The Biochemistry Department provides financial support to all full-time students making satisfactory progress towards the PhD degree during the academic year and the summer months. This support is typically in the form of first year fellowships, teaching assistant appointments, and Graduate Student Researcher positions.
Students who submit a competitive application for admission are automatically considered for financial support, which typically includes student fees and tuition, a stipend or salary, and health insurance.
Domestic applicants from outside California are automatically considered for nonresident tuition fellowships as part of the financial support package. If qualified, these students are given one academic year on non-resident tuition and are required to establish California residency during this time.
Applications for admissions must be submitted by January 5th to be eligible for financial support the following fall quarter.
No fellowship support is available for MS applicants. You may be eligible for a federal student aid program, so please be sure to complete the FAFSA form and check with the UCR Financial Aid Office. Also be sure to check the Graduate Divisions site to view opportunities for alternate graduate student funding
Graduate Student Awards
History
Professor Randolph T. Wedding was one of the founding members of the Department of Biochemistry at U.C. Riverside and played a critical role in initiating and developing its graduate program (now known as the Graduate Program in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology). Professor Wedding’s research was focused on energy metabolism in plants and particularly on understanding how respiration and photosynthetic carbon metabolism are controlled at the level of enzymes. He participated actively in graduate classroom teaching and in the mentoring of graduate students. He was a loyal and dedicated member of the U.C. Riverside academic community for over 45 years, serving as a member or chair of nearly every important faculty committee on the U.C. Riverside campus or in the statewide University of California system from 1961 until his retirement in 1993. Mary K. Wedding devoted many hours to Randy’s graduate students, providing a home away from home for some, helping students and their families from overseas get settled in the USA, and frequently visiting former students as she traveled abroad with Randy. Her work with the Biochemistry graduate students is the reason that this fund is named the Randolph T. and Mary K. Wedding Endowed Fund, established by their son and daughter, Randolph E. Wedding and Sheila O’Brien.
The fund provides financial support for the following:
The Wedding Prize
The Wedding Prize is awarded each year to an outstanding graduate student in the BCMB Graduate Program. Selected by a faculty committee, the recipient is recognized for making the most significant contribution to peer-reviewed scientific literature in biochemistry and molecular biology.
Applicants must submit the following:
- A peer-reviewed paper where the applicant is a co-author. The paper must be published or formally accepted (with a signed editor’s letter). In rare cases, more than one paper may be submitted.
- A personal statement (up to 16,000 characters, including spaces) explaining the research’s significance and the applicant’s role in the work.
- A recommendation letter from the major professor confirming the applicant’s described contributions.
- An official UC Riverside transcript showing the applicant’s graduate GPA.
- A current CV with education history, professional experience, and a publication list.
The BCMB Graduate Student Symposium
Keynote Speaker
The Wedding Endowed Fund provides financial support for the Keynote Speaker of the annual BCMB Graduate Student Symposium. The speaker is selected by a committee of BCMB graduate students and delivers the keynote address during the event.
Best Poster and Oral Presentation Awards
At the symposium, BCMB graduate students present their research through short oral talks and/or poster presentations. A faculty panel judges the presentations and selects awardees from two student groups: those who have advanced to candidacy and those who have not.
Graduate Student Travel Awards
The Wedding Endowed Fund also offers travel awards to help BCMB Ph.D. students present their research at academic conferences. Applications are accepted year-round and reviewed by the Wedding Prize Selection Committee. Students selected for an award may receive up to $750 to help cover registration, travel, and lodging expenses—depending on available funds.
To apply, submit your completed Randolph T. and Mary K. Wedding Travel Award Application and all required documents (as listed in the application form) as a single PDF to:
SUBMIT YOUR WEDDING TRAVEL AWARD APPLICATION HERE
**For questions, or concerns, regarding the travel awards and/or your submission, please reach out to richard.debus@ucr.edu and copy lacey.grawe@ucr.edu.