Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant Program

Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant Program

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Natural Reserve System- University of California
Amount: Up to US $3,000
Last Updated: December 14, 2025

Summary

The Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant Program offers funding up to $3,000 for graduate research at UC Natural Reserve System (NRS) reserves. Open to all graduate students from UC campuses, it encourages independent research projects and helps students develop skills in proposal writing and budget management. Awardees can present their findings at the Mathias Symposium. Since 1988, the program has supported over 500 students with more than $1 million in funding, fostering diverse research disciplines.

Overview

Background The Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant Program funds graduate research at NRS reserves. Graduate students from all UC campuses pursuing any discipline are eligible. Providing up to $3,000 each, the grants encourage students to establish independent research projects at reserves. Students gain experience submitting research proposals, writing progress reports, and managing a research budget. Awardees are invited to present their findings at the Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant Symposium, held every three years. Up to $38,000 is available to support research in any discipline conducted at one or more NRS reserves. Awards are a maximum of $3,000 per applicant. The program is named for UC Los Angeles botanist and professor Mildred E. Mathias, one of the founders of the NRS. Since its inception in 1988, more than 500 UC students have received more than $1 million in Mathias Grant funding.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Applicants must be graduate students enrolled in a PhD or Master’s program at a University of California campus.Applicants must use at least one of the 41 reserves in the Natural Reserve System for a significant part of their field research project.Students from all departments and academic disciplines are eligible.Recipients of a Mathias Grant in one or more earlier grant cycles remain eligible for the current cycle if final reports were submitted on time. Allowable ExpensesMathias Grant funding is intended to directly support field work at NRS reserves. Funding may be requested for supplies and minor equipment, reserve user fees, the actual cost of food and travel to, from, and at the reserve, special logistical costs, etc.

Ineligibility

Failure to submit final reports by the deadline(s) renders previous recipients ineligible in the current grant cycle.Expenses that do not qualify for Mathias Grant funding include the following:salaries and stipendstravel to scholarly meetingspublication costspurchase of classroom bookspurchase of computers or printerslaboratory analyses