'The Big Bang Theory' cast, crew create scholarship for UCLA science students

ByABC7.com staff KABC logo
Friday, May 29, 2015
Simon Helberg, Melissa Rauch, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Jim Parsons, and Kunal Nayyar attend the ceremony honoring Cuoco with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Oct. 29, 2014.
Simon Helberg, Melissa Rauch, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Jim Parsons, and Kunal Nayyar attend the ceremony honoring Cuoco with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Oct. 29, 2014.
Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP-AP

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The cast and crew of the "The Big Bang Theory" and the Chuck Lorre Family Foundation have teamed up with University of California, Los Angeles to create a scholarship for students in need of financial aid studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

"We are grateful for The Big Bang Theory Scholarship Endowment, whose contributors agree with us that economic standing should not hinder a deserving student's shot at a degree from a university of UCLA's caliber," UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said in a statement.

The fund has raised more than $4 million. Twenty scholars will be selected for the 2015-2016 school year. Five additional scholars will be chosen in each future year in perpetuity.

Scholarships will be awarded based on financial need and academic merit. Slightly more than half of the UCLA student population receives need-based scholarships, grants or other financial aid.

The first group of scholars will be announced in Fall 2015 on the set of the hit CBS comedy. They will get to meet the show's stars, producers, UCLA representatives and other donors.