The Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant Program funds graduate research at UC Nature 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 that incorporates elements from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Awardees are invited to present their findings at the UC Nature Symposium.
Up to $38,000 is available to support research in any discipline conducted at one or more UC Nature 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 UC Nature. Since its inception in 1988, more than 500 UC students have received more than $1 million in Mathias Grant funding.
Application information
Application information, eligibility, application procedures, and evaluation criteria for the Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant Program can be found here.
Symposium
Recipients of Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grants are invited to present their findings before peers at a systemwide symposium. Support for the symposium comes from the Kenneth S. Norris Endowment Fund for the California Environment, which was provided to UC Nature by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Previous cohorts of Mathias Grant recipients have presented their findings at a dedicated Mathias Symposium.
Download a PDF of the 2025–26 Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant flyer .
Mathias Research Projects
Previous Mathias research projects have included works from across the academic spectrum. Award recipients have studied intertidal invertebrate responses to predators, plant ranges in the White Mountains, wasp ecology in the Mojave Desert, chipmunk range responses to climate change in the eastern Sierra, large-format digital photography across the reserve system, ecological factors affecting tick-borne diseases in California, and much more.
FY25 -26 Mathias Grant Reporting
- Progress report due September 15, 2026.
- Final Report: Due by February 15, 2027.
- Upload your reports here