About The Scholarship
In May 2021, SERC secured funding from The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) to establish a $10,000 recurring scholarship for three years to help bridge institutional gaps in support of environmentalists working at the intersection of communities of color and the environmental field. This scholarship fund was renewed in May 2023 through 2026.
$2,000 scholarships will be awarded to 5 students selected by the Scholarship Review Committee.
Scholarship Goals
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Bridge institutional gaps in resources and funding for students to increase retention, and build radically inclusive social and environmental justice spaces on campus
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Financially support passionate students working in the intersection of communities of color and the environmental field at UC Berkeley
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Re-envision what a community scholarship can look like by eliminating barriers to entry and focusing on healing, joy, and growth rather than trauma. We recognize that students are frequently asked to exclusively call upon their experiences with trauma and violence in applications. We aim to resist that tokenization by making space for applicants to consider their identities from the lens of radical healing, joy, and growth.
Applying to the Scholarship
This scholarship has a one-round application and deliberation process. Please use the timeline below to stay up-to-date with your application!
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Applications Open: Septemember 2025
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Applications Close: November 2025
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Winners Finalized by: Late December 2025
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Scholarships Processed by: Late December 2025
2024-2025 Prompts
The Scholarship Review Committee would like to reiterate that we HIGHLY ENCOURAGE applicants to only share what they are comfortable with for the application review. In the spirit of this scholarship, we ask that applicants utilize the questions as an opportunity to express their own experiences with joy and hope.
Please see the example prompts from our 2024-2025 scholarship:
Question 1
Describe your community/support systems (socially, emotionally, financially, etc.). How do you give back to/nourish your communities and loved ones?
Question 2
What does environmentalism mean in your culture(s) and how does this apply to your view of environmental justice? How do your cultural values show up in your work/life?
Question 3
Thinking back on your inherited values and your current experience with environmental justice, what would you like to pass down to future generations? What is your hope for the world they will live in?
We accept multimedia answers for this question. It is not required, but you may answer this question with a photo, collage, poem, video, or essay. Written responses must be under 2,500 characters and digital media may not be longer than 2 minutes. You can include a link or email it to serc@berkeley.edu.
***Please note: For our anonymous review process, names and identifying information are kept separate from your essay responses. If you craft a multimedia submission, please be sure not to include your name within the submission. Thank you! Questions? Email serc@berkeley.edu.
Eligibility
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Registered UC Berkeley student (both undergraduate and graduate)
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Passionate about Environmentalism (this does not have to be your field of study)
