Terner Student Fellowship
The Terner Student Fellowship at UC Berkeley is designed to provide support for City & Regional Planning graduate students interested in pursuing a career in affordable housing policy, finance, or development. The fellowship offers in-state tuition remission for one year of study inclusive of a semester-long Terner Center graduate student researcher position. Additionally, the fellow will receive skill-building, help securing an external internship, and leadership development opportunities.
Award Background
The Terner Student Fellowship was established with the goal of supporting and cultivating the next generation of leaders in affordable housing. The fellowship will assist with the costs of graduate study and expand the pipeline of students pursuing careers in affordable housing policy, development, and finance in California.
I. Donald Terner was an indomitable force in the housing world who worked tirelessly and fearlessly to drive innovation in housing in pursuit of scalable and systemic solutions. Don taught at UC Berkeley for eight years and took great pride in mentoring, guiding, and teaching students. The Terner Student Fellowship is administered by the Terner Center for Housing Innovation.
The Terner Fellowship is funded through generous gifts from Burbank Housing, Century Housing, and
EAH Housing.
February 13, 2026 | 11:59pm PST
- In-state tuition remission for 1 year
- In-state tuition remission for the student’s first semester in the MCP program
- Employment as a Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) with the Terner Center in the student’s second semester of the MCP program. The GSR will include in-state tuition, wages, and benefits consistent with campus policies.
- Participation in a learning cohort of Terner Fellows
- Mentorship and ongoing professional coaching
- Support in securing an external internship with one of the Bay Area affordable housing developers or lenders sponsoring the fellowship
Any individuals applying to the Master of City & Regional Planning (MCP) program at the College of Environmental Design are eligible to apply for the Terner Fellowship.
Please submit the following materials as a single PDF upload using the Online Registration and Eligibility Form by the deadline:
- A resume or curriculum vitae
- An essay that explains your background in affordable housing and your future professional goals (500 words)
- Academic transcript(s)
- One letter of recommendation
- Please have your recommender email the recommendation to ternercenter@berkeley.edu, with the subject line Terner Fellow Letter of Rec – LAST NAME. It can be one of the same letters you’ve provided for your graduate admissions application.
Please note: Federal financial aid regulations require that all awards received by a student cannot exceed their financial aid need as determined by a congressional formula. It is possible, therefore, that the cash award for a Prize could reduce some component of a needy student’s package of financial aid awards. In these cases, the Financial Aid Office attempts first to reduce loan or work aid; fellowships, grants or scholarships are only reduced as a last resort. Regardless of your financial aid situation, the IRS views fellowships, grants or scholarships that are not directly applied to tuition or other educational expenses as taxable income.