2025 Application is now CLOSED

The Milligan Fellowship is administered consistent with the University’s Notice of Non-Discrimination. Recipients are chosen without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited characteristic.

The Milligan Fellowship award was established in 2020 in honor of Helen Leslie Milligan Turner. Mrs. Milligan Turner graduated from USC in 1957 with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in human biology (formerly kinesiology). Mrs. Milligan Turner enjoyed her time at USC and wanted to give back to students who are interested in research in human biology. The section of Human and Evolutionary Biology in the Department of Biological Sciences will provide a limited number of fellowships for undergraduate summer projects at the end of each academic year. Each undergraduate student funded by the program will receive a stipend in the amount of $3000* to support reaching the goals of the project, which can be in any academic sub-field of Human and Evolutionary Biology. The project can have a research, clinical, educational or community focus; should require a period of not less than ten weeks at 10 hours per week during the summer months; and should be sponsored by one full-time USC faculty.

*If awarded, the funding will be credited to the student’s university account. This may affect student financial aid packages.  Students are encouraged to email the Financial Aid Office through the ask USC portal to discuss the potential effects of this award on their package.  The award could adversely affect students with Pell grants and/or loans.

Student Requirements:

1. Be majoring in Human Biology (HBIO) and working under the supervision of a faculty advisor housed in either Human and Evolutionary Biology (HEB) or any other section of Biological Sciences; however, precedence will be given to HBIO students supervised by HBIO faculty.
2. Be enrolled full-time (12 units per semester) at USC for the entire academic year (at least the Fall semester following the summer research project); 5^th year progressive degree students may be eligible if the student’s bachelor degree has not yet been completed and would be in progress during the Fall semester following the summer research project; Graduating Seniors are not eligible.
3. Have not received other concurrent funding for this project (A recipient of the Provost Fellowship (PURF), Rose Hills, etc. will not be contemporaneously considered).
4. Have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better

Application Instructions:

1. A 1-page description of the proposed summer project with clearly articulated goals.
2. An up-to-date Curriculum Vitae
3. Attach latest STARS Report
4. A letter of recommendation from the faculty advisor who has accepted to supervise the work. Faculty can be Tenure-Track or RTPC who have a primary appointment in Human and Evolutionary Biology or Biological Sciences. The letter should be emailed to Maribeth Hernandez (maribeth@usc.edu) by the faculty.
5. Submit an online application.
6. A written final report on the project must be submitted to Maribeth Hernandez (maribeth@usc.edu) by September 13, 2025.