The University of California Leadership Excellence through Advanced Degrees (UC LEADS) program is designed to engage and educate California's future leaders by preparing promising students for advanced education in science, technology, mathematics and engineering (STEM). UC LEADS is designed to identify upper-division undergraduate students with the potential to succeed in these disciplines, but who have experienced situations or conditions that have adversely impacted their advancement in their field of study. Scholars are typically selected to participate in paid undergraduate research (two summers), leadership development, professional development, advising, community building, and graduate school application support. UC LEADS boasts a 76% success rate of our research scholars going on to STEM graduate programs. We are also proud to have UC Berkeley Faculty Research Mentor Dr. Alex Filippenko as one of the Faculty Representatives for our UC LEADS Statewide Steering Committee.
Opportunities and Benefits
- Paid summer research experience
- Statewide research symposium
- Professional and scientific society meetings
- Travel to other UC campuses
- Academic enrichment activities
- Optional GRE prep
2025 Cohort | Application Closed on March 11, 2025
The next cycle of our application will open in late December 2025 for our 2026 cohort.
2024 Cohort
- Abdel Zaro - Mechanical Engineering
- Alicia Naylor Guerrero - Cognitive Science
- Hannah Aguilar - Mathematics & Computational Biology
- Isaac Duarte Valdez - Nuclear Engineering
- Jovanny Ramirez - Industrial Engineering and Operations Research
- Pooneh zehtabfard - Astrophysics
- Richard Rodriguez - Astrophysics
2023 Cohort
- Andrew Gabagat, Molecular & Cellular Biology
- Cassandra Reyes, Bioengineering
- Clarissa Jacobo Hernandez, Bioengineering
- Jason Hodes, Mechanical Engineering
- Jenna Bae, Computer Science & Chemistry
- Vy Duong, Chemical Engineering
2022 Cohort
- Aldo Gonzalez Ruiz, Mechanical Engineering
- Efrain Alvarado, Astrophysics
- Isabella Demetz, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research
- Gabrielle Stewart, Astrophysics
- Kate Bostow, Astrophysics
- Santiago Karam Padilla, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research
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
- Toren D’Nelly-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
Additional Information
UC LEADS is a UC statewide program (partially funded through SAPEP-GSPP). It is typically a two-year program designed to help students interested in pursuing 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 often a second summer of paid research at another UC campus (transfer students typically are funded for one summer). 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. This program also has an annual research and leadership symposium which rotates among the UC campuses to host. We were proud to host the 2023 UC LEADS first ever alumni reunion and the 2024 UC LEADS Symposium Our 2020-2021 statewide annual report can be found here.
Eligibility Snapshot
- This program is designed to identify upper-division undergraduate students with the potential to succeed in these disciplines, but who have experienced situations or conditions that have adversely impacted their advancement in their field of study.
- Must be a registered UC Berkeley student at the time of the application
- U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or DREAMers
- Program is designed for Sophomore and Junior STEM majors interested in going to STEM graduate school programs
- Ideally 3.0 overall UC Berkeley GPA
- There is a two year/two summer commitment for Sophomores and a 1 year commitment for transfer students
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?
—-Yes, typically the stipend is $4,500
3) Can I take summer school or an internship and also 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 plus an additional 5 hours a week of workshops and professional development training for a total of 40 hours of work each week of the program.
4) I already have a UC Berkeley faculty research mentor that I have been working with on campus. Can I still apply?
—-Yes
5) Will we present our research?
—-Yes, for summer 2025 we will be doing poster presentations at the end of our summer program and then a research poster presentation at our statewide symposium (typically in March).
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, though we will read all applications. More research opportunities can be found a http://research.berkeley.edu
7) What are the program dates for summer 2025 eight week program?
—June 9th to Aug 1st, 2025
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