Summer URS Starbucks Sustainable Solutions and Learning Opportunities Research Scholarship

ELIGIBILITY: All current UC San Diego undergraduates in any major who will be enrolled the following school year are eligible to apply. Students who plan on graduating mid-year next academic year may also apply, provided the project and final report are completed before graduation.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens, permanent residents, eligible under AB540 “California Dream Act”, or international citizens. The project must be completed while the applicant is a UC San Diego undergraduate. Students will not be eligible if they will have graduated before summer. Students also cannot be part of a BS/MS or BA/MA program during the award period. Applicants submit one research proposal per scholarship. The same proposal may be used for multiple research scholarship applications, as indicated on the application form. If chosen for more than one scholarship, a student may only accept one scholarship during the summer research period. Applicants may re-apply for the scholarship, even if they’ve been awarded a scholarship in previous years. There is no guarantee to receive the scholarship, even if you’ve been awarded in the past — all applicants are considered against the applicant pool of that year only. Please note that if awarded, students will not be allowed to take additional courses or get paid through a job during the duration of the scholarship. We would like all awardees to be able to focus on the research full-time. The Starbucks Sustainable Solutions and Learning Opportunities Scholarship may not be used for Alternative Breaks, academic course registration or fees, insurance or medical costs.

OVERVIEW

The Starbucks Sustainable Solutions and Learning Opportunities Scholarship is an undergraduate research scholarship (URS) opportunity provided by Starbucks Corporation in collaboration with University Centers at UC San Diego. One (1) scholarship will be available each year, with the award totaling $5,000. The purpose of the scholarship is to assist UC San Diego students with research or learning projects related to sustainability, including resource conservation or agricultural environmental practices (herein referred to as the project).

Award
$5,000.00
Scopes
Summer Research Program
Deadline
02/28/2025
Supplemental Questions

  1. URS - Faculty Mentor information

    • a. Mentor's Title

      Please enter your mentor's title (Dr., Professor, etc.) ONLY. No name.

    • b. URS - Faculty Mentor

      Please enter the name of your faculty mentor. (No title)

    • c. URS - Faculty Mentor Email Address

      Please enter your mentor's email address.

  2. URS - Faculty Sponsor and Contact Information for Letter of Recommendation/Support

    Please re-enter the name and email of your Faculty Sponsor ASAP. When you click on "save and keep editing", an email will be sent to this individual immediately, requesting a letter.

    If your faculty mentor is having trouble with receiving the request to submit the letter of recommendation, please have them contact Dr. Sophia Tsai Neri (stsai@ucsd.edu) for assistance.
    • A. Faculty member's name and email address
    • B. Sponsoring Faculty's Department

  3. Summer Research Scholarship Requirements:

  4. URS - Title of Your Research Proposal

  5. URS - Overview/Abstract of the Project

  6. URS - Research Proposal/Project Description

    Include a detailed description of the project you would like to propose. Please ensure that you write this proposal. It can be based on discussions with your research mentor(s), and even edited by your research mentor(s), but it is intended to be primarily composed by you, the student planning to do the research. Many proposed projects are based on work already being performed in their research mentor's group, and that is allowable. You must be clear about your role in this project.

    More information about required sections in your proposal can be found at the URS website.

  7. URS - IRB Approval

    Is Internal Review Board (IRB) approval necessary for this project, and if so, has it been obtained by you or your faculty mentor?

  8. Research Proposal Authorship Confirmation

  9. URS - Personal Statement

    Describe how carrying out this summer research project would advance your academic and professional goals. More information about required sections in your personal statement can be found at the URS website. (600 word max)

  10. URS Starbucks - Sustainability Essay


    Explain how your project objectives relate to sustainability issues and/or what outcomes from this project will address key issues in sustainability i.e. food/water scarcity, agriculture, carbon reduction, nutrition, waste minimization concerns? (300 words maximum)

  11. URS Scholars - Program Ranking

    Below are a number of programs to which you might be applying. Please indicate your top three choices among these programs. If you are applying to fewer than three programs, you can select “Not applying to other programs.” Please ensure that you enter your ranking of top 3 choices in the same order for each application that you submit in this application portal.

    Many students who apply to the URS opportunities also apply to other opportunities for the summer. Students can apply to as many opportunities as they are eligible for; you are not restricted to just the top 3 listed below. Applicants are encouraged to explore a variety of options and to apply to multiple programs. Note that if you do get accepted into multiple programs, you will only be able to accept one.

    Indicating your ranking here does NOT serve as an application to these programs; the programs listed below have a separate application process for each opportunity. When you submit the current application, you will have applied to only THIS URS opportunity and will need to submit separate applications to the other opportunities.

    • First choice
    • Second choice
    • Third choice
  12. How did you hear about this application?
    • How did you hear about this application?
    • If you selected any option(s) that ask(s) you to "Specify Below," please elaborate here. Otherwise, type N/A.

  13. Additional clarification

    Are there any responses in your general application or in the program-specific application that you feel need clarification? For instance, if you indicated that one of your parents received a college degree, but that person was a non-custodial parent with whom you had few interactions, you could indicate that here.
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