CCS Physics Shines in a Year of Decreased NSF GRFP Awards
Four CCS students awarded fellowships despite fewer offered overall
The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced the 2025 Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) awardees, with six being physics UC Santa Barbara undergraduate students: four from the College of Creative Studies (CCS) and two from the College of Letters and Science (L&S), making UCSB one of the top-performing UC undergraduate physics programs in 2025. This comes during a year of reduced funding, with 1,500 fellowships awarded—a decrease of around 25% from typical years and the lowest total in 15 years. When initially announced in April, there were two CCS awardees, however, as of June, the number of CCS awardees grew to four. In total, 13 fellowships were offered to UC Santa Barbara students.
2025 CCS Student Awardees:
- Filippo Delzanno ‘25 (CCS Physics)
- Andrew Fee ‘25 (CCS Physics)
- Xuanwei Liang ‘26 (CCS Physics)
- Samyuktha Ramanan ‘25 (CCS Physics)
In addition, Montu Ganesh ‘23 (CCS Biology) received honorable mention.
This fall, Filippo and Andrew will begin their Ph.D. studies in physics at the University of Chicago, while Samyuktha plans to pursue her Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley.
Experiential learning is foundational at CCS, especially for students interested in research and graduate study. Faculty mentorship plays a vital role in helping students identify and pursue scholarly goals, with 70% of those in STEM majors going on to earn a master’s or doctoral degree, according to a past survey. Thanks to CCS Biology Faculty John Latto and Claudia Tyler, CCS offers hands-on guidance through an annual colloquium on graduate school applications, with specific insight into the GRFP. The colloquium is open to students across all nine CCS majors. Additionally, past GRFP recipients, many of whom participated in the colloquium themselves, often return to share their graduate journeys with students.
The GRFP supports outstanding graduating seniors and early-stage graduate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, with the goal of strengthening what the NSF describes as “the quality, vitality and strength of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States.” It is the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind in the nation and selects fellows who demonstrate stellar academic potential and a commitment to impactful, research-based careers.
Fellows receive three years of support, including an annual stipend and a cost-of-education allowance covering tuition and fees. Recipients can pursue research at any accredited U.S. graduate institution and take advantage of additional opportunities such as international research experiences and professional development programming. GRFP fellows have a long-standing legacy of becoming leaders in STEM research, education, and innovation, with many making advancements that have helped shape their fields.