Student Eligibility & Program Commitments
Student Eligibility
The Haas Scholars Program is open to undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley, who meet the following criteria:
- are expecting to graduate in Fall 2025 or Spring/Summer 2026
- are eligible to receive need-based financial aid* and are undocumented, permanent residents, or US citizens**
- have maintained a Berkeley GPA of 3.450 or above***
- have a sincere commitment and ability to be part of an interdisciplinary senior capstone experience and build a mutually supportive cohort
* This need-based aid does not need to be from the US government.
** For US Citizens, permanent residents, and AB540 students: Students with a Student Aid Index of less than $26,000 are eligible to apply. You can find your Student Aid Index (SAI) on the “$ My Finances” -> View Awards screen on your profile at calcentral.berkeley.edu. If in doubt, ask the Program Manager to check your financial aid screen, or send a PDF of the screen showing your SAI. For international students: International students (F-1, J-1, and other international students not eligible for US financial aid) are not eligible for the program.
** We round up from 3.450 – firm cutoff — and we look at your UCB GPA as of the application deadline. Students with pending “I” grades on their record are strongly encouraged to finish the incomplete work by the application deadline, as failure to do will work against you in the selection process.
Student Commitments
Students who are selected as Haas Scholars are expected to make the senior capstone experience a main academic priority during the fellowship year. The Scholar’s Contract below details the commitments that Haas Scholars must make in order to remain eligible for the program. Please review it carefully before you apply!
Here are the major items you should be aware of:
Events (dates are for 2025-2026 cohort):
- New Scholars Reception, April 25, 2025.
- Haas Scholars Orientation Retreat, May 19–23, 2025. You will be required to attend in-person.
- Full-time research throughout summer, May 27–August 15, 2025
- Haas Scholars Fall Seminar, every Friday, August 29–December 5, 12-2 pm; 1 unit credit (but you may take it for no credit as well)
- Haas Scholars Spring Writing Group, every Friday 12-2 pm; 1 unit credit
- Haas Scholars conference, April 2026
And tasks:
- For both semesters in which you are progressing on your project and are receiving the academic year stipend, you must sign up for 3+ units supervised by your mentor to carry out your project (this is usually an honors thesis, other times an independent study, and sometimes one semester of each)
- You will need to make a plan approved by your mentor, report on your progress, and turn in receipts in early fall and late fall 2025 and at the end of the spring 2026.
- You will turn in all remaining receipts (or return unspent funds), plus your final product (usually your thesis), by May 15 2025, the last day of finals in Spring 2026.