Inclusive Excellence Summer Research Experience

About

The Inclusive Excellence Summer Research Experience, facilitated by the Office for Graduate Diversity, focuses on the current challenges and opportunities for diversity in graduate education while providing an enriching and rigorous summer research experience to scholars from around the country. The Inclusive Excellence Summer Research Experience is a fully funded 8-week summer research experience, professional development, and leadership training opportunity to develop the next generation of students from historically underrepresented backgrounds in graduate education. Our program pioneers in providing interdisciplinary and self-enrichment training to our scholars to aid in changing the structure of higher education to be more inclusive and diverse.

2022 Information Session - January 18, 2022

The 2023 Information Session will take place December 15, 2022 at 5 p.m. PST.

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Program Structure

  • 8 weeks at UC Berkeley in the Northern California Bay Area
  • $4,000 stipend, paid housing and travel expenses (up to $500 – to be coordinated by UC Berkeley). Guidance from a faculty mentor in the areas of life sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, or humanities
  • Access to a specialized series of workshops to learn interdisciplinary perspectives and their applications to understand the strength of diversity, storytelling, and critical perspectives on the future of graduate education 
  • Professional development to understand the statistics and current challenges being faced by minoritized students in graduate education from individuals leading efforts to change them
  • Professional development on identifying a good mentor, being a good mentee, and creating successful networks while learning about different career paths that are available with a doctoral degree
  • Personalized workshops on successful strategies and career paths from current graduate students and professionals from different underrepresented backgrounds at UC Berkeley
  • A graduate student mentor to assist in customizing a path to matriculation in a doctoral program

Program Specifics

  • Research presentations by UC Berkeley faculty
  • Weekly seminars on issues directly related to the academic, personal, and professional growth of scholars
  • Social outdoor activities in the Bay Area
  • Preparation of materials for graduate school applications
  • Intensive preparation for standardized examinations (e.g., GRE) where applicable
  • Research presentation at the conclusion of the program
  • Summer admission decisions made by February 2023

Eligibility & Application

Eligibility is currently restricted to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are also eligible to apply. Applicants must be currently enrolled in a full-time undergraduate program at a four or two-year college in the U.S. with plans to return to their home institution in Fall 2023. Applicants must be currently a sophomore, junior or non-graduating senior. Sally Casanova Scholars are also eligible to apply as long as they are returning to their institution in the Fall of 2023. Applicants must have an expressed interest in one of the Ph.D. programs being currently offered at UC Berkeley.

Important Dates

  • Program Duration: June 1, 2023 – July 28, 2023
  • Application Opens: September 19, 2022
  • 2023 Information Session: November 16, 2022 at 5 p.m. PST
  • Application Deadline: February 1, 2023 at 8:59 p.m. PST
  • Semifinalist Interviews and Admission Decisions: February 2023

Applications are now open!

Apply Now

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, we will accept supporting documents for a short time after the deadline. However, only completed applications are reviewed.

Only if it’s your only research experience and completed under the guidance of a professor at a University or research institute. Otherwise, you should only list research experience you have obtained as an undergraduate. However, you can mention your high school research in your essay.

Eligibility is currently restricted to US citizens and permanent residents. Students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are also eligible to apply. Applicants must be currently enrolled in a full-time undergraduate program at a four or two-year college in the USA with plans to return to their home institution in Fall 2022. Sally Casanova Scholars are also eligible to apply as long as they are returning to their institution in the Fall of 2022. Applicants must be currently a sophomore, junior, or non-graduating senior in the United States or United States Territory. Applicants must have an expressed interest in one of the Ph.D. programs being currently offered at UC Berkeley.

No. Applicants must be currently a sophomore, junior, or non-graduating senior.

Yes.

No. You are ineligible to apply because you must be a US citizen or permanent resident.

No.

Yes. The total duration of the program is 8 weeks. 

No. You must be returning to your undergraduate college or university in fall of 2022 to continue your studies.

Yes. UC Berkeley accepts unofficial transcripts. Upload your transcript(s) as a PDF and your current transcript must include your 2021 fall grades.

Please email the program if your fall grades are not available by February 1st.

To convert a 5.0 GPA to a 4.0 GPA, divide your cumulative 5.0 GPA by 1.25, or divide your cumulative GPA by 5 then multiply by 4. Both ways will yield the same 4.0 GPA conversions.

Within your online application, you will request for the letter writer to submit a letter of recommendation on your behalf. To make this request, you will enter the name and email address of each letter writer. You can also change or add a different request. Carefully follow the instructions provided within the online application.

Letters from people who have experience working with you in a research setting, faculty mentors, principal investigators, professors, and teachers are preferred. Two letters from the same laboratory or research group are considered as one letter (i.e. a letter from a faculty member and one from your lab mentor-postdoc or graduate student you worked with in the lab). A letter from your pastor, resident advisor, music teacher, high-school teacher, or relative, unless you have worked directly with one of these people conducting research, is not preferred.

Have your letter writer check Spam/Junk mail, resend the request with your online application, and/or contact the program about this issue.

 

No. Letter writers can be submitted at various times including after your application is submitted and after the deadline.

Applicants to the program will be notified starting April 1st and throughout the month of April.

 

There are up to 10 summer positions available.

Yes. As part of your online application, you will list your four top research areas of interest and your four top faculty members.

Placements are made based on applicants’ research interest and faculty availability.

No. You are required to participate for the entire 8 weeks.