The Berkeley Engineering Design Scholar Program is a 10-week summer research program open to all continuing UC Berkeley undergraduates in the College of Engineering or with relevant experience in design innovation. This program aims to increase diversity in the field of design and provide underrepresented students with research experience they may not have had otherwise. The Scholars actively contribute to the growing design ecosystem at UC Berkeley—participating in seminars, workshops, and special events with members of the design community, including their cohort of fellow undergraduate Design Scholars, graduate students, and faculty. In addition, they learn and practice critical skills of making through the Maker Pass program. Scholars also receive a $6,500 stipend. The per week commitment will fluctuate, but students should prepare to be able to commit at least 20 hours/week towards research.
During the program, each Scholar is matched with a faculty advisor based on their interests, and conducts faculty-guided research in areas such as Engineering Design, Design Methodology, Human Computer Interaction, and Data-driven Design. If there is mutual interest from both the Scholar and faculty advisor, they may have the option of continuing their research beyond the summer.
The program is led by Professor Kosa Goucher-Lambert (Mechanical Engineering), with additional mentorship and project supervision from Professor Hannah Stuart (Mechanical Engineering), and other UC Berkeley faculty.
We are offering the Berkeley Engineering Design Scholar Program as an in-person, on-campus experience in summer 2025, starting June 2nd and ending August 8th. For more information, please watch this recording of one of our information sessions that includes a previous alumni of the program.
Eligibility Requirements
Participants must be matriculated Berkeley students during the program. Students are also expected to be able to participate in person in program activities, as the Design Scholar program will be run on the Berkeley campus.
The Design Scholar program is open to all continuing Berkeley undergraduate students in the College of Engineering, although freshmen are encouraged to wait until their sophomore or junior years to apply. Continuing Berkeley students outside of the College of Engineering with a track record of experience in design will also be considered. Student veterans, persons with disabilities, women, transfer students, and students of color are especially encouraged to apply.
Selection Criteria
Applicants should demonstrate their broad range of relevant skills, desire to learn about cutting-edge research in engineering design, and commitment to advancing equity and inclusion in the Berkeley engineering design community. Ideal candidates will have experience and/or interest in engineering design, such as human centered design, qualitative data collection and analysis, electro-mechanical-software prototyping, or data science topics applied to design. Ideal candidates will also demonstrate interest in pursuing or learning more about research and graduate school.
Apply for the 2025 Berkeley Engineering Design Scholar Program here by Friday, March 21st, 11:59PM PST Monday, March 24th, 9AM PST. Scholars will be matched with faculty mentors once they are accepted into the program.
The application consists of three sections:
1) Applicant Details
2) Writing Prompts & Research Interests
3) Application Materials
To get information when the next application cycle opens, see the following section.
Subscribe to our Jacobs Institute Student Newsletter for important announcements about the Berkeley Engineering Design Scholar program, including key application dates and deadlines.
Questions? Please contact Janrey Javier (janreyjavier@berkeley.edu).
Learn more about prior Scholars cohorts here.