Gold Shield Ethnic Studies Graduate Fellowship

UPDATE: The 2024-25 Winners have been selected and notified.

The Gold Shield Ethnic Studies Fellowship was established in 2000 to support Graduate Fellowships for students in masters, doctoral, or professional programs to promote social justice and inclusion through research, scholarship, art, and activism grounded in experiences of diverse racial and ethnic communities. The application is open to all graduate and professional students, with a preference to support one continuing student in UCLA’s ethnic studies master’s/doctoral programs below:

• African American Studies
• American Indian Studies
• Asian American Studies
• Chicana/o and Central American Studies
• Joint degrees, such as the M.A./J.D for Law & Ethnic Studies and similar programs

Eligibility:
1. Students should demonstrate a commitment to promoting social justice and inclusion of historically marginalized peoples through research, scholarship, art, and activism grounded in the experiences of diverse racial and ethnic communities AND/OR
2. Students selected for this prestigious fellowship must be (at the time of the award) a graduate student whose work focuses on a topic relating to ethnic communities in the United States

Amount:
Four awards of $5,000, paid as stipends, which are applied to standard tuition, unless awardee has another tuition-payment source

Reference:
Applicants must receive a letter of reference from a UCLA Faculty member in a Center, Institute, Department, Individual Development Plan (IDP), or related area from the disciplines above.

Recipients will be notified by early July each year, with awards paid out in the upcoming academic year.

For more than 80 years, Gold Shield Alumnae has supported UCLA undergraduate and graduate students in their quest for higher education, and has fostered enduring relationships between students, Gold Shield members, alumni, and the University. During this time, Gold Shield has awarded nearly 900 scholarships and fellowships, totaling more than $2 million in the last 30 + years at a current average of $159,500 annually. For more information about Gold Shield, please visit their UCLA Alumni Association website.