California Pre-Doctoral Program
The California Pre-Doctoral Program is designed to increase the diversity of the pool from which California State University draws its faculty. The program supports the doctoral aspirations of CSU students who have experienced economic and educational disadvantages. An emphasis is placed on increasing the number of CSU students who enter graduate programs at one of the University of California campuses.
Selected applicants will be elected a Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholar and will work closely with a CSU faculty sponsor to develop an overall plan for enrollment in a doctoral program. The plan should be tailored to the specific goals and career objectives of the student. Interested students can apply directly to the Chancellor’s Office but can receive support through the application process from our campus coordinator. Information about the 2025 application cycle will be available in Fall 2024.
Sally Casanova Scholars receive:
- $5,000 to be spent on any of the following: travel to visit U.S. doctoral-granting institutions and/or to attend professional conferences appropriate to the student's development; student membership in professional organizations and subscriptions to journals; graduate school application, transcript, and test fees; GRE preparation; and the cost of minor research materials.
- A Summer Research experience at a University of California campus or other major research university, fully funded by the Pre-Doctoral Program, so that the Scholar can participate in doctoral-level research.
- Fee waivers to all University of California doctoral programs and selected other programs
- Mentorship by a CSUN faculty member for one year
- Eligibility is limited to junior, senior and graduate students who are enrolled in a degree-seeking program at any one of the CSU campuses at the time of application. At the time of award, applicants must be matriculated into a degree program and be enrolled in one semester or two quarters during the award year. For the Spring 2025 application cycle, that means you must be enrolled in a CSUN degree-granting program in Spring 2025 and you must be enrolled at CSUN for at least one semester of the 2025 to 2026 academic year.
- Awards are based on competitive review of student applications and given to current upper-division or graduate students who, in the judgment of the review panel, demonstrate academic excellence while experiencing economic or educational disadvantage, as well as committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level.
- Each applicant must have a faculty sponsor who will be available for the duration of the plan specified in the application.
Not Eligible
- International students
- Current or previous California Pre-Doctoral Scholars
Students interested in obtaining professional degrees (law, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, or an MBA degree) are not eligible.
The 2024-2025 Sally Casanova Scholars will be announced in Summer 2024.
There is a Canvas course that will guide students through the components of the application. If you plan to apply to the program in Spring 2025, please select Canvas course to request access. Students will be added to the course in Fall 2024
CSUN offers workshops to support students in developing their applications. Workshop information will be available in Fall 2024.
Interested in receiving feedback on your Statement of Qualifications and Collaborative Plan before submitting them to the Chancellor’s Office? Students can submit both documents for feedback using our Applicant Canvas Course once their documents have been approved by their Faculty Mentor.
For more information about the program, please select California Pre-Doctoral Program or email our campus coordinator, Heidi Schumacher.