Student Startup Center
About the program · 2 linked sources
The Student Startup Center is the campus home of PLASMA. Chancellor May's February 21, 2025 letter says it is open to every major and reaches about 2,000 students a quarter through courses such as Launching a Company, events with investors and researchers, and prototyping space in the Diane Bryant Engineering Student Design Center, including virtual reality.
Also known as: UC Davis Student Startup Center
How we know this: the figures on this page come from the linked sources (last verified 2026-10-08); what those sources do not state is left unknown.
Key numbers
Funding range
Not listed
Equity
Varies by investment
Application
Ongoing
Campus Wide
Last activity
2025-02-21
Medium confidence
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Reminders
Student Startup Center
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Student experiences · Read or add a note
Student notes
Student Startup Center
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Application and Timing
The letter does not list an application cycle for the center itself. It describes ongoing courses, events, and space.
Participants
The chancellor's letter says the center serves UC Davis students interested in entrepreneurship and is open to every major. PLASMA, which the center hosts, is for undergraduates.
Funding and Equity
The letter does not list a center grant. Seed capital is described under PLASMA. Equity terms are not stated.
Recent Activity
The February 21, 2025 letter is the dated description used here. The PLASMA page still identifies the Student Startup Center as its home on October 8, 2026.
Known Startups or Winners
The letter describes student ventures, including SeaNails, as examples of student work. It does not present them as competition winners of the center.
Research gaps & things to verify
Verification Gaps
A dedicated center homepage was not captured. The engineering news URL returned 403 on October 8, 2026, so claims that appeared only in search snippets of that story were not used.
Additional research notesShow
Evidence
News & articles
News articles and official sources documenting Student Startup Center at University of California, Davis.
2 sources
Student Startup Center description in the chancellor's letter
University of California, Davis
University of California, Davis
Student Startup Center description in the chancellor's letter
Chancellor May's February 21, 2025 letter describes the Child Institute, the Student Startup Center, and PLASMA.
Read on University of California, Davis
University of California, Davis
PLASMA
The PLASMA page describes a 12-week undergraduate accelerator at the Student Startup Center.
Read on University of California, Davis