UCI Giving Day 2023

ACCESS TO CAREERS IN ENGINEERING AND SCIENCES (ACES)

As a premier research and teaching institution, UCI is dedicated to serving a diverse population at the highest levels. This requires attracting and graduating scholars who reflect the communities of the world.

Like many universities nationally, UCI is faced with the challenge of attracting large numbers of minority students to pursue doctoral degrees. African American and Black students are extremely under-represented in graduate and professional programs. 

The Access to Careers in Engineering and Sciences (ACES) initiative seeks to address this challenge. The approach goes beyond traditional recruiting efforts to reach those who otherwise might not have considered graduate school.

When you give to UCI Beckman Laser Institute & Medical Clinic, you support educational outreach programs – such as ACES.

Every summer, 10 talented undergraduate students from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are selected to travel across the country to attend ACES, an eight-week summer training program at UCI Beckman Laser Institute & Medical Clinic. ACES introduces high-achieving, underrepresented students to the breadth of UCI graduate programs in the fields of biomedical engineering, biophotonics and related science, technology, engineering and math disciplines.  

ACES students:

• work alongside faculty mentors who are leaders in their field
• conduct leading-edge research in Institute facilities and labs
• learn about careers in academia and industry
• attend workshops on taking the GRE, writing a personal statement and preparing for graduate school
• make connections valuable to gaining admission to graduate school

Your gift to Beckman Laser Institute supporting ACES fosters a more inclusive environment in higher education, while making a significant impact on the lives of students nationwide.

A gift of:

• $100 supports one student’s culminating research presentation
• $500 supports one student’s lab summer research supplies
• $1,000 supports one student’s travel expenses
• $1,500 supports one student’s summer campus dining hall meals
• $5,000 supports one student’s eight-week student stipend
• $11,000 supports one participant, covering all program expenses

Read more about Olamide Fategbe, ACES participant ’21, UCI graduate student, and how “Biology Runs in the Blood.”

Read more about Sydney Williams, ACES participant ’18, UCSF graduate student, and her “UCI Summer Institution Pride.”

Read more about Chris Johnson, ACES participant ’17, UCI graduate student, in “Acing Aces.”

Read more about Breyah Matthews, ACES participant ’17, UCI graduate student, in “ACES Summer Program Goes Viral.”