Receive funding towards your program at UC Santa Cruz through financial aid and scholarship opportunities for international students. Find options available to you below!
Financing
UCSC Financial Aid: International students are not eligible for need-based federal aid, since it is reserved for U.S. citizens and permanent residents. However, the Financial Aid website has databases of university or private scholarships (including non-California resident scholarships), grants, and loans that may be open to international students.
NAFSA: Association of International Educators: This organization has helpful resources on how to search for financial aid for your studies in the United States.
MPOWER Financing: According to US News & World Report, the best International Student Loan in 2019
UCSC Scholarships
The Sara Matthews Scholarship
Awarded by ISSP, this scholarship is granted to deserving undergraduate international students of Sophomore or Junior standing at UCSC with a 3.5 GPA or Higher. This scholarship is to help with educational costs. Selected UCSC international students will receive a scholarship ranging from $1,000-$5,000. Applications and supporting materials must be submitted electronically.
Applications are closed. Next application period will open in February 2025.
Postgraduate Scholarships
Fulbright Program
Overview
The Fulbright Foreign Student Program enables graduate students, young professionals and artists from abroad to study and conduct research in the United States. The Fulbright Foreign Student Program operates in more than 160 countries worldwide. Approximately 4,000 foreign students receive Fulbright scholarships each year.
The Fulbright Foreign Student Program is administered by binational Fulbright Commissions/Foundations or U.S. Embassies. All Foreign Student Program applications are processed by these offices.
Application information is available on the how to apply section of the Fulbright website.
Student Experiences at UCSC
Other Scholarships
Global Citizen Scholarship
The Global Citizen Scholarship scholarship offered through MPower Financing is a scholarship program, which is available to international students attending an accredited U.S. institution. To learn more or start your application, please visit mpowerfinancing.com.
Deserve
Deserve offers one of the few dedicated scholarships for international students in the U.S. Six undergraduate and six graduate students will be selected to receive $5,000 each toward their studies. The scholarship is open to holders of the F-1, J-1, or M-1 visa. To learn more or start your application, please visit https://www.deserve.com/legal/scholarships.
Study California
The Study California Scholarship will be awarded each fall to three incoming (new) international students planning to enroll at a Study California member institution. The amount of each award will vary from year-to-year but will be no less than $1,000 per student. To learn more or start your application, please visit studycalifornia.us.
IELTS USA – Andrea Scott International Graduate Student Scholarship
This scholarship is through IELTS and is for Graduate students who are admitted to Fall 2022. The scholarship is $5,000 (payable in U.S. dollars only) annual tuition scholarship renewable for 3 years pending good academic standing. To learn more or to start your application, please visit https://go.ieltsusa.org/AndreaScottInternationalGraduateScholarship.