General Information

Fellowship and Grant Information for Graduate Coordinators and Graduate Advisors (December 2006)

Step 1: Finding funding opportunities

OGS maintains a publicly searchable online research funding system called SURF (Search for University Research Funding). This page contains links to UCSD's SURF Database, Community of Science, Grants Select, Grants.gov among others.

*** Please Note: Funding seekers should ALWAYS check the SURF Database to see if an earlier campus deadline has been established ***

Step 2: The application process

In general, the grant application process for fellowships and grants is straightforward. However there are a few important things to keep in mind:

•  The department Graduate Coordinator or Graduate Advisor should be the primary points of contact within each department for graduate students looking for, and applying to, funding opportunities.

•  When possible, Grad Coordinators/Advisors should refer a student seeking funding to faculty members with direct experience in the student's area of research. These faculty members are typically the most informed people to ask about the availability of funding in their particular area of expertise.

•  If the opportunity is a fellowship, and the sponsor requires the applicant to obtain the name/contact information for UCSD's fiscal officer, please use:

Donald A. Larson
Controller
9500 Gilman Dr.
La Jolla , CA 92093-0951
(858) 534-0386 office
(858) 534-0429 fax
dlarson@ucsd.edu email

*** Please Note *** The Dean of Graduate Studies signs on behalf of the Controller

•  If the opportunity is a graduate student fellowship, and the sponsor requires the applicant to obtain the name/contact information and/or signature of UCSD's “Official Signing on Behalf of the Institution” or “Institutional Official” please use:

Kim E. Barrett
Dean of Graduate Studies
9500 Gilman Dr.
La Jolla , CA 92093-0003
(858) 534-6655 office
(858) 534-4304 fax
graduatedean@ucsd.edu email

If any departmental signatures are required on the application, they should be obtained PRIOR to seeking the Dean's signature.

Additionally, please get applications to OGS at least 14 days in advance of the sponsor's deadline so that we can properly review proposals to ensure they are in compliance with campus policies.

To arrange for the Dean's signature, please call (858) 822-2938.

UCSD's DUNS number is 804-355790. The Taxpayer/employer ID Number is 95-6006-144. The entity ID number is 1956006144A1. For ERA Commons logins, please contact Sara Kaup (x48148; skaup@ucsd.ed

•  For assistance with grant and fellowship application writing, please refer students to the following resources:

Ordinarily, the program's Graduate Advisor should be the first stop. In general, Graduate Advisors are most knowledgeable about common sources of funding available in their disciplines. If they don't know an answer, they can usually refer the student to someone who does.

The program's Graduate Coordinator should be able to assist if the student has specific questions about filling out application forms. For financial and budget preparation assistance, Graduate Coordinators should seek assistance from their department's fiscal manager.

General questions about the art of grant writing are addressed in our “Grant Writers Toolbox”.

Students can get basic editorial assistance from the OGS Graduate Fellowship Advisor (858-534-3724)

Faculty mentors / dissertation chairs are usually the best people to provide detailed substantive assistance on proposal development since they are most familiar with the availability of funding sources in their areas of expertise