Donald Strauss Scholarship
Award: $15,000, which consists of:
- funding a public service project ($8,000)
- tuition, fees, books, room & board for the applicant(s) ($7,000)
Number of awards: 10-15
UC San Diego deadline to be considered for nomination: New for 2024 -- no nomination needed
Agency deadline: typically late January (next deadline: January 27, 2025)
- Has completed at least one year of college and will not graduate before June 2026
- GPA in the upper 1/3 of your class
- Has a desire to “make a difference” in local, regional, national, or international communities
- Two letters of recommendation
- Optional: if working with a partner organization, will also need to submit a letter of support from that organization
- Public service project proposal, up to 4 pages including budget and timeline
- Personal essay
- One-page Resume - With current and past public service
- Transcript
- Demonstrated interest in public service
- Outstanding leadership potential
- Submitted an innovative public service project proposal
Writing Support -- Students often request a review of the application proposal. Here are some resources to help you with any part of the writing process, from brainstorm to final review before submission:
Other Resources -- Students pursuing public service projects often ask about other resources they can look into that may be able to support public service projects. Here are some places to start:
Apply to Donald Strauss Scholarship
The Donald Strauss Scholarship no longer requires a nomination from the UC San Diego Campus Representative. If applicants would like to review the requirements and meet with a campus representative before applying, please contact URH staff member, Dr. Sophia Tsai Neri (see contact info below).
Apply for the Strauss Scholarship
Sophia Fang
Data Science major Sophia Fang won the Strauss Scholarship for Public Service. With her background in nonprofit work and program management, she created hands-on learning opportunities for UCSD students and provided pro-bono digital design solutions for nonprofit organizations. Click below to learn more about Sophia's experiences.
Meet Sophia
Audrey Bogosian
Audrey won the Strauss Scholarship, a scholarship that provides support to students to pursue a service-learning project, in 2021. Click below to learn more about her project and time in Armenia!
Meet Audrey Bogosian
