Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant Application Information

Eligibility

• 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 UC Nature reserves for a significant part of their field research project.
• Students from all departments and academic disciplines are eligible.
• Past Mathias fellows can apply for the current cycle if they submitted their final reports. Those who miss the report deadline are ineligible for this grant cycle.
• Proposed research must have obtained the appropriate permits and approvals.
  • If you are handling animals or collecting specimens: Copies of appropriate collecting permits and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approvals, where applicable
  • If your research involves human subjects (interviews, surveys, etc.): Copies of the University of California Institutional Review Boards (IRB) approval

Allowable Expenses

Mathias Grant funding is intended to directly support field work at UC Nature 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.

Expenses that do not qualify for Mathias Grant funding include the following:

• salaries and stipends
• travel to scholarly meetings
• publication costs
• purchase of classroom books
• purchase of computers or printers
• laboratory analyses

Application Process

Overview

The application deadline is December 1, 2027.

The Mathias Graduate Student Grant Program incorporates elements of the NSF proposal to provide applicants with experience in submitting and reporting an NSF grant. All application materials should be uploaded to the Submittable application: https://nrs.submittable.com/submit.

A complete application contains the following:

• Application form (generated online in Submittable)
  • Project summary (1 page): An overview of the proposed work, including its motivation, objectives, methods, and a brief description of the research timeline to demonstrate feasibility. Highlight the research goals and the knowledge gap you are addressing.
    • Intellectual Merit: How does this project advance scientific knowledge?
    • Broader Impacts: How does this project benefit the UC Nature community? Benefits to society?
  • Projected timeline: List the major tasks needed to accomplish the objectives outlined in your project description during the first six months of your research project. Include any money, facilities, or other resources used. Please use the general outline below.
    • Objective 1: Task 1 , Task 2, etc
• Project description (3 pages): Provide a brief summary of the project, highlighting its importance academically (Intellectual Merit) and its societal benefits (Broader Impacts)
  • Include an introduction that outlines the problem, its significance, and existing knowledge gaps. 
  • Clearly define the objectives, propose a timeline for the work, and outline a concise research management plan. Include how data will be analyzed and interpreted, and list the necessary equipment, software, and facilities needed.
  • What are the expected outcomes and significance in advancing the field (Intellectual Merit) and benefits to society (Broader Impacts)? Include results from any prior UC Nature-supported research (if applicable).
• Curriculum vitae
• Faculty advisor letter of recommendation supporting your research proposal, highlighting its merits for funding by UC Nature, and your ability to conduct the research and meet deadlines.
• Reserve approval form: Email the Reserve Director/s where you propose to conduct your research, and ask them to complete the approval form linked below. Please include the name and description of your project.
  • Reserve Director Approval Form: https://forms.gle/hk12uHSNiC3JJtAKA

Procedure

1. Email the Reserve Director and have them fill out the Reserve Director Approval Form linked below. Let them know you are applying for a Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant, and include your project name and description.
   • Reserve Director Approval Form: https://forms.gle/hk12uHSNiC3JJtAKA
   • A link to reserve contacts is available at the bottom of this page.
2. Send your project description and curriculum vitae to your faculty advisor. Inform your faculty advisor that they will receive an email prompt from Submittable to upload a letter of reference.
   • Letters of recommendation must be received by January 16, 2026.
3. Complete the Mathias application in Submittable. Click on the “Apply” button at the bottom of the application form to submit.

Completed applications will be evaluated by a UC-wide committee that will determine which applications are funded and in what amounts. Award decisions will be emailed to applicants in January 2027.

Formatting Requirements

• All application materials must be submitted as Adobe PDF files. There are many ways to create pdf files, some of which are described at http://www.wikihow.com/Create-PDF-Files
• The project description cannot exceed three pages in length. This includes all figures, tables, and the list of references. Format on a standard 8.5 inch x 11 inch page with one-inch margins on all sides.
• Your curriculum vitae cannot exceed two pages in length. Format on a standard 8.5 inch x 11 inch page with one-inch margins on all sides.
• All text must be in Times New Roman font. Body text should be in 12-point type. References, footnotes, and figure captions should be in 10-, 11- or 12-point type.
• Line spacing must be standard single or greater.
• All attached files should be named using the format “Last First Item.pdf”, where Last is your family name, First is your given name, and Item is “Description”, “CV”, “Reserve Approval”, or “Permits” (if applicable). For example, Rosa Peterson’s application materials would contain four attached files: “Peterson Rosa Description.pdf”,“Peterson Rosa CV.pdf”, “Peterson Rosa Reserve Approval.pdf”, and “Peterson Rosa Permits.pdf”

Evaluation Criteria

Primary criteria

Research quality (10 points)
Evaluation of research quality will be based on the importance of the problem, originality, statement of research questions or hypothesis, sampling design and analysis, preliminary data supporting the feasibility of the proposed research, and likelihood of success within the timeframe indicated in the proposal.

Reserve dependence (5 points)
Research must take place on one or more UCUC Nature reserve(s) or the areas or regions in which the reserve or reserves are located. Adjacent areas may be used more than the reserve or reserves proper if justified in the proposal. Higher scores will be assigned for research that takes advantage of special reserve conditions, such as building on a history of related research, occurrence of unique/special conditions or resources, need to protect equipment, etc.

Additional considerations

Additional considerations may be applied to differentiate similarly ranked proposals. These include, but are not limited to:

• Stage of student’s career. Preference will be given to students early in their career.
• Other funding. Preference will be given to projects lacking other support.
• Relationship to dissertation research. Preference will be given to proposals for research that are directly related to the student’s master’s or PhD research.
• Underrepresented disciplines. Preference will be given to disciplines that do not normally take advantage of UC Nature sites and resources.
• Reserve research priorities. Preference will be given to research that directly addresses an area that has clearly been identified as a research priority for a UCUC Nature reserve.

An attempt will be made to balance funding among campuses and reserve sites consistent with the goal of supporting the highest quality research proposals.

Reserve Contacts

Contact information for reserve directors can be found here.