Competition for Superior Graduate Students Requires a Strong Investment by UCLA Engineering

Graduate students, together with the faculty, are the lifeblood of great engineering programs. To remain competitive with other top-ranked universities that have the benefit of a rich, well-established endowment for fellowships, UCLA must be able to offer generous financial packages to its outstanding students.

Increasing the level of endowed funding for graduate student support is a priority in the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science. Dean Dhir’s goal is to raise $25 million in endowed fellowship funds – enough to provide financial assistance to all first-year doctoral students.

Stunning technological advances are greatly increasing the demand for well-educated engineers in an ever-widening range of disciplines, such as biotechnology and nanomanufacturing. UCLA’s engineering programs must respond to society’s challenges by filling classrooms and research laboratories with the brightest, most creative minds, and training them for leadership roles in a rapidly changing world. We must make available computing services, research and teaching opportunities, and, most importantly, fellowships funded through private support.

Outstanding graduate students enrich the academic environment, inspire, teach and challenge undergraduate students, and are crucial in our effort to recruit and retain the most distinguished professors. Gifts endowing graduate student fellowships will help to fulfill the School’s mission and ensure its ongoing preeminence in the 21st century.

Graduate fellowships can be awarded in an academic area of the donor’s choosing or wherever such funds are urgently needed. Named fellowships support and recognize exceptional graduate students while honoring the donor or a person of his or her choosing.

For additional information on establishing an endowed fellowship in the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, please contact the Office of External Affairs at 310/206-0678.