Unlocking opportunities: Undergraduate scholars programs empower UCLA student researchers across disciplines
Courtesy of Jacquelyn Ardam
The UCLA Undergraduate Research Centers’ partnerships with prestigious foundation scholars programs — which include support from the Amgen Foundation, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, W. M. Keck Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation and Mellon Foundation — are a cornerstone of efforts to advance outstanding Bruin undergraduate research.
By Kayla McCormack | April 1, 2024
Nearly 4,000 undergraduates conduct research at UCLA — gaining real-world experience, refining research skills and lab techniques, and building connections with peers and mentors. This opportunity can have a transformative impact as they define their career and educational goals — and, for many, financial support is the game-changer that makes it all possible.
Understanding the essential function undergraduate research plays in a student’s journey, UCLA’s two dedicated Undergraduate Research Centers provide paid research opportunities made possible by generous philanthropic contributions. The centers’ longstanding partnerships with prestigious foundation scholars programs — which include support from the Amgen Foundation, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, W. M. Keck Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation and Mellon Foundation — are a cornerstone of these efforts to advance outstanding Bruin undergraduate research.
Tama Hasson, assistant vice provost for undergraduate research and director of the Undergraduate Research Center – Sciences, emphasizes the importance of providing as many students as possible with access to these grants — and how highly sought-after the awards are on campus. “I would love to be able to provide scholarships or grants for all students who want to do full time research in the summer,” she said. “We get five times as many applications as we have support for.”
“These programs come with significant funding packages that allow the students to do their research: to take trips to archives, to go to conferences, to work less or not at all, to be able to focus on their education while they’re at UCLA,” said Jacquelyn Ardam, director of the Undergraduate Research Center – Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
Together, under Hasson and Ardam’s leadership, the two centers work closely with each foundation partner to administer the highly regarded grants while providing teaching and mentoring resources for student researchers across disciplines.
Since welcoming its first cohort of the Amgen Scholars Program in 2007, UCLA has hosted 336 Amgen Scholars. Each summer a cohort of students, including a few from UCLA, conduct 10 weeks of research and attend networking lunches, workshops and other activities. In November, Amgen renewed its funding commitment to continue supporting future Bruin undergraduate researchers through this program.
The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation has supported 44 UCLA students through the Beckman Scholars Program, which launched at UCLA in 1999; open by invitation, the program includes 15 months of research alongside faculty mentors. Students majoring in chemistry or biochemistry as well as microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics or molecular, cell and developmental biology may be eligible.
The Clare Boothe Luce Scholars Program supports women majoring in the physical sciences or engineering who are committed to research careers. The first cohort at UCLA began their two-year program in 2011, and a total of 34 UCLA students have participated since.
“The Clare Boothe Luce Program has been incredibly influential in my decision to pursue continued higher education,” said Lianne Alson, a fourth-year chemistry major and Clare Boothe Luce Scholar. “My research experience has been so positive that I want to stay in academia.”
The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship is a two-year program for students who plan to pursue a Ph.D. and career in academia within designated fields in the humanities and social sciences. The fellowship aims to eliminate barriers resulting in the lack of diversity in faculty ranks in academia. UCLA has been hosting Mellon Mays Fellows since 2008, with 75 students having since completed the fellowship.
“If not for this opportunity, my life would have gone in an entirely different direction,” said Jamaal Muwwakkil, a former Mellon Mays Fellow, and current Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA. “It was a great microcosm of what academia would be — and in fact, to me, has shown itself to be.”
Muriel McClendon, associate professor and vice chair for graduate affairs in the department of history as well as associate dean of the division of social sciences at UCLA, serves as chair of the faculty advisory board for the URC – Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences and co-director of the Mellon Mays Fellowship Program at UCLA. “Mellon has made an incredible investment in this program,” she said. “One of the things we always say is if students finish this program and go on to graduate school and into faculty positions, Mellon is behind them through the time they get tenure.”
Muwwakkil appreciated the Mellon Mays program’s application deadline allowing for transfer students, he said. He also highlighted the importance of inclusive intake practices when it comes to evaluating applications.
“I was not a traditional, high-resource, competitive applicant, per se. But I was going to take full advantage of every opportunity I got,” said Muwwakkil. “Look for people who aren’t as glossy on the front end, because sometimes this gloss is an index of class status and preparation — not necessarily an index of capacity, capability or creativity.”
Many students work closely with their cohort and develop close bonds with their faculty mentors. “I developed a strong community through the Clare Boothe Luce Program,” Alson said. “There’s eight of us in total. It’s a small group of like-minded individuals all going through similar things, being researchers in the physical sciences.”
The Undergraduate Research Centers continue to expand partnerships to offer research opportunities for undergraduate students, most recently with the W. M. Keck Foundation, whose UCLA/Keck Humanistic Inquiry Research Awards program is now in its second year. The program supports 28 students annually and is open to juniors and seniors completing a comprehensive research project within the humanities, arts or social sciences. The W.M. Keck Foundation also provides funding to support graduate students through this program.
Hasson stresses the paramount importance of these undergraduate research programs — and the philanthropic support that makes them possible — in broadening students’ perspectives and shaping their future career paths. “I know I am where I am today because of undergraduate research,” she said. “It’s as simple as that. If you speak to any scientist in any field, whether it’s working for NASA, in academia or in industry, we all started with undergraduate research.”
