Project Eligibility | Applicant Eligibility | Compensation | Apply | Recipients | Updates
In an effort to encourage UC graduate students to study policy-relevant research topics, CPL invites applications for fellowships to work on research projects using California administrative data or other CPL datasets.
The fellowship grant is normally a $10,000 stipend, but applicants may be awarded less in certain situations. Graduate students may apply for themselves, and faculty may also apply and use the fellowship grant to fund a graduate student of their choosing. Fellowships may be renewable for students making demonstrable progress, pending funding availability. Preference will be given to cross-campus and interdisciplinary research.
What Projects are Eligible?
Fellowship projects must make use of California administrative data. Check out our California Data Roadmap for a good place to start. We encourage fellows to make use of the data and agency relationships already developed by CPL, including:
State Agencies
| Department of Social Services |
| Community college system |
| Franchise Tax Board |
| Department of Justice |
| Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation |
Los Angeles agencies
| Homeless Services Authority |
| Department of Public Social Services |
| Info Hub (formerly known as Enterprise Linkages Project) |
| And more |
Other counties
| Sonoma County — linked data from several departments (health, behavioral health, homelessness, criminal justice, social services) |
| San Francisco — linked data from several departments (criminal justice, health, behavioral health) |
Other datasets
| Medicare and Medicaid data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), available under the Health Data Access Initiative (HDAI) |
| LA’s homelessness management information system (HMIS) data available under the Homelessness Research Accelerator Data Hub |
| Consumer credit data available in the University of California Consumer Credit Panel (UC-CCP) |
Importantly, student project ideas do not always align with agency priorities, and CPL cannot guarantee that any desired project will launch. But we may be helpful in getting projects off the ground. If you have questions about potential projects, reach out to gradfellowships@capolicylab.org.
Who is Eligible?
We encourage applications from graduate students currently enrolled in Masters or PhD programs at any of the UC campuses.
Faculty are eligible to submit ideas, though the fellowship will go to the graduate student who works on the selected project.
With a mission to improve the lives of a diverse population, CPL recognizes the value of diversity in everything our organization does. We especially encourage applications from students or faculty of color and members of marginalized communities.
Fellows will work independently from CPL staff. We will provide financial support and, in some cases, infrastructural support.
Applicants may be granted up to $20,000 total if they apply for continued support of an existing research project, contingent on demonstrated progress.
Compensation
Students will usually receive a stipend of $10,000, though may be awarded less in certain situations (eg, they also received a Seed Grant). Stipends will generally be arranged through their home department.
How to Apply?
Deadlines are 12pm on the following dates through the end of 2024, when funding expires. If the date falls on a weekend, applications are due the following Monday. Application review may take up to 6 weeks.
January 14th
March 31st
June 30th
September 30th
The number of fellowships available each year will vary, but will generally be about 10.
Graduate Fellowships Awarded for 2024
Anthony Gómez, UC Berkeley, for a project entitled “Bringing development to the forefront: An investigation of foster care trajectories in a sample of California adolescents.” Anthony will be using data from California’s Child Welfare Services Case Management System (CWS/CMS).
Steve Ramos, UC Berkeley, for a project entitled “The impacts of Parent PLUS access on postsecondary enrollment.” Steve will be using data from the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) and the University of California Consumer Credit Panel (UC-CCP).
Daniela Kaiser, UC Irvine, for a project entitled “School Instruction Modalities and Child Maltreatment Reporting in California During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Daniela will be using California child welfare data accessed via the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect.
Donovan Rasamoelison, UC Santa Barbara, for a project entitled “Buy now, forgiven later? Policy adoption uncertainty and personal finance: Evidence from the student loan forgiveness program.” Donovan will be using data from the University of California Consumer Credit Panel (UC-CCP).
Graduate Fellowships Awarded for 2023
Teresita Cruz Vital, UC Berkeley, for a project entitled “CADAA Estudiante Cuenta: The Effects Of The California DREAM Act Application On Undocumented Student Success.” Teresita will be using data from the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC).
Kassandra Hernandez, UC Berkeley, for a project entitled “CADAA Estudiante Cuenta: The Effects Of The California DREAM Act Application On Undocumented Student Success.” Kassandra will be using data from the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC).
Meghan Ballard (Co-PI) and Dr. Bryan Sykes (Principal Supervisor and Co-PI), UC Irvine, for a project entitled “California Racial Justice Act (CRJA) of 2020: Assessing Disparate Impact and Intent in Criminal Sex-Crime Related Cases in Los Angeles County.” Meghan and Bryan will be using data obtained from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office via a California Public Records Act (CPRA) request made by the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office
Simon Greenhill (UC Berkeley), for a project entitled “What are the health costs of noise pollution?” Simon will be using data from the California Department of Public Health and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Amalia Mejia (UC Irvine), for a project entitled “Racial Disparities of Latinos/as in Community Supervision.” Amalia will be using data from a County Probation Department.
Rucker Johnson and Joaquin Fuenzalida (UC Berkeley), for a project entitled “Synergistic Impacts of Expansions in PreK Access & School Funding on Student Success.” Rucker & Joaquin will be using data from the California Department of Education, Department of Social Services, First 5 CA, and the Office of Civil Rights.
Tiffany Taylor (UC Berkeley), for a project entitled “An Economic Analysis of Medical Consumer Credit Trends in California.”
Alexander Adia, UC Berkeley, for a project entitled “Chronic Care Management at Federally Qualified Health Centers and Potentially Preventable Utilization among Adult Medicaid Beneficiaries: A National Study.” Alexander will be using data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Meghan Ballard (Co-PI) and Dr. Bryan Sykes (Principal Supervisor and Co-PI), UC Irvine, for a project entitled “California Racial Justice Act (CRJA) of 2020: Assessing Disparate Impact and Intent in Criminal Sex-Crime Related Cases in Los Angeles County.” Meghan and Bryan will be using data obtained from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office via a California Public Records Act (CPRA) request made by the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office.
Daniela Kaiser, UC Irvine, for a project entitled “From Rights to Votes: Understanding political knowledge and mobilization via text messaging among individuals impacted by the criminal justice system.” Daniela will be using voter file data from the California Secretary of State.
Shreya Chandra, UC Berkeley, for a project entitled “Percolation of natural disaster related credit shocks through networks” co-authored with Palaash Bhargava. Shreya will be using household credit data from the University of California Consumer Credit Panel.
Steve Ramos, UC Berkeley, for a project entitled “Honey, I’m in Debt with the Kids: Examining the Effects of Parent PLUS Eligibility.” Steve will be using data from the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) and the University of California Consumer Credit Panel (UC-CCP).
Nick Gebbia, UC Berkeley, for a project entitled “Family Responses to College Financial Aid Incentives.” Nick will be using data from the California Student Aid Commission and the University of California Consumer Credit Panel.
Graduate Fellowships Awarded for 2022
Angela Gu, UC San Diego, for a project entitled “The Effect of Workers’ Compensation on Injured Workers’ Financial Well-being.” Angela will be using data from the Workers’ Compensation Information System (WCIS), the Electronic Adjudication Management System (EAMS), and the University of California Consumer Credit Panel (UC-CCP).
Shaina Sta. Cruz, PhD candidate at UC Merced, for a project entitled “Health and Human Services Utilization Among Women Victimized by Violence.” Shaina will be using data from the Life Course Dataset.
Sreeraahul Kancherla, UC Berkeley, for a project entitled “Revisiting Liquidity Provision: Unemployment Insurance Benefit Timing and Job Search.” Sreeraahul will be using data from the California Employment Development Department (EDD).
Valerie Boctor, UC Berkeley, for a project entitled “Between Recessions: Household Financial Stability and the Role of Monetary Policy.” Valerie will be using data from the University of California Consumer Credit Panel (UC-CCP).
Sarah Papich, UC Santa Barbara, for a project entitled “Effects of Buy Now, Pay Later on Financial Well-Being.” Sarah will be using data from University of California Consumer Credit Panel (UC-CCP).
Igor Geyn, UCLA, for a project entitled “Do college subsidies make California students more active citizens?” co-authored with Daniel Firoozi. Igor and Daniel will be using data from the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC).
TJ Hedin, UCLA, for a project entitled “The Effect of Unconditional Cash Transfers to Displaced Workers on Labor Market Outcomes: An Analysis of the Lost Wages Assistance Program.” TJ will be using data from California’s Employment Development Department (EDD).
Graduate Fellowships Awarded for 2021
Christopher Giamarino, a PhD student at UCLA, for a project entitled “A services not sweeps approach: A spatial ethnography of homelessness and policing in Los Angeles.” Christopher will be using data from LA’s homelessness management information system (HMIS) available under the Homelessness Research Accelerator Data Hub.
Eva Lyubich, UC Berkeley, for her project entitled “The Relationship Between Energy Burden, Economic Insecurity, and Race” (also awarded a Seed Grant). Eva will be using data from the California Public Utility Commission, California Department of Social Services, and the UC Consumer Credit Panel.
Zachary Sauers, UCLA, for his project entitled “The Relationship Between Student Debt and Urban Relocation.” Zachary will be using data from the California Department of Education and UC Consumer Credit Panel.
Nicole Perales, PhD candidate at UC Berkeley, for a project entitled “Program Effectiveness in California’s Child Welfare System.”
Woongchan Jeon, PhD Candidate at UC Santa Barbara, for a project entitled “The distributional impacts of wildfires on household balance sheets in the Western United States.’ Woongchan also received a CPL Seed Grant.
Sandy Sum, PhD student at UC Santa Barbara, for a project entitled “Groundwater contamination and adverse health outcomes in California.”
Aria Golestani, PhD student at UC Irvine, for a project entitled “Silenced: Consequences of the Nuisance Property Ordinances.”
Receive Updates
This program and other opportunities are promoted via the CPL newsletter www.capolicylab.org/newsletter-signup
Questions?
Reach out to gradfellowships@capolicylab.org.