2025 Graduate Student Research Grants
The UCSC Center for Labor and Community (CLC) is a dynamic new hub for high-impact research and policy advocacy on issues related to the world of work in the Central Coast region of California and beyond. The CLC will award research grants of up to $7,500 for UCSC graduate students working on innovative, original research projects focused on labor rights, labor subjectivities, labor markets, labor movements, and/or labor-community coalitions and organizing, in domestic, international or comparative contexts. Proposals that are interdisciplinary, collaborative, and/or involve community-engaged research methods will be especially welcomed. Students who have not received the grant in the past will be prioritized.
Funds can be used for local, domestic, and international travel, research supplies, and services to facilitate distinct data collection techniques, including archival research, fieldwork, and surveying. The funds should be spent in Summer 2025, but no later than the end of Fall 2025 quarter (Dec 12, 2025).
Selection Criteria will include:
- Relevance to the core goals and commitments of the CLC
- Originality of the research contribution
- Strength of rationale
- Clarity of proposed activities
- Appropriateness of project scope and of budget projections
Eligibility
Any graduate student in good academic standing at UC Santa Cruz is eligible to apply.
Requirements
To apply, students must demonstrate that labor is a primary field of their research project and they must be in good academic standing. Students must submit a four-page proposal, a CV, and an itemized budget. Applicants must also arrange for a faculty recommendation (preferably from the students’ dissertation advisor), to be sent directly to the CLC by the application deadline.
Finally, recipients of the grants will complete a post-award survey/report and agree to present their research findings and experience at a CLC research event in Spring of 2026 in the form of a poster or a panel/slideshow presentation.
How to apply
Please prepare the following in PDF form.
- Four-page Proposal (1.5 space, 1-inch margins, 12 pt font – approx. 1,500 words total), including:
- Project abstract (200 words or less)
- Project description, including discussion of:
- research activities, rationale for activities, significance for the field of labor studies and labor movement, and timeline;
- the organizations and/or individuals will be involved (and in what capacities), and their relevant expertise or areas of work;
- intended outcomes of the research;
- the relevance of the project to the goals and commitments of the Center for Labor and Community;
- Note: if the research involves human subjects, applicants are strongly encouraged to obtain IRB approval prior to submission or provide a statement of plan and timeline to secure IRB approval.
- Detailed budget for up to $7,500
- An abbreviated CV of all key personnel, if applicable (please put all CVS together in one PDF document)
Items 1-3 should be submitted by the applicant, using the Grad Student Grant Application Form
- Faculty letter of recommendation (preferably from your primary advisor) that:
- confirms the graduate student is in good academic standing;
- comments on the feasibility and relevance of the project to the students’ academic training;
- comments on the degree that the proposed project aligns with the Center for Labor and Community’s research areas of interest.
The recommendation letter should be submitted by the faculty member, using the GSR Grant Faculty Recommendation Form
Reporting
Reporting is due within 30 days of the project end-date. Grant recipients will be required to complete a post-award survey that describes the outcomes of the project, including any deviations from the proposed project, and proposed next steps, and a budget report describing all expenditures.
Acknowledgement
Recipients are expected to acknowledge support from the Center for Labor and Community in any publications or other research products linked to the sponsored research.
Deadline
Completed applications (including the faculty recommendation letter) are due no later than May 1, 2025
If you have any questions, please contact Vicente Vega, Administrative Research Coordinator of the Center for Labor and Community, at vvega@ucsc.edu.