Tuition and Fees The University of California charges both fees and out-of-state tuition. California residents pay only fees; non-residents and international students pay fees and tuition; however, most non-residents are able to establish residency after one year. All graduate students must also pay for health insurance ($721/quarter) unless they can provide proof of existing coverage. Total fees and health insurance for residents are approximately $11,553/year. Non-resident fees, health insurance, and tuition are approximately $26,589/year.
Click here for detailed information on fees: If you are currently not a California resident but attended high school in California for at least three years and graduated from a California high school, you may be eligible for in-state rates. Visit the registrar’s website for more information about establishing residency for fee purposes. Annual non-resident tuition is reduced by 100 percent for graduate doctoral students who have advanced to candidacy, subject to the understanding that (a) a graduate doctoral student may receive the reduced nonresident tuition rate for a maximum of three years, and (b) any such student who continues to be enrolled or who re-enrolls after receiving the reduced tuition for three years will be charged the full nonresident tuition rate in effect at that time. An up-to-date graduate-student cost budget, including living expenses, can be found on the UCSB Financial Aid pages.
Financing Your Education In addition to the information below, you should review the financial information available on the Graduate Division’s financial information pages. In general, the Bren School does not admit PhD students unless there are sources of funding in place or a high probability that there will be, primarily in the form of fellowships or graduate student researcher positions (covered below).
University-Based Fellowships New Students All PhD students should submit their application and supporting materials by December 15 so that they are eligible to be nominated for University-based Fellowships for new students. Each year, the school is invited by the Graduate Division to nominate a few candidates (typically 5-8) for these awards. A central faculty committee comprising representatives from many departments on campus reviews nominations and selects award recipients on the basis of the quality of their previous academic work, the evidence of their ability to do research and other creative accomplishments, and their promise of becoming a productive scholar. Central fellowships provide funds to support living and educational expenses associated with graduate study. Some fellowships can come in the form of a 4- to 6-year guarantee of support. Others provide Continuing Students There are also a number of central fellowship awards for continuing graduate students. Some of these are based on nomination by the school and review by a central faculty fellowship committee. For other central fellowships, continuing students apply directly to the Graduate Division.
School-Based Awards Recruitment Incentives Every year, the Bren School receives some funds from the Graduate Division, which are known as block grants and are used as recruitment incentive awards in the form of payment for fees, non-resident tuition, and/or stipends. The Bren School has additional funds available for recruitment incentive awards, thanks to the generosity of a number of donors who have provided the school with gifts and/or endowments to be used for student prizes and fellowships. This support is awarded on the basis of merit, and recipients generally have high GPAs and GRE scores and show professional and academic promise. PhD students who submit their Bren School applications no later than December 15 are automatically considered for these school-based awards. No additional application is required. School-based awards generally provide, at most, full support for one year of study and may be a combination of block grant and teaching assistant positions. Students and their advisors must work together to secure extramural sources of support to meet the student’s remaining financial needs. UCSB abides by the Council of Graduate Schools resolution stating that prospective students are under no obligation to accept a financial award until April 15. Click here to see a PDF version of the resolution. Fee Fellowships Each year, the Bren School receives a special allocation of funds from the Graduate Division to be used for Need-Based Fee Fellowships for Continuing Students. Students are invited to apply in spring quarter of their first year. Awards are generally made for one quarter of fee payment, and recipients are selected primarily on the basis of need. Most PhD students have their fees paid from other sources (primarily research grants) and therefore are not eligible for, and do not need, to apply for fee fellowships. This fellowship is available, however, to those who do have need.
Teaching Assistantships Because the Bren School does not have an undergraduate program, we have limited teaching assistant (TA) positions—a total of 15 1-quarter 50-percent time positions to assist with MESM classes. We encourage all our PhD students to TA at least once to gain valuable experience. However, PhD students cannot rely on Bren TA positions to fully fund their education. In fact, the majority of PhD students TA for Bren classes once a year at most, partly because of the limited number available and partly because the multidisciplinary nature of the MESM program is such that most PhD students are qualified to TA in only a few of the MESM classes. While TA positions may meet a portion of PhD students’ funding needs, fellowships and/or graduate student researcher positions must make up the balance. Some PhD students secure TA positions in other departments at the University. UCSB's Academic Personnel website provides contact information for all departments that have TA positions available. However, TA positions in other departments are not abundant, and each department gives first priority to its own students, so you should not count on fully financing your education through such positions. Students should apply directly to departments for available TA positions. The most abundant source of TA positions for Bren students has been the Environmental Studies Program (ES), a large undergraduate program in the College of Letters and Sciences. Since ES does not have a graduate program, it employs graduate students from other departments to cover its teaching needs. Typically, in late April or early May, the ES Program posts an application for TA positions for the upcoming academic year. The deadline for submission is usually near the end of May. Teaching assistants earn a salary of ~$5,200/quarter (for half-time employment). Student TAs who work quarter-time or more will also earn payment of the Graduate Students Health Insurance Premium (GSHIP), as well as partial payment of fees (all but about $220).
Graduate Student Researcher A graduate student researcher (GSR) is a graduate student who assists a faculty member with scholarly research and is paid from extramural funds that the faculty member has secured through funding agencies. Often, a GSR collaborates in the publication of research results, as determined by supervising faculty members. As such, GSRs are selected for their high achievement and promise or for their productive scholarship. GSRs are not assigned teaching, administrative, or general assistance duties. The number of GSRs available each year depends upon the level of extramural support that has been secured through proposals submitted by the faculty. GSR positions are arranged on an individual basis between the student and a faculty member who is the Principal Investigator on a research grant, and generally are not “applied for” as one would a teaching assistantship. The School expects that students will work with their faculty advisor on research proposals to secure this form of support if it is not already available. Graduate student researchers earn a salary of ~$4,000 to $5,000/quarter for half-time employment, depending on their qualifications. Employment as a GSR for quarter-time or more includes payment of the Graduate Students Health Insurance Premium. Employment as a 35%-time or more GSR generally also includes payment of fees and nonresident tuition (dependent on funding agency limitations).
Free Application for Federal Student Aid The Bren School expects all prospective and current domestic students to submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is required if you want to be considered for any federal, University, or Bren-based financial support. The FAFSA is used to compile a “need analysis” to determine all financial support packages, including grants, fellowships, work-study, and loans. The FAFSA is available at any college or university financial aid office within the U.S., or it can be filled out online. The application deadline for the subsequent Fall Quarter is March 2.
Federal Financial Aid U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens may apply for need-based loans and work-study awards through the Financial Aid Office. Eligible non-citizens are those who are in the U.S. for other than a temporary purpose. You meet this requirement if you have an I-151 Alien Registration Card, an I-94 Arrival-Departure Report Card stamped "refugee" or "applicant for adjustment," or have been granted asylum in the U.S. These financial aid programs are based entirely on demonstrated financial need. Students' eligibility for aid is determined by comparing the "Estimated Student Budget" with the individual student's actual resources. Assistance from the Financial Aid Office is usually offered as a combination package of work study and direct loans. At UCSB, financial aid in the form of federal work-study and federal subsidized and unsubsidized direct loans are handled by the UCSB Financial Aid Office, not by individual units, such as the Bren School. As such, we can only report to you the financial support, if any, that we are able to offer to you. You will need to work with the Financial Aid office to get information about aid available to you through the other programs listed above.
Funding Resources Numerous public and private fellowships and scholarships are available to graduate students. The Graduate Division website has list of resources for helping to identify extramural funding. The Bren School also maintains a list of potential funding opportunities that are brought to our attention by students in the environmental field. Prospective Students - Phd | Excellence | Research Expertise | Program Details | Admissions |
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