--- title: 'The Big Bang Theory' to Fund UCLA Science Scholarship description: $4 million will help needy students supplement their financial aid canonical: https://time.com/3902406/big-bang-theory-ucla-scholarship/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-30T14:10:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T07:45:40.500Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: 'The Big Bang Theory' to Fund UCLA Scholarship for Science Students og:description: $4 million will help needy students supplement their financial aid og:url: https://time.com/3902406/big-bang-theory-ucla-scholarship/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8735a3955a55a3c8/6988524b524fc041b4df2de3/big-bang-theory.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: The Big Bang Theory og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'The Big Bang Theory' to Fund UCLA Scholarship for Science Students twitter:description: $4 million will help needy students supplement their financial aid twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8735a3955a55a3c8/6988524b524fc041b4df2de3/big-bang-theory.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # _The Big Bang Theory_ to Fund UCLA Scholarship for Science Students > Sponsored content. 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Still from "The Graduation Transmission" on April 23, 2015.Michael Yarish—CBS/Getty Images  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent May 30, 2015 2:10 PM UTC _The Big Bang Theory_ is about fictional scientists, but now the show is funding a scholarship for real-life science students. The Big Bang Theory Scholarship Endowment has already raised $4 million to support undergraduate students at UCLA who are studying the sciences. Starting in the fall, 20 Big Bang Theory grants will be awarded to UCLA science students who have gotten in on academic merit but need extra support to supplement their financial aid, according to a [UCLA statement. ](http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/the-big-bang-theory-creates-scholarship-fund-for-stem-students-at-ucla)Every year, five more students will be added. Chuck Lorre, _The Big Bang Theory_ co-creator and executive producer, is mostly funding the endowment, with help from show co-stars like Jim Parsons, Simon Helberg, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, Mayim Bialik and Johnny Galecki, and with contributions from Warner Bros. and CBS, the Los Angeles _Times_ [reports. ](http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-ln-ucla-big-bang-20150528-story.html)This is the first UCLA scholarship from the cast and crew of a TV series. “We have all been given a gift with ‘The Big Bang Theory,’ a show that’s not only based in the scientific community, but also enthusiastically supported by that same community. This is our opportunity to give back,” Lorre said in a [statement.](http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/the-big-bang-theory-creates-scholarship-fund-for-stem-students-at-ucla) “In that spirit, our Big Bang family has made a meaningful contribution, and together we’ll share in the support of these future scholars, scientists and leaders.” The first group of scholars will be announced on the set of _The Big Bang Theory_ this fall. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3902406/big-bang-theory-ucla-scholarship/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3902406/big-bang-theory-ucla-scholarship/"},"headline":"The Big Bang Theory to Fund UCLA Scholarship for Science Students","datePublished":"2015-05-30T14:10:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:45:40.500Z","description":"$4 million will help needy students supplement their financial aid","url":"https://time.com/3902406/big-bang-theory-ucla-scholarship/","keywords":["Television","Education","Science topic","UCLA"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8735a3955a55a3c8/6988524b524fc041b4df2de3/big-bang-theory.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8735a3955a55a3c8/6988524b524fc041b4df2de3/big-bang-theory.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Big Bang Theory","caption":"The Big Bang Theory","creditText":"Michael Yarish—CBS/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3902406/big-bang-theory-ucla-scholarship/","name":"The Big Bang Theory to Fund UCLA Scholarship for Science Students"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"10 Questions for Stephen Hawking","description":"The renowned physicist has a new book, The Grand Design. 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