Bernard Osher Reentry Scholarship and Crankstart Foundation Reentry Scholarship

Scholarships Update

The 2022-23 scholarship applications are now closed. Scholarship applicants will be notified of their application status in early September.

For those interested in applying next year, please check back in late May of 2023. 

Osher Reentry Scholarship ProgramThe Bernard Osher Foundation, in recognition of the value of the UC Davis Reentry Program, has established a $1 million endowment to support scholarships for students 25–50 years old. The Osher Reentry Scholarships represent the largest award for reentry students on the UC Davis campus. We award eight to ten $5,000 scholarships annually to new and continuing reentry students.

In 2016, the Bernard Osher Foundation recommended the UC Davis reentry program to the Crankstart Foundation. The Crankstart Foundation is the charitable outfit of Michael and Harriet Moritz. The couple's philanthropy in the Bay Area is mainly focused on education, arts and culture, as well as parks and human services. In October 2016, the Crankstart Foundation awarded a grant of $50,000 to UC Davis to support ten reentry scholarships of $5,000 each for the 2017-2018 academic year. Number of awards and funding level for the 2022-2023 academic year will be announced soon. 

Scholarship is open June 1, 2022 and the deadline to apply is June 30, 2022 by 11:59 p.m. Scholarship applicants will be notified of their application status in early September.

Minimum Qualifications:

  • Between the ages of 25 and 50 as of September 21, 2022
    • International students may also apply
  • Undergraduate, enrolled for the entire upcoming academic year (Fall, Winter, Spring quarters)
  • Pursuing first baccalaureate degree
  • Cumulative 3.25 GPA 
    • UC Davis cumulative GPA for current UC Davis students
    • Community college/university cumulative GPA for incoming UC Davis students
  • One letter of recommendation
  • Personal essay

Transcript Requirement:

The Transfer and Reentry Center will obtain your UC Davis and other official transcripts to evaluate your academic progress. By submitting this application you understand and agree with this procedure.

UC Davis Reentry Scholarships Application Instructions

  • Click on the following link: UC Davis Reentry Scholarships Application  
  • Create an account on Submittable.com to access the application.
  • Complete the application and click the submit button.
  • Note: you can work on the different sections of the application on a separate document and then copy/paste to the application. You can also save your application and return to it at a different time.
  • Keep in mind that your letter of recommendation request will not be submitted until you submit your application. Make sure you give your letter writer plenty of time to submit their recommendation before the deadline.

Letter of Recommendation:

One letter of recommendation is required to complete your application. New UC Davis students may submit letters from their community college faculty, community college staff or supervisor; continuing UC Davis students should submit a letter from a UC Davis faculty member, TA, UC Davis Staff or supervisor. As soon as you submit your scholarship application an email will be sent to your recommender with information and instructions for them to complete and submit their letter of recommendation in support of your application. Please be sure to allow your recommender ample time to complete your request. Each year many students are not evaluated because of missing documents; it is your responsibility to verify receipt of all supplemental documents.

Deadline for both application and letter of recommendation submission:

  • June 30, 2022 by 11:59 p.m.
  • Only completed applications will be considered

Other Resources

  • We would also encourage you to check out other internal and external scholarship opportunities you may find yourself eligible for here, which include Prestigious Scholarships and Outside Scholarships (also Google!).
  • In addition, we would encourage you to check in with your own major(s) about opportunities potentially available and check to see if there are associations within your discipline that offers scholarship opportunities.