Chair's Challenge Fund

The UC San Diego Physics "Chair's Challenge" was established to support educational excellence and training for current physics students: young people who will go on to careers in industry, academia, and government. Students can apply for funds to support travel, presenting, and networking opportunities at symposia and conferences both at home and abroad. 

For consideration, please complete application here. An application must be submitted and approved prior to travel date. Requests for funding after the trip has begun or been completed will not be considered. If you have questions about the department procedures, please contact Jasmyn Wuerthwein.

You can learn more about the Chair's Challenge fund here. 

 

General Campus Grant Funding

Please see the General Campus Grant Funding for information on academic funding opportunities beyond the department.

Student Jobs

Please see the department's Student Jobs webpage for information on academic job opportunities within the department. Please see the Student Jobs Resources webpage for information on both academic and non-academic student jobs, campus-wide.

Graduate Funding

Physics graduate students are typically supported during the first year or two of their graduate career as Teaching Assistants (TAs), and subsequently as Graduate Student Researchers (GSRs). You can learn more about our Graduate Program Financial Support Information here.

High-achieving students are also eligible for a variety of merit-based awards and non-employment financial support. Those administered by the Department of Physics are:

In memory and recognition of Dilip K. Bhadra – one of the first graduate students at UC San Diego in the Department of Physics – an endowed fund was established by Marsha Penner (BA '68, '72) to provide an annual award to a student in physics. The Dilip K. Bhadra Ph.D. '65 Graduate Fellowship in Theoretical Physics will be used by the Department of Physics to provide fellowship support for the benefit of graduate students specializing in theoretical physics at UC San Diego.
Detailed Information: Bhadra Fellowship

Funded by the family and friends of Dr. Harold K. Ticho, this annual award recognizes an outstanding incoming graduate student for past scholastic accomplishments and promise for further excellent work in physics.
Detailed Information: Harold K. Ticho Award

Distinguished Professor Emeritus Lu Jeu Sham's monumental paper, "Self-Consistent Equations Including Exchange and Correlation Effects", published in Physical Review in 1965 in collaboration with his postdoctoral advisor, Prof. Walter Kohn, laid the foundation for density functional theory (DFT) with the now famous Kohn–Sham equations. The paper has been cited over 75,000 times and ultimately resulted in Dr. Kohn receiving a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1998. 
 
Dr. Sham, a world-renowned theoretical physicist, joined the faculty of UC San Diego's Department of Physics in 1968, eventually serving as Department Chair and later as Dean of Physical Sciences, before being elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1998. Among his many distinguished accomplishments, he has been named a Guggenheim Fellow, a Bernd T. Matthias Scholar and fellow of American Physical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Optical Society of America. He also received a Lamb Medal for Laser Science and Quantum Optics and is a member of Academia Sinica, Taiwan.
 
Graduate student recipients of this annual award are recognized for outstanding research contributions to papers published or accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal during the preceding year. In receiving this award, they embody the significant impact and distinguished legacy of Dr. Sham, carrying forward the tradition of excellence in physics research at UC San Diego.

The Maria Goeppert Mayer Fellowship is presented annually to an entering graduate student that has shown exceptional academics, research, and strong community engagement in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The award is named after the brilliant physicist and UC San Diego founding faculty member Professor Maria Goeppert Mayer. Mayer was a distinguished physicist whose legacy includes developing the nuclear shell model of atomic nuclei, an achievement she was later honored for when she received the Nobel Prize for physics in 1963.

 

Undergraduate Funding

The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office provides information and support to students, parents, veterans, and their families, striving to ensure all admitted students have adequate financial aid resources available to attend UC San Diego. Please see the Work Study webpage for information on seeking to apply/use work-study. Please see below, scholarships and awards that are specifically applicable to physics majors.

Eligibility:

Computation (Computer Science), Mathematics, or Physics majors based on academic merit.
Award amount and term:

A 1-year award up to $1,800.

This scholarship is managed by the UCSD Financial Aid and Scholarships Office and they are the point of contact for any questions/concerns. Students must contact that office for any questions/concerns click here to learn how to apply (the deadline is typically early March, annually).

Eligibility:

Physics majors, who plan to teach at the high school level. Preference given to students with demonstrated financial need.
Award amount and term:

A 1-year award up to $2,000.

This scholarship is managed by the UCSD Financial Aid and Scholarships Office and they are the point of contact for any questions/concerns. Students must contact that office for any questions/concerns click here to learn how to apply (the deadline is typically early March, annually). 

Eligibility:

Physics majors, who are full-time juniors or seniors in the upcoming academic year, with a 3.0+ cum GPA, demonstrated financial need, and college-level academic, campus or community service/ leadership.
Award amount and term:

A 2-year award up to $2,000 annually.

This scholarship is managed by the UCSD Financial Aid and Scholarships Office and they are the point of contact for any questions/concerns. Students must contact that office for any questions/concerns click here to learn how to apply (the deadline is typically early March, annually).

Eligibility:

Biology, Chemistry, or Physics majors, who are juniors or seniors in the upcoming academic year, with at least a 2.75 cum GPA. Must demonstrate interest in the larger world around them with leadership level involvement outside the classroom through participation in the following activities in order of preference (1) student government, (2) clubs, (3) community affairs.
Award amount and term:

A 1-year award up to $2,000.

This scholarship is managed by the UCSD Financial Aid and Scholarships Office and they are the point of contact for any questions/concerns. Students must contact that office for any questions/concerns click here to learn how to apply (the deadline is typically early March, annually).

The John Holmes Malmberg Prize is presented annually at commencement to a graduating physics student who is recognized for potential for a career in physics and a measure of experimental inquisitiveness. This prize was established in 1993 in memory of Professor Malmberg who pioneered the use of nonneutral plasmas for sophisticated tests of plasma equilibrium, wave, and transport effects. He was an involved teacher of undergraduate and graduate students and was active in departmental and campus affairs.

Graduating students are nominated by Department faculty and awards are presented at the Departmental graduation ceremony in June.

The Shaoyeh Ma Foundation and the Department of Physics presents the Shang-keng Ma Memorial Award at commencement each year to a graduating physics student who has shown exceptional ability and promise during their UC San Diego undergraduate years. The award was established in 1984 to commemorate the contributions of Professor Ma to the UC San Diego Department of Physics and to the field of theoretical condensed matter physics. The Shaoyeh Ma Foundation endowed this award in 2016 in honor of Shang-keng Ma.

Graduating students are nominated by Department faculty and awards are presented at the Departmental graduation ceremony in June.

 

Giving to UC San Diego Physics

Student fellowships like those listed above play a vital role in our ability to recruit and retain exceptional undergraduate and graduate students—the future leaders, innovators, and educators of our world. Your gift, no matter the size, makes a meaningful impact. To explore how you can invest in the future of physics at UC San Diego, please visit Giving to Physics.