Competitive Edge

The Graduate Division offers Competitive Edge as a summer transition program for selected incoming graduate students. This six week program is designed to give selected graduate students an opportunity to begin research prior to the start of their graduate program and to acclimate to the campus environment. Competitive Edge is motivated by the campus's commitment to be fully inclusive and supportive of all students, and by the belief that a diverse graduate student body enhances the quality of the educational experience for all students. This year's program took place virtually from August 3 through September 11, 2020.

Benefits

Advanced introduction to UC San Diego faculty
Advanced introduction to key UC San Diego campus resources
Early move-in to graduate campus housing
Acquisition of critical writing, teaching, and communication skills through workshops and lectures
Early mentorship from UC San Diego faculty and peer mentors
A community-like experience with support from a peer cohort and the UC San Diego Graduate Division
Summer stipend of $4,000

Eligibility

Priority is first given to students receiving a Graduate Division Diversity Fellowship (San Diego and Cota Robles, SEED, STARS, Tribal Membership Initiative)
Departments may sponsor participation into this program for students who did not receive a Graduate Division Diversity Fellowship. Participants do not directly apply to the Competitive Edge program.
All participants must be doctoral or MFA students entering their first year of graduate study at UC San Diego.
Student must be a US citizen, Permanent Resident, or AB540 eligible.

Requirements

Participants must commit to a full-time, six week summer program prior to their enrollment as a doctoral or MFA student at UC San Diego. Commitment includes 30-40 hours of research per week, along with readiness workshops, lectures, and other preparatory events.

Program Content

In addition to the research experience, participants are required to attend workshops to acclimate them to the campus environment. Workshop facilitators are members of the UC San Diego community and serve as faculty, staff or continuing graduate students in various academic fields. In addition to the workshops, participants are expected to attend an orientation at the beginning and a luncheon at the conclusion of the program.

Summer Faculty Mentorship

Each Competitive Edge student is expected to work with a summer faculty mentor from their respective departments. The faculty mentor will provide guidance on a research project, new or existing. The project does not have to be completed during the 6-week program, which allows the scope of the project to span the entirety of the summer quarter, through the Fall quarter, or beyond.

At minimum, meetings between Competitive Edge Fellows and their respective mentors should occur every other week. Ultimately, this depends on the nature of the project, the amount of oversight each student requires, and the level of mentorship the faculty member is able to provide.

In addition to research, the faculty mentor can provide an introduction and guidance to the department, as well as any tips on how to make the most of the summer, first quarter, and first year of their graduate experience.

2020 Fellows

2019 Fellows

	Kelechi Agwuncha MFA Student, Visual Arts
	Sara Almalla PhD Student, Ethnic Studies
	Anthony Anderson PhD Student, Political Science
	Mia Borzello PhD Student, Cognitive Science
	Marvic Carrillo Terrazas PhD Student, Biomedical Sciences
	Matthew Carter PhD Student, Linguistics
	Ashley Cronk PhD Student, Materials Science
	Nathaniel James PhD Student, Anthropology
	Reed Kendall PhD Student, Education
	Shai Nielson PhD Student, Linguistics
	Joseph Riley MFA Student, Art History
	Chiaki Santiago PhD Student, Neuroscience
	Melonie Vaughn PhD Student, Neuroscience
	Hannah White PhD Student, Education

2018 Fellows

	David Ochoa Cadena PhD Student, Bioengineering
	Thien Hoang Doan MFA Student, Visual Arts
	Jose Armando Fernandez Guerrero PhD Student, Linguistics
	Jennifer Ellen Fromm PhD Student, Mechanical Engineering
	Incamu Ray Huaute PhD Student, Linguistics
	Sanaa Sameena Khan PhD Student, Education
	Julian Gonzalo Kosacki PhD Student, Bioengineering
	Rochelle Alexia McFee PhD Student, Ethnic Studies
	Taylor Sherisse McKie PhD Student, Oceanography
	Monica Newton Molgaard PhD Student, Education
	Lauren Ann-Ru Oey PhD Student, Psychology
	Angel Payan PhD Student, Chemistry
	Meghan J Rossi PhD Student, Neuroscience
	Carlos Anthony Vasquez PhD Student, Chemistry

Please direct inquiries about this program to: competitiveedge@ucsd.edu