How to Apply

Interested in applying for the upcoming cohort of Beckman Scholars at UC Santa Barbara? Submit your application before the deadline on February 11, 2024.

The 2024 Application is now closed.

Part I: Application Process

Interested in becoming a Beckman Scholar at the University of California, Santa Barbara? To be considered for the Beckman Scholars Program, you must submit an application form, and the required materials. 

Important Notes:

• An application form must be filled out BEFORE any other materials can be submitted. 
• Applicants may apply to more than one CSEP undergraduate research program using our application portal.
• Prospective applicants for the Beckman Scholars Program must be working with or interested in working with one of the Beckman Faculty Mentors. 

Required Application Materials: 

Application Form

Fill this out as soon as possible to generate automated emails to your recommenders. All other application materials can only be submitted after completing this form, but may be submitted anytime before the deadline.

Statement of Interest

Applicants must respond to a series of questions that will compose your "Statement of Interest." You will complete this section after submitting an application form. Find the Statement of Interest prompts below.

Resume/CV

PDF less than 2MB to be uploaded after submitting the application form. 

Helpful resources and examples on how to create/update your Resume/CV may be found by visiting UCSB's Career Services: https://career.ucsb.edu/get-hired/resumes.

Unofficial transcript(s)

Submit unofficial transcript(s) for all 2yr and 4yr colleges/universities attended. Make sure all content is legible. You may find you UCSB unofficial transcripts by visiting UCSB Gold (UCSB Gold > Grades > Transcripts & Verifications> Unofficial Transcripts). 

Please submit as a PDF less than 2MB to be uploaded after submitting the application form.

Letters of recommendation

Two letters of recommendation are required. It is highly recommended that one letter be from your proposed faculty mentor (only the 12 mentors listed on the 'Faculty Mentor' tabs are acceptable for this program), and the second letter be from a previous research mentor or university instructor, HOWEVER, we can make exceptions depending on your circumstances.

Please contact the program coordinator if you have questions about the suitability of a particular recommender. You must include the name(s) and email(s) of the people who will write your letter(s) of recommendation on the application form, and they will be automatically contacted with information on how to submit your letter after you submit the application form.

Important Note - About Faculty Mentors

Before applying to this program, you should either:

1) already be working in one of the Beckman Scholar Faculty Mentor labs OR

2) be interested in working with one of the Beckman Scholar Faculty Mentors (or a direct collaborator) upon acceptance as a Beckman Scholar.

If you are already working with a Beckman Faculty Mentor, this faculty mentor should write one of your recommendations. If you are interested in working with one of these mentors (and you are not currently in their lab), you should speak with them as soon as possible about this opportunity, and also list their name(s) on your application form when prompted to list potential mentors. Please contact the Program Coordinator if you have any questions.

Statement of Interest Prompt

Write a concise response to the following prompts. If you are applying to multiple programs, please check the 'How to Apply' section for prompts specific to each program.

Prompt #1

1. Discuss your interest in science and the qualities you possess that will make you a good scientist. What have you done, both in and out of the classroom, that demonstrates your motivation and interest in science? Give specific, recent examples.

Prompt #2

2. Briefly describe your research area of interest. This need not be based on research that you have done or are currently doing. We simply want to understand what areas interest you.

Prompt #3

3. Describe how this internship program will help you reach your current educational and career aspirations. How will you contribute to our Scholar community if you are accepted?

Prompt #4

4. Describe why you are interested in pursuing a graduate or professional degree.

Optional Prompt

We acknowledge that every student has had unique life experiences that may not be captured in the above questions. The selection committee is interested in learning more about extenuating circumstances you may have encountered throughout your journey. If you have none to write about, please write "N/A".

Information for Recommenders: 

All required recommendation forms should be submitted by the application deadline. Students should approach potential recommenders with their request for a letter before including the recommender's name in the application.
Each recommender selected by the student will receive an email with a personalized link to submit the letter of recommendation. This email will only be generated after the student has submitted the application form.

Recommenders will be asked to respond to the following prompts on the recommender form:

• How long have you known the student and in what capacity?
• In what ways do you feel the student is prepared for a research internship? In what areas, if any, do you foresee them needing additional support?
• How does the student approach academic challenges? Please give an example where the student has persevered through an academic challenge.
• From what you have observed, how does this research internship support the student's educational goals
• OPTIONAL: We acknowledge that every student has had unique life experiences that may not be captured in the above questions. The selection committee is interested in learning more about any extenuating circumstances the student may have encountered throughout their journey (e.g., 1st in family to attend college, low-income, or anything else you feel is relevant) and how they have dealt with these circumstances. If you have nothing to add here, please write "N/A".

Part II: Interview/Selection Process

Timeline

Approximately 2-3 weeks after the submission deadline, students selected for interviews will be notified by email and asked to sign-up for an interview time.

All communication will be via email and applicants should be sure their email address is correct and checked frequently. Though only some students will be selected for interviews, all applicants will be notified of the status of their application when the interview/selection process is complete, approximately 4 weeks after the application deadline.

Scholars will be selected before the end of the Winter quarter and must be prepared to enroll in the Practice of Science (1-unit course) with their admitted cohort. This course is invite-only; scholars will receive an add code from the Program Coordinator at least one week before the Spring Quarter begins.

Part III: Post-Selection Process 

To be completed after you have been selected for the program. Selected scholars will be notified via email about all requirements shortly after accepting a position in the program. Each scholar will receive their own personal link from the Program Coordinator to their own submission portal where they will submit the following:

Post-Selection Submissions

• Signed Intern Responsibility Contract
• Completed Waivers and Liability Releases for summer internship
• Photo headshot
• Plan to enroll in the Practice of Science course
• A 2-page research plan written by the applicant with appropriate input from the faculty mentor and including background information for the project as well as a concise, but well-defined, research project plan (*Further instructions will be provided during the Spring.)
  • The proposal should include:
    • Background information about the project and research area
    • A concise, but well defined, research project plan

Email Correspondence 

Note: ALL correspondence with applicants will be via email, including award decisions.

For questions about this application process, please contact the Program Coordinator Sofi Sanabria-Guillen (sofi@csep.ucsb.edu)