a stipend associated with this experience for cohort 2021?
—-Yes, for scholars eligible for both summers, the stipends are $4,000 for 2021 summer and $4,500 for summer 2022
3) Can I take summer school and do this program?
—-Unfortunately, no. You will be expected to immerse yourself into your faculty mentored research lab for 35 hours a week during our summer program.
4) I already have a UC Berkeley faculty research mentor that I have been working with on campus. Can I still apply?
—-Yes, though please note we will be doing remote computational research projects for summer 2021.
5) Will we present our research?
—-Yes, for summer 2021 we will be doing 15 minute oral presentations at the end of our summer program virtually and then a research poster presentation in March of 2022.
6) I am a freshman or senior, can I still apply?
—Per our statewide efforts, we are working on recruiting sophomores or new transfer juniors to our program. More research opportunities can be found a http://research.berkeley.edu
.