Call for Applications
Grant period: December 1, 2025, through May 15, 2026.
Application deadline: Monday, October 20, 2025, 5:00pm (PT)
The Mentored Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program in Critical Pacific Islander (PI) and Southeast Asian American Studies (SEA) aims to strengthen Critical PI and SEAA Studies at UC Berkeley by supporting research and increasing research opportunities for UC Berkeley undergraduates.
We seek projects that center PI and SEA perspectives, agency, and epistemologies. We are especially interested in funding projects that engage communities as partners. We accept proposals from a wide range of topics and disciplinary approaches. Intersectional analysis is particularly welcomed.
This fellowship is a program that is funded by the Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) Grant that UC Berkeley was awarded in September 2023. This is a collaborative campus partnership with Asian American Research Center (AARC), Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies (AADS), and Asian Pacific American Student Development (APASD).
Throughout the program, faculty/staff mentors will be expected to meet with undergraduate fellows at least twice/month, and fellows will be expected to assist their mentor on a research project for at least five hours each week during spring semester in order to develop research skills, critical thinking, and intellectual creativity.
Applications must be submitted by faculty/staff researchers who can request one to three undergraduate fellows. They may already have undergraduate students in mind or we can assist them in recruiting undergraduates.
Each student fellow will receive $2,500 as a stipend, which may have tax or financial aid implications. Each mentor will receive $3,000 (regardless of number of mentees) via a transfer to their research account.
Student fellows will be required to meet in-person twice during spring semester as a cohort for training and support (dates/times to be scheduled). Mentors are encouraged to attend these group sessions during spring semester.
Eligibility and Requirements:
- All research involving human subjects must be approved by the Office for the Protection of Human Subjects (OPHS) by the start of the funding period to ensure the protection of participants’ rights and welfare in the research process.
- All UC Berkeley faculty members are eligible. UC Berkeley staff who conduct research are also eligible to apply.
- The undergraduate fellows must be UC Berkeley students.
- Previous recipients of funding from the Asian American Research Center are eligible to apply.
Outcomes
A final report must be submitted within a month after the conclusion of the grant term and must include a brief summary of the project for publication on our website and in other communications (newsletter, social media). Students may be invited to present their work, whether completed or in-progress, at an event the following fall.
Application Process:
The online application form is available here and is due Monday, October 20, 2025 by 5PM (Pacific Time)
You will be asked to provide:
- A title and an abstract of up to 250 words
- Statement of project (as pdf; 750 words max - not including references, with filename: lastname_firstname_statement.pdf) Please include last name, first name at the top of the page. In addition to a description of the project focus and methods, please identify the contributions of the project to Critical SEA and/or PI Studies and include a timeline for the project. If there are any co-PI’s or other collaborators, please include that information in the statement.
- Mentoring plan (up to 500 words). Describe the role of undergraduates in your research and your mentoring plan.
- CV (of PIs) (as pdf; 3 pages max, with filename: lastname_firstname_CV.pdf)
Deadline: Monday, October 20, 2025 by 5PM (Pacific Time)
Award notifications: December 2, 2025 (anticipated).
Questions? Contact aarc@berkeley.edu
