Fellowships

The School of Information strives to create a supportive, diverse, and inclusive environment and to enroll a diverse student body, as the unique perspectives that students from varied backgrounds are able to contribute are of tremendous benefit to our culture, community, and learning experience. We are committed to supporting data science and cybersecurity students from all backgrounds in their academic, personal and professional journeys.

As part of our commitment to serve the public good, the UC Berkeley School of Information is proud to offer the following fellowships.

The Jack Larson Data for Good Fellowship is designed to support MIDS students in their pursuit of a career that will allow them to use data science to improve human life and benefit society as a whole.

One $8,500 fellowship will be awarded to one MIDS student per term over the next two years.

Jack Larson is a UC Berkeley alumnus and successful entrepreneur. In 2000, Larson received Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Illinois and northwestern Indiana region in the “Service” category. Recently, he was named one of the first inductees to the Hall of Fame at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Larson’s passion for education and providing opportunities to students, as well as his confidence in the MIDS program’s success, inspired him to become involved with the program.

The Paul Fasana LGBTQ Studies Fellowship is designed to support UC Berkeley School of Information graduate students whose research interests or studies are related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer studies in any field or discipline.

A total of $5,000 will be awarded annually, either as a single award of up to $5,000 or multiple, smaller awards totaling up to $5,000, at the discretion of the fellowship committee. This fellowship is open to all current UC Berkeley I School graduate students.

Paul Fasana (1933-2021) was a UC Berkeley alumnus who grew up in an era of oppressive homophobia. As a gay man and a librarian, he dedicated himself to preserving the history of the gay experience prior to the 1969 Stonewall riots. Fasana served as the senior vice president of the New York Public Library and, in retirement, volunteered as the chief archivist for the Stonewall National Museum & Archives.

The Curtis B. Smith Cybersecurity Fellowship is designed to support high-achieving students enrolled in any degree program at the UC Berkeley School of Information whose interest or research focus is in cybersecurity.

A total of $3,000 will be awarded annually, either as a single award of up to $3,000 or multiple, smaller awards totaling up to $3,000, at the discretion of the fellowship committee. This fellowship is open to all current UC Berkeley I School graduate students.

Curtis Smith is a UC Berkeley alumnus who has concerned himself with the impact of cybersecurity since personal computing became the norm. The UC Berkeley I School caught Curtis’s interest when the School launched the Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity (CLTC) in 2015. Curtis now makes significant contributions to establish a fellowship fund that provides direct support for high-achieving students focused on shaping the future of cybersecurity.

The Quigley/Heffernan Family Environmental Fellowship supports I School students using their skills in data science or other information management disciplines to aid in the reduction of greenhouse emissions or other climate mitigation efforts.

A total of $10,000 may be awarded each year: either a single award of up to $10,000 or multiple smaller awards totaling up to $10,000, at the discretion of the fellowship committee.

The School of Information Need-Based Fellowship for MIDS & MICS students provides financial assistance to students with significant financial need for whom additional funding would make a meaningful difference to their ability to enroll in the program. The fellowship prioritizes students who have limited or no external sources of support to pursue their studies.

If granted, the Need-Based Fellowship would provide support to offset a portion (not all) of a student’s tuition and fees for the MIDS & MICS programs, with exclusions.

Fellowships can only be applied toward tuition and fees assessed in CalCentral.

Fees that can be covered include:

Fees that cannot be covered include:

Any unspent fellowship aid will be returned to the funding source. For example, if your tuition and fees are covered by an outside source (e.g., company sponsorship, GI Bill, etc.), unspent grant aid will return to the funding source and will not pay out as a stipend. If your tuition is covered by federal aid, this fellowship will replace (rather than supplement) a portion of that aid. 

Find more information about the fellowship here.

If you are a MIDS or MICS applicant interested in applying for a fellowship, please email an Admissions Counselor.

Data Science: email a Data Science Admissions Counselor or call 1-855-678-6437.

Cybersecurity: email a Cybersecurity Admissions Counselor or call 1-855-860-5259.

If you are a current MIDS or MICS student interested in applying for a fellowship, please email your Student Success Advisor.