CALS maintains a number of academic scholarships and grant opportunities to support students in their academic endeavors. These opportunities are described below. Please thoroughly review the descriptions and eligibility criteria for each opportunity before applying.
In addition, CALS reocgnizes a small number of graduate and undergraduate students who have demonstrated excellence both in and out of the classroom through its college-wide academic merit awards. Awards are selected based on a review of faculty nominations. Faculty are encouraged to nominate students for these annual awards.
Following is a list of all scholarships, grants and awards administered by CALS. Questions may be directed to CALS Student Services at calsstudentservices@uvm.edu.
Student Academic Merit Awards
Alexander Kende Academic Merit Award (Undergraduate)
This award recognizes an outstanding CALS junior with a demonstrated interest in medicine or biomedical research. The award is named in memory of Alex Kende, a former CALS student who graduated from the Biological Sciences program at the top of his class.
Nominations deadline extended to Friday, March 10, 2023
Lawrence K. Forcier Academic Merit Award (Undergraduate)
This award is given to an outstanding graduating CALS senior who has distinguished themselves through academic achievement and outstanding service.
Nomination deadline extended to Friday, March 10, 2023
CALS Graduate Research Excellence Award (Graduate)
This award recognizes two graduate students - one master's degree candidate and one doctoral degree candidate - who are excelling in research and scholarly accomplishments.
Nominations due Friday, March 31, 2023
Outstanding Leadership and Engagement Award for Undergraduate Students of Color
This award recognizes a student of color enrolled in the UVM College of Agriculture and Life Sciences who has distinguished themselves through leadership and engagement in and/or outside of the classroom including participation in research, internships, student clubs, study abroad, or outstanding service to the community.
Nominations due Tuesday, April 11, 2023
CALS Summer Research Funding
Gilman T. Dedrick Award - Summer Research Internship in Diversified Agriculture
The Dedrick Award supports an undergraduate student to conduct summer research in diversified agriculture. The award shall be used to fund the recipient's research which corresponds with a diversified agriculture topic with a preference for topics that involve animal-related projects. The award provides $2500 to fund the recipient's research.
Application deadline: Friday, April 14, 2023 by 5:00 PM EST
Agroecology Extension (AX) Summer Research Fellowship
Open to undergraduates who are US citizens/nationals, from any college/university. The AX Summer Research Fellowship pairs students with unique, 10-week long research experiences at sites near Burlington, Vermont. Awards provide a $4000 stipend, on-campus housing (or housing allowance for UVM students with a lease), and all research expenses.
Application deadline: Friday, March 3, 2023 by 4:00 PM EST
CALS Life Sciences Leadership Program
The CALS Life Science Leadership Program aims to engage and support students who advance diversity in the life sciences (underrepresented racial groups, LGBTQ+, first-generation) to work with CALS faculty on summer research projects. The program goal is to provide opportunities for faculty-student teams to work on mentoring and leadership development across cultural and identity differences. The award provides a $4,000 stipend plus $500* expense budget (*may be added to stipend).
Application deadline: Friday, March 24, 2023
Food SURF
Sponsored by the Agriculture Research Services of the USDA and hosted by the Food Systems Research Center at UVM, this award is for scholars who are proposing research centering on the food system. There will be 10 awards of $4500 to students and $1500 research allotment direct to the faculty sponsor.
Application deadline: Friday, March 24, 2023
NSF / UVM REU Program: Crop Diversity and Food & Income Security in East Africa
UVM is the host institution for a National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored research program for undergraduate students. The program is open to undergraduates from any U.S. institution and brings students to UVM for an 8-week summer experience conducting hands-on interdisciplinary research on the social, ecological and economic contributions of crop diversity to nutrition and farmer livelihoods in Uganda. The program provides a stipend of $4,800 and covers housing costs and round-trip travel expenses.
Application deadline: February 15, 2023
Undergraduate Academic Scholarships
Richard D. Aplin Scholarship Fund
About
In the early l970's, Cumberland Farms Dairy, Inc. established a scholarship in the name of Richard D. Aplin, Sr. honoring him for contributions to the New England dairy industry. The income from that endowment is available to financially assist eligible students in CALS.
Scholarship Criteria
Preference will be given to but not limited to students enrolled in dairy marketing, dairy technology or farm business management. Students must be an undergraduate in good academic standing and be eligible for financial assistance with UVM's Financial Aid Office. The scholarship may be awarded to more than one student.
Application deadline: Friday, March 31, 2023
Edith T. and Charles Dana Bennett Foundation Scholarship Fund
About
In 1974 the Foundation for American Agriculture established a scholarship fund at the University of Vermont's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The award is given in the name of Edith T. and Charles Dana Bennett.
Scholarship Criteria
To be eligible, students must be in good academic standing and qualify financially according to UVM's Financial Aid Office. Students must exhibit leadership qualities and be active in non-athletic campus activities. The scholarship may be awarded to more than one student and is for undergraduate students currently enrolled in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Application deadline: Friday, March 31, 2023
Richard H. Holzer Memorial Scholarship Fund
About
This scholarship was established by the Holzer family in 1968 in memory of Richard H. Holzer who was killed in an automobile accident before the start of his sophomore year in the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences.
Scholarship Criteria
Scholarship awards are available to CALS students who have financial need as defined by UVM's Financial Aid Office and exhibit qualities of leadership and good citizenship as members of the UVM campus community.
Application deadline: Friday, March 31, 2023
New England Farm and Garden Association Scholarship
Scholarship Criteria
To be eligible for the New England Farm and Garden Association Scholarship, a student must be enrolled as an undergraduate student in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Vermont, have financial need and meet the following criteria:
- Be enrolled in a degree program with an academic concentration in at least one of the following subjects: environmental sciences, agriculture, arboriculture, conservation, forestry, landscape design, animal science, wildlife biology, oceanography;
- Preference will be given to those students with a proven commitment to the environment and our natural surroundings, and a strong track record of extracurricular activities that demonstrate the student’s commitment to his or her field of study, as determined by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences;
- Students will be eligible to receive a renewal of their scholarship award until they graduate from their undergraduate degree program provided that they remain enrolled at the UVM in one of the aforementioned academic concentrations and maintain the minimum GPA requirement of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Application deadline: Friday, March 31, 2023
Other UVM Scholarships
UVM has a number of additional scholarships available to university students. See a complete list of scholarships on the UVM Student Financial Services website.
Professional Development Grants (Grad + Undergrad)
FUSE (Fund for Undergraduate Excellence) Grant for Co-Curricular Activities
The Fund for Undergraduate Student Excellence (FUSE) is a grant program funded by supporters of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. A limited number of FUSE grants of up to $250.00 (to be matched by the student’s academic department) will be awarded by the Dean’s Office (as funding allows) to selected undergraduate students in CALS to enhance and enrich their undergraduate degree program through participation in a curricular and/or co-curricular activity that is outside of a student’s regular course load. Examples include special research projects, conferences, professional meetings, alternative spring or winter breaks, and leadership development seminars. Funding is for non-credit bearing activities.
Deadline: Applications are considered on a rolling basis.
Eligibility:
- Must be a part-time or full-time undergraduate student within CALS.
- Must be pursuing a major in CALS.
- Must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5.
- Have at least a 100% match by the department and/or the principle investigator.
Conditions:
- Those students who have not received a FUSE grant will be given priority consideration over those who have already received one.
- A student may receive only one FUSE grant in any one given year while pursuing his/her undergraduate degree.
- The same project will not be funded more than once.
Requirements:
- FUSE grant must be used before completion of the undergraduate degree program;
- Grant recipients must agree to provide a written summary of the learning outcomes upon completion of the FUSE funded activity to the Dean’s Office.
Graduate Student Enhancement Fund
The Graduate Student Enhancement Fund (GSEF) in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is made possible by the generous donations of alumni and friends of the College. These funds are allocated at the Dean’s discretion to assist in defraying expenses of those graduate students in the College who are invited to present posters, abstracts, and/or papers at a regional, national, or international society meeting. Donations to this fund vary year to year and awards are granted based on availability of money in the fund.
To provide equity in the process, only one award per graduate student is made in the academic calendar year. In addition, no more than three awards per department can be made in an academic calendar year.
Deadline: Applications are considered on a rolling basis.
Criteria
Awarding of GSEF funds are based on the following criteria:
- The fund has a $500 (lifetime) maximum award per person and requires at least a 100% match by the department and/or the principle investigator.
- A request for this fund must be accompanied by the invitation to speak or present at the annual society meeting.
- The application must have a copy of the abstract for the project to be presented.
- The applicant must be a full time graduate student in CALS.