Faculty Eligibility & Program Commitments
Faculty Mentor Eligibility
- UC Berkeley Academic Senate members and other UC Berkeley ladder faculty are eligible to serve as Faculty Sponsors, as are UCSF faculty members if the student will also have a UC Berkeley professor who can provide academic credit for the project.
- UC Berkeley non-ladder faculty with permanence of employment (e.g. Continuing Lecturers, Associate Adjunct Professors, etc.) are also eligible.
- Each faculty mentor may sponsor a maximum of two applicants to the program (and if the selection committee so decides, both may be selected).
Faculty Mentor Commitments & Stipend
Haas Scholars Program Faculty Sponsors have the privilege of mentoring some of the most talented undergraduates at Berkeley. To be chosen as Haas Scholars, students must possess a high degree of intellectual independence, creativity, and motivation. We provide Haas Scholars with the financial and intellectual support necessary to engage in capstone research or a creative project in their senior year. You, the faculty mentor, provide guidance and support to your advisee so your student can not only produce an outstanding senior thesis but also go on to make important contributions in their field. In the case of Haas Scholars conducting human subjects research, mentors guide the students through the CPHS process in Spring/Summer 2024 and also complete the CITI course themselves (exception: tenure track faculty who have submitted UCB protocols since 2014 and received approval). Mentors also advise Haas Scholars on applications to graduate and professional schools in their fields and help open doors to future professional opportunities.
What does a Faculty Sponsor do as a Mentor?
Faculty mentors make a commitment to contribute not only as research mentors (providing ongoing guidance, advice, and supervision to their advisees) but also as active participants in the intellectual enrichment activities of the Haas Scholars Program. Sponsors are required to attend the following events:
- Present at one workshop during the Haas Scholars Retreat, May 19-23, 2025;
- Attend one meeting, when your advisee presents, of the weekly Friday 12-2pm Haas Scholars research seminar Fall 2025;
- Attend one panel rehearsal (prior to the Haas Conference); and
- Attend your advisee’s panel at the Haas Undergraduate Research Conference, April 2026; you may also be asked to chair this panel.
If you are not able to attend one of these events, our expectation is that you will substitute one of these other forms of service to the Haas Scholars Program:
- Attend one research group meeting over the summer; or
- Attend one writing workshop session during the Spring semester; or
- Give a workshop on a relevant topic (transitioning from data collection to writing, applying to grad school, etc.)
In recognition of your service as a Haas Scholars mentor, you may choose one of the following:
$1,500 for your own research account; or
$3,000 for graduate or undergraduate fellowship support or research assistantships in your department; or
$3,000 for the library, earmarked for collection development as you like.
Stipends will be paid in July 2025, following the completion of your year as a Haas Scholars Mentor.
Non-Stipend Mentoring Option
Alternatively, mentors may choose only to supervise the student, attend the student’s Friday seminar presentation, and attend the student’s conference panel. Please note that mentors who serve in this more limited capacity will receive no stipend, and students with non-stipend mentors are less likely to be chosen as Haas Scholars. However, please be honorable in describing accurately your willingness to attend the supplemental events.
Letters of Recommendation
Letters to support your advisee’s application to the Haas Scholars Program should address the following:
- Merit, originality, and feasibility of the project;
- Appropriateness of the proposed budget;
- Your willingness and ability to offer the student careful guidance (as well as how long and in what capacity you have known the student);
- The student’s qualifications to take on the project;
- The student’s potential for making a positive contribution to the group dynamic of the cohort, 20 high-achieving students from a broad range of disciplines.
For further information about the Haas Scholars Program and the mentor’s role/commitments, please contact the Program Director at: haas_scholars@berkeley.edu.
Mentor Contract and Letter
You will receive a link from your advisee. The link will take you to a form that you will complete to indicate which stipend/commitment option you will be choosing. Then you will upload your recommendation letter to the form.