The Balsells Mobility program has approximately five travel fellowships available for students to conduct their project (TFG, TFM) in engineering at UC Irvine. Applicants must be citizens of Spain, permanent residents of Catalonia at the time of submitting the application, and current students from a university in Catalonia who fluently speak and write English, Catalan and Spanish. Applicants must provide proof of additional financial support in order to receive a U.S. J-1 visa. The preferred start date is Feb 1 (and in exceptional occasions Sep 1.) The duration of the stay is 6 months and the total travel award is $7,200. Applicants should begin the application process 12 months prior to the desired starting date. There are no absolute deadlines to submit applications but generally all positions for the following academic year are filled 9 to 10 months before the start dates. Applications are reviewed as they are received.
Application process:
Applicants must have a GPA of at least 7 on the scale of 10 or be ranked in the top 25% of their class in their B.S. studies, whether they are applying for a B.S. project or an M.S. thesis. Your application must include:
1) Curriculum Vitae (Resume), including your current mailing address,
2) A Statement of Purpose (SOP) describing your academic background and research interests. Write your name, date, and your desired start date at the top of you SOP. Your SOP must be a thorough document that describes the research topic that you want to pursue and the names of the professors at UCI whose research you are interested in. Also discuss your interest in applying for graduate school at UCI by means of a graduate Balsells Fellowship. Note that first priority will be given to students who plan to apply to graduate school at UCI and who have already established contact with and received approval from a possible mentor at UCI. See how to address professors in this link.
3) Your most recent B.S. transcript which shows your current or final GPA on the scale of 10.
4) Proof of English language proficiency; a TOEFL score (min 80) or IELTS score (min 7) is preferred. Otherwise a Cambridge Score is acceptable. Note that regardless of English proficiency documentation submitted, an interview via teleconference will be scheduled if your application meets the minimum requirements.
5) A copy of your census registration showing that you have been a registered resident (empadronat) in Catalonia for at least 12 months prior to the time you submit your application.
6) At least one letter of recommendation from a professor whose course you took as an undergraduate student.
Submit all the above documents as a single PDF to balsells@uci.edu
Note that if your application does not conform to all of the above requirements, it will not be considered further.
Once you are approved to conduct your project at UCI, we will send you documents to obtain your visiting student J-1 visa at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid.
Additional Notes:
Priority for the Balsells Mobility Fellowship will be given to students who plan to apply to the Balsells Graduate Fellowship. Applicants should indicate their willingness to apply for the Balsells graduate fellowship in their SOP. If you are applying to carry out your M.S. thesis, you must indicate your willingness to pursue a PhD afterwards. As a mobility student, you will be responsible for obtaining your own housing. The UCI housing office can help you in this regard:
http://www.housing.uci.edu/ but note that several housing units are reserved for enrolled graduate students.
You will not enroll in any courses while attending UCI as a visiting student working on your project.
You will need to have or purchase health insurance while you are at UCI. For information see this link. A Mobility Fellow has also provided some information that you may find useful.
For additional questions, contact:
Balsells Fellowship
California-Catalonia Engineering Programs
balsells@uci.edu