The University of California, Merced is committed to the recruitment, admission, and retention of a high quality graduate student population. In this regard, the prestigious Yara North America Almond Fellowship is intended to support UC Merced Ph.D. students. Ideally the awardee’s research will inform agricultural production systems to improve crop yields, particularly in almonds. It will be expected that awardees will present their work to the donor by the end of the academic year.
Eligibility Requirements & Standards
- Must be a current Ph.D. student at UC Merced making academic progress.
- Must be continuously enrolled in 12 or more units.
- All Ph.D. applicants are eligible, regardless of citizenship.
- Preferred research areas: soil fertility, plant nutrition, and water and nutrient use efficiency, or related fields.
- Previous awardees will be given preference for continued support.
Financial Support
- The $15,000 award is typically distributed as a $5,000 award during Spring, and $10,000 during Summer.
Student Loan Impact
- Per federal guidelines, all fellowship and tuition support is taken into consideration when determining student loan eligibility. If the student will receive federal student loans during the same academic year as this award, please note that this award could, and most likely will, reduce their student loan eligibility.
Application & Review Procedures
- Apply by completing an online application. Please note, the fellowship application is built within the admissions system, so you might see some items that reference admissions.
- During the application process you will be able to select this fellowship among others, if it is currently open.
- Each application must include a one-page personal statement that speaks to how this award will help the student achieve their research/educational goals. Special consideration will be given to students whose research and/or extracurricular activities contribute to the areas of soil fertility, plant nutrition, and water and nutrient use efficiency, or related fields.
- Must include one letter of support from a UCM faculty member.
- Applications are provided to a committee chaired by a SNRI faculty member for review, and the committee will make recommendations to the Graduate Division. Final award decisions will be made by the Graduate Dean.
* The Graduate Division reserves the right not to make an award in any given year for which a call for applications/nominations has been issued.
Deadlines
See the Internal Fellowships page for current deadlines associated with this fellowship.
