The UC Davis Guardian Professions Program (GPP) is a support program for former foster youth attending graduate school at the University of California, Davis.  As a graduate student with a background in foster care you will be a part of a small but growing cohort of students at the campus. Support includes community activities, advising and scholarship funding, including an application fee waiver for all programs (excluding law school and medical school). GPP also provides application support for those students interested in applying.

Below are lists of resources for preparing for graduate school, opportunities for funding your education and articles. Find out more on our program by completing our GPP inquiry form or contact Jacques Bowyer directly at (530) 754-6531 or jbowyer@ucdavis.edu

Preparing for Graduate School

Getting Prepared for Graduate School
This site is designed especially for former foster youth who are interested in pursuing an advanced degree. A companion Instructors Site has been developed for directors of support programs who may want to develop a class with these materials.

Guardian Professions Program
The University of California at Davis offers a Guardian Professions Program specifically designed to support foster youth attending graduate school at any one of UC Davis’s 90 graduate and professional school programs. Click the link, or view a flyer.

Petersons Grad School Bound
This website offers a 3-Step Graduate Program Match Tool along with a wealth of other resources to help explore graduate program options, weigh the pros and cons, maximize chances of acceptance and consider payment options.

University of California
Offers helpful tips about planning and preparing for graduate school

Financing Your Graduate Education

College Affordability Guide
This guide walks students through the various sources of aid available to graduate students: institutional aid and loans, fellowships/assistantships, employer assistance programs, and more.

General Scholarship Search Engine: a free scholarship and financial aid resource with lots of information.

Open Education Database: OEDb is a comprehensive online education directory for both free and for-credit learning options. Their website has a searchable scholarship database.

Peterson’s Scholarship search engine: This links to the scholarship search engine and the main site has other undergraduate and graduate related information.

Fostering Educational Opportunities Fund (FEOF): an organization with financial grants specifically for former foster youth pursuing a degree in higher education or advanced training.

Hispanic Fund: The HSE Scholarship is designed to assist students of Hispanic heritage to obtain a college degree. Scholarships are available on a competitive basis to undergraduate and graduate students.

Scholly: This scholarship matching platform allows you to input your specific information — discipline, degree, gender, need or merit and other special interests — and then provides links to scholarship possibilities that meet those parameters. There is a small registration fee of $2.99.