The campus offers a variety of prizes, awards, and scholarships. Of particular interest to undergraduate students are competitive prizes, university scholarships, and department awards.

The Undergraduate Scholarships, Prizes and Honors Office (642-6363) is the central location for these types of awards, and is a good place to begin. The office administers competitive prizes, through the Committee on Prizes, to students who submit original work according to contest rules. Examples include the Eisner Prizes in the Creative Arts, the Irving Prize for American Wit and Humor, and the Shrout Short Story Prizes. Undergraduate students are also eligible for funds to carry out individual research projects. The office also administers campuswide university awards for outstanding scholastic achievement and other accomplishments. Such awards include the University Medal for the most distinguished graduating senior and the Edward Frank Kraft Scholarship Prizes for first-semester freshmen with high scholastic records. Visit the website or contact the Prizes Coordinator (642-3498) for more information.

On behalf of the Committee on Undergraduate Scholarships, the Undergraduate Scholarships, Prizes and Honors Office also administers awards of honorary and need-based scholarships to undergraduate students who have demonstrated academic excellence. All undergraduates are automatically considered for these scholarships, which include the Regents' and Chancellor's Scholarship, the highest honor Berkeley offers to incoming undergraduates; the Cal Opportunity Scholarship, a high school based award; and the Berkeley Scholarship.

Certain departments administer their own prizes and awards, such as the Alfred L. Kroeber Prize in Anthropology, the Julia Payne Memorial Dance Award, and the Frank Jarrett Machine Design Award in Engineering. For major-specific awards, consult the relevant department.

The Library Prize for Undergraduate Research offers cash awards to students for research papers completed in both lower- and upper-division courses.

Some departments also have special scholarships for their students. In addition, the Scholarship Connection office (643-6929) provides individual advising and workshops to help students prepare applications for highly competitive national awards, such as the Rhodes, Marshall, and Truman Scholarships. Faculty are instrumental in encouraging top students to apply for these prestigious awards. Faculty committees review applications before they are forwarded to the final levels of competition. Scholarship Connection is also the campus' clearinghouse for information on hundreds of scholarships that are funded by sources outside the university.

For graduate students and undergraduate students who will graduate before the award year, the Graduate Division Fellowships Office, (642-0672) provides extensive lists of scholarships and fellowships. The office also distributes current applications, or can direct you to the appropriate office or website for a current application.

Graduate students who demonstrate excellence in teaching are eligible for the annual Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, sponsored by the Graduate Division's GSI Teaching and Resource Center (642-4456) together with the Graduate Council's Advisory Committee for GSI Affairs. This award recognizes outstanding contributions GSIs make to undergraduate education at Berkeley. Departments may select up to ten percent of their GSIs for this award each year. Guidelines are sent out to departments at the beginning of the spring semester. Departments are asked to develop their own criteria for selecting recipients and to submit the criteria along with the names of the recipients to the GSI Teaching and Resource Center. A ceremony honoring the recipients is held in the spring.

Each year, recipients of the Outstanding GSI Award become eligible to apply for the Teaching Effectiveness Awards, sponsored by the GSI Teaching and Resource Center and the Graduate Council's Advisory Committee for GSI Affairs. Applicants submit a one-page essay describing a problem they faced in teaching, a solution they designed to address this problem, and the means they used to assess the outcome of their project. The essays are read by the Advisory Committee for GSI Affairs. Approximately 14 awards are given each year. The award carries with it a stipend of $500. An award ceremony is held in early May. Essays selected for the award are published as a booklet that is sent to departments and on the GSI Teaching and Resource Center’s website.

last updated on 8/10/05