Career Development

UCSB Enrollment Services and UCSB Thrive have partnered with Human IT to support students without access to a laptop and/or internet access. Eligible students will be provided a hotspot, chromebook, and a grant funding award for $255 to cover the cost of internet access for one year. Read on to learn more!

By Chava Nerenberg, Graduate Programming Assistant
Friday, October 30th, 2020 - 10:30am


UCSB Enrollment Services and UCSB Thrive have partnered with Human IT to offer a program to support students without access to a laptop and/or internet access. Eligible students will be provided a hotspot, chromebook, and a grant funding award for $255. This funding is provided to cover the cost of a hotspot, which includes a one-time fee of $100, and $15 a month for wifi service. The grant will therefore cover the cost of wifi for one academic year period (9 months).

Students who already have access to a laptop can apply for a hotspot only. The process to receive a hotspot and a laptop after receiving a referral takes about 2 weeks. The program currently has just under 1000 laptops and hotspots to distribute, and plans to give away about 10 per week. They will prioritize students who are currently enrolled, demonstrate financial need, have no or limited access to internet or wifi, and who apply early. Apply here!