ABOUT | HOW TO APPLY | ELIGIBILITY | EVENTS | TESTIMONIALS | BE A MENTOR
The Undergraduate Community at Evolution (UCE) program sends undergraduate students to the in-person portion of the annual Evolution meeting, the joint meeting of the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB), and the American Society of Naturalists (ASN). The program is co-sponsored by the participating societies. This year, the three societies will meet on June 20-24 in Cleveland, OH, USA.
At the meeting, students will (i) present a poster, (ii) receive mentoring from graduate students, postdocs, and faculty, and (iii) participate in a Professional Development Workshop. Each selected awardee receives:
The application deadline is January 20, 2026 and decisions will be announced in late February or early March. Applications are welcomed from all undergraduates.
Applications consist of:
Submit the application using this form. The letter of recommendation must be submitted in PDF format via email to education@evolutionsociety.org. All parts of the application, including recommendation letters, must be received by the deadline in order to be considered. Late applications and recommendation letters will not be accepted.
Deadline: Tuesday, January 20, 2026
All awardees will be required to attend the entire meeting to maximize their participation.
Previous award recipients are not eligible to receive the award again.
An awardee who requires a visa to travel to the meeting location (Cleveland, OH) will not be able to obtain one in time for the 2026 meeting. In this case, the awardee will be required to defer their participation to the 2027 meeting.
Awardees will make travel arrangements as communicated to them by email from the Education and Outreach Committee, and they will be expected to attend all UCE events (see below).
The UCE program will host three conference events that all UCE recipients will be expected to attend. More information will be available during conference registration.
*The Professional Development event is open to ANY attending undergraduates or post-baccalaureates, regardless of award status/eligibility, but we kindly request you sign up in advance.
“Being [at the meeting] as part of this program significantly improved my experience compared to how I imagine it would be to just be there as part of my research group. It was very nice to connect and mingle with my undergraduate researcher peers as well as my near-peer/faculty mentors as part of this program, and our conversations lent me so much useful insight going into my graduate education that I don't think I would have received if I hadn't been attending as part of this program.” – Jimmy Choi, 2025 cohort
“I owe so much of my thanks to this program and the ones that give their full support and advocate for inclusion for all. Without the support and funding provided from this program, I would not have been able to attend my very first Evolution conference. It was with their efforts that I was able to create a strong and bright network with other researchers—friends, graduates, faculty, mentors—that widened my path to creating knowledge through my research and expanding my reach to others that see science as a flame to be ignited and shared to the world.” – Kayleen Sugianto, 2025 cohort
“The sense of community fostered by this program made my first conference experience incredibly welcoming. From the very first day, the introductions and group activities provided a safe and encouraging space, which was especially meaningful for me since I was the only participant from my university. Being surrounded by kind mentors, peers, and other first-time attendees helped my nerves and gave me friends to really enjoy the conference experience.” – Kinga Kotulska, 2025 cohort
2025 Education and Outreach Committee Chair Dr. Vanessa Koelling with program participants at the 2025 Evolution meeting.
We are also looking for graduate students, postdocs and faculty members who would like to serve as mentors to the undergraduate awardees during the meeting. Mentors meet with pairs of students and attend talks with them, introduce them to colleagues, network and generally make the meeting a welcoming place for them. Mentoring is available to non-awardee students as well, depending on how many mentors sign up. Although costs are not covered for mentors, it is a rewarding experience. Those interested in serving as a mentor can indicate this during meeting registration. Questions may be directed to Dr. Richard Kliman (education@evolutionsociety.org). NOTE: Mentors need to be available to have lunch with their mentees on either the first or second full day of the meeting.
