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Big Bang for STEM

Transformation Story: Students, The College, Science & technology, Students & campus, Samueli School of Engineering
Two male cast members on The Big Bang Theory stand near a white board
UCLA students studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics will get help inspired by the hit show.

Here’s a true Hollywood story: The co-creators and cast and crew of one of the world’s most watched television shows endow a scholarship fund at one of the world’s best universities.

The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation made an initial gift to endow The Big Bang Theory Scholarships at UCLA, which will provide financial support for students studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Subsequent gifts from nearly 50 people associated with the show have resulted in the endowment reaching more than $4 million.

Sharing Success with Students

The Big Bang Theory, a wildly popular sitcom that follows — appropriately — the lives of four young physicists, recently completed its eighth season. The fund will provide financial assistance for 20 aspiring Big Bang Theory Scholars in science and technology. “We feel very fortunate because of the success of the show,” says Lorre, “a show that’s based on the scientific community and supported by it. This is our chance to give back to that community.”

UCLA is committed to educating students from all economic backgrounds; this endowment will help ensure that economic standing does not hinder a talented student’s shot at success.

Published September 2015

Three male cast members on The Big Bang Theory stand in the set kitchen while filming a scene.

Scene from an episode of the Big Bang Theory

Two cast members--one male, one female--stand in a set for a laboratory

Scene from an episode of the Big Bang Theory

Two male cast members stand in a set designed to look like a workshop.

Scene from an episode of the Big Bang Theory

Two female cast members examine props during a scene.

Scene from an episode of the Big Bang Theory

Two cast members--one female and one male--stand in a laboratory set.

Scene from an episode of the Big Bang Theory

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