New fellowship opportunities are available to undergraduate and graduate students from underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields at UC Merced, thanks to the university’s recent acceptance as a member in the National GEM Consortium.
GEM is a partnership between universities and industry with the common goal of increasing diversity in the STEM workforce, particularly in the areas of engineering and applied science. Industry and universities jointly recruit high-quality, underrepresented students for graduate studies in STEM.
Based on student qualifications and career goals, GEM awards fellowships to support students throughout their graduate studies. In addition, industry partners guarantee the students a paid summer internship during their graduate studies.
“GEM is a highly prestigious consortium of universities and industries,” Vice Provost and Graduate Dean Marjorie Zatz said. “It seeks to address the shortage of highly qualified students in STEM fields entering graduate school, and especially top students from underrepresented backgrounds."
Financial support can often be the deciding factor for such students when considering graduate school, so GEM aims to remove that from the equation while also helping students connect with major employers. There’s also a benefit for the university, which gains access to GEM’s database of high-achieving students and the potential to partner with industry leaders.
Mark Matsumoto, who recently became dean of UC Merced’s School of Engineering, was involved with GEM in his previous position at UC Riverside and has seen the benefits the consortium can provide to students and universities alike.
“GEM helps students not only financially, but perhaps more importantly, helps them pursue advanced degrees at outstanding research universities and then connects them to future career opportunities in industry,” Matsumoto said. “We are very honored to be the newest member of the GEM Consortium, and this will help us to attract the very best engineering and applied science graduate students to UC Merced.”
