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UC Santa Cruz Grants

UC Santa Cruz offers different grant programs for undergraduate students who are California residents pursuing their first bachelor's degree. These grants are funded by the University of California and are awarded based on financial need. Students must meet application deadlines to be considered for grants. Grants must be accepted on your MyUCSC student portal. Awards not accepted prior to the end of your first term of attendance may be rescinded.

The UC Santa Cruz Grant is offered to undergraduate students who show financial need. We determine your financial need by taking the total cost of attendance and subtracting your expected family contribution derived from your FAFSA Application.

The Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan is for students whose family total income is less than $80,000 and who have financial need, as determined for institutional need-based programs. Under the Blue and Gold Plan, students are guaranteed to receive enough gift aid from all sources to cover UC tuition and fees.

Note: Determining financial need for institutional need-based aid programs includes a review of all financial aid application information, including assets.

Our campus also awards the UC Health Insurance Grant to undergraduate financial aid applicants who meet all aid deadlines to help partially cover the cost of the University of California Student Health Insurance Plan (UC SHIP) for eligible students. The maximum amount of this award can be up to $1,500, but the amount can vary depending on financial need. Awards can be accessed and accepted via your MyUCSC portal. For more information about the UC Student Health Insurance Plan, visit the Student Health Website.

Students with Dependents Grants of up to $6,000 are available to students who have dependent children under 18 years of age, and for whom they provide more than half of their financial support during the academic year. This grant is provided to students who do not qualify for the Students with Dependents grant issued by the CA Student Aid Commission.

This grant helps offset the loan/work expectation of a student's aid offer, and the amount is contingent on the percent time enrolled per term. It will display as a UC Grant Dep Access award on your student aid offer. For additional resources our campus provides to student parents, see the Student Parent section of the Student Success site.