CARES Act and Dream Act Funds

Today is the last day for graduate students to apply for CARES Act or Dream Act COVID-19 relief funding. Our goal is to maximize all available sources of relief funding to award as many eligible students as possible, as quickly as possible. Our fellowships office created a helpful Tips and FAQ document to assist students with filing a FAFSA. If you are not eligible for either of these funds, other financial resources are available to you. 

  • CARES Act Funds
    All graduate students should have received an email on May 3, 2020 announcing how to apply for the direct-to-student CARES Act funding the campus received, $4 million of which is allocated to graduate students. This funding will be given out as grants to graduate students most in need. If you are Title IV eligible, please complete a FAFSA by today, May 15, 2020 in order to be considered for this funding. If you have already filed a FAFSA in 2019-20 or 2020-21, you do not need to take additional action. Filing a FAFSA does not guarantee funding.
    If you have questions, contact Cal Student Center by calling 510-664-9181, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific Time.
  • Dream Act Funds
    Students who are eligible for financial aid under the California Dream Act must file a 2020-21 California Dream Act Application (CADAA) if they did not fill out a CADAA for 2019-20. The campus is committed to providing students eligible for financial aid under the California Dream Act with equivalent funding from the Student Emergency Fund. The deadline to file a CADAA for funding consideration is today, May 15, 2020

COVID-19 Relief Funds

UC Berkeley has streamlined its student emergency aid process and launched a COVID-19 Relief Fund website to provide assistance with housing, food, medical/health, and technology needs for the Spring 2020 term. All students — including undergraduate, graduate, international, and undocumented students — are eligible to receive funding.

Visit the COVID-19 Relief Fund website (log in with your Berkeley email) to learn about the application options.

 

These funds are limited and campus will not be able to meet the needs of every student that applies.