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GGE Proposal Preparation Policies, Procedures and Guidelines

The Graduate Group of Ecology offers Block Grant Fellowships, University Fellowships and Jastro Shields Research Fellowships for Continuing Students. Please follow the instructions below if you are interested in applying.

Application Deadline for New Students: The Deadline is the same date as the application for admission. A research proposal is not required for new students.

Application Deadline for Continuing Students: January 15th, exceptions will not be made.

The Graduate Group in Ecology requires one application for the following fellowships: Block Grant, University fellowships, and Jastro Shields research fellowship. You will be provided with a cover sheet to indicate which fellowships you would like to be considered for.

Please complete the University electronic application, and register your recommenders on-line. Transcripts will be provided by the GGE office. Please allow yourself time to submit electronically to avoid any last minute electronic glitches. Receipt of your proposal will be timed electronically.

Please note that improperly formatted applications will not be considered for funding. It is very important that you follow the directions to avoid being disqualified from consideration.

Block Grant and University Fellowship Application Guidelines

The GGE requires that you submit a research proposal. The research proposal will also be used for University fellowship consideration.

Required Application Materials:

  • Fellowship Application; (Note for international students: a complete application packet, including all materials listed below, are required for Non-Resident Tuition Fellowship consideration). You must complete all parts of the electronic application.
  • Research Proposal. Please submit to schillyer@ucdavis.edu as a PDF by midnight Pacific standard time.
  • THREE letters of recommendation. Be sure to register your recommenders early to give them time to complete the electronic letter of recommendation.
  • One letter must be from your Major Professor. (Note: it is a good idea to provide your major professor with a copy of your proposal before the letter is written). A statement regarding the matching support component should be included in this letter
  • Two additional Letters of Recommendation.
  • Transcripts, provided by the GGE office.
  • Resume or Curriculum vitae - click here for an approved sample. Use the CV to include information that is relevant or referred to in your proposal. Other links to help with CV preparation include advice from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Science Magazine. Please attach your CV to the end of your research proposal.
  • DO NOT include supplementary materials, they will be discarded.

Formatting Requirements:

  • Five pages total, double-spaced, typewritten pages of text, including page numbers
  • Font - 12 point
  • Margins - must be 1 inch all the way around. Page numbers may be within the 1 inch margin
  • Do not include a title page, it will be counted in your page limit
  • Graphs and tables should be included in the text of the proposal and counted in the page limit
  • References are not included in the page limit. Please double space your reference or literature cited section.

Proposal Content Requirements:

  • The format should be that of a research proposal.
  • Background and Rationale: Why is this project needed? What is new about it?
  • Specific Objectives: What are the specific questions to be addressed? If your study is part of a larger project, clearly indicate the general objective(s) of the larger project and what your proposed work adds to the overall project. Your specific objectives should be clear, concise and tractable. Provide one or two hypotheses or predictions to give an idea of the outcome you expect and the types of data you will be collecting
  • Procedures:  How will the research be carried out? How long will it take?
  • Results to date: This becomes more and more important the longer the student has been in the program.
  • List of references cited in the text
  • Qualifications:  What are your personal qualifications to do the research? This can be a one paragraph statement or include a statement to "see attached CV".

NOTE:  Applications that do not conform to these guidelines will not be considered for funding.

Evaluation Criteria used by the committee:

  1. overall quality of the proposal
  2. creativity and innovation
  3. personal qualifications to carry out the proposed research (research experience or specific training)
  4. capability of the student to complete the proposed research in one year (i.e., is the proposal do-able/realistic?)
  5. the need for and the importance of the research

University restricted and unrestricted fellowships:

You may also apply for the various restricted and unrestricted fellowships listed on the University application. Be sure to note what makes you eligible for the restricted fellowship. The GGE will make nominations based on your selections, but is allowed a limited number of nominations. Once nominations are made to Graduate Studies, selection for these fellowships are made from a campus wide pool. The GGE office will notify you if you have been nominated for a campus fellowship. Notifications of awards are made directly to the GGE office by Graduate Studies in mid-March, and students will be notified if they are selected to receive a campus fellowship.

GGE Awards Committee policy regarding University fellowships: If the GGE awards committee nominates a GGE student and the student is selected for a University fellowship - the amount of the GGE stipend will be reduced by the monthly University stipend figure. The current maximum amount of stipend per month is $1,800. This will not affect the registration fee award. The GGE Awards Committee implemented this policy in order to fund as many students as possible with the GGE Block Grant. Example:

Student is awarded a GGE Block Grant stipend of $5,400/quarter or $1,800/month; plus registration fees. In addition, the GGE Awards Committee nominates the same student for a University fellowship which is paid to the student as a monthly stipend of (amounts vary, but as an example) $400/month. The student will receive the University fellowship stipend of $400 plus a GGE Block Grant Stipend of $1,400 to equal the maximum of $1,800/month.

Jastro Shields Research Fellowships Application Guidelines:

The requirements and instructions for the Jastro Shields Research Fellowship application are the same as above except for the following exceptions:

  • The College of Agriculture and Environmental Science uses a specific application which will be sent to students via e-mail as a Word document. You are required to use the cover application form, budget form and Major Professor Letter of Recommendation form.
  • Letter of recommendation: A letter from your Major Professor is required, plus two additional letters of recommendation. If you are also applying for a block grant, the same letters will be used. Please ask your major professor to submit their letter electronically.
  • Undergraduate transcripts will not be used in the evaluation. Miscellaneous materials will be shredded or discarded.
  • Budget: Please provide a detailed budget and include justification for expenses listed. If you have additional funding (as part of your MP's grant, etc) please explain how Jastro Shields funds would substantially help your research (e.g., cover expenses or an extra set of analyses not written into other grants).
  • If your proposal is for work that has been on-going, please provide details of results obtained from previous research. This is especially important if you have received Jastro Shields funds previously.

Comments from the GGE Awards Committee:

The GGE Awards Committee uses the following criteria when evaluating and ranking applications for fellowship consideration:

  • The year student is in the program and progress to date in completing program requirements
  • Is there other funding to support this project?
  • What is the question being asked?
  • If research has been started, are there any results?
  • If there have been preliminary results, are they stated with clarity?
  • Other factors considered: a) overall quality of the proposal, b) creativity and innovation, c) personal qualifications to carry out the proposed research, d) capability of the student to complete the proposed research in one year (i.e., is the proposal realistic?) and e) the need and importance of the research.

    Suggestions: Seek the guidance/assistance of senior students who have been successful in writing proposals.

    One singular quality of a weak proposal has been that the objectives are not clearly stated.

Block Grant Fellowships Policies

The Office of Graduate Studies allocates a "Block Grant" of fellowship support each academic year to the GGE. These fellowships are awarded to both entering and continuing students in the following manner:

  • 35% is allocated to fellowship support for entering students
  • 25% is allocated to fellowship support for students in their first year in the program
  • 40% is allocated to fellowship support for students in their second year and beyond

Block Grant fellowships can include the following, and can only be awarded during the academic year:

  • monthly stipend
  • registration fees
  • non-resident tuition

The following limitations have been established in making awards to students:

  • Students may be awarded a total of 8 quarters of support during their residence in the program
  • Students will not be awarded more than 2 quarters of support each academic year. The major professor is expected to help the student secure funding for the third quarter and during the summer.
  • Students who are in their 5th year of residence may apply for support for their 6th year but must provide an explanation for exceeding the GGE time to degree limit. The official Time to Degree for a PhD in Ecology is 5 years. The standard for an MS by thesis is approximately 3 years.
  • Should a student already hold a substantial fellowship, block grant support will not be awarded in an effort to fund as many students as possible.

GGE Eligibility requirement for Block Grant Fellowships
The minimum GPA required is 3.50 UCD cumulative GPA, this differs from the Graduate Studies GPA minimum requirement.

Awards Committee Seminar materials: PDF of powerpoint presentation.

Samples of successful proposals from 2008: Sample 1, Sample 2, Sample 3, Sample 4, Sample 5

Also see the Jastro Shields proposal document for insights into developing a fundable proposal.