Graduate Equity Fellowship Grant Application
Academic Year 2025-2026
The Graduate Equity Fellowship seeks to increase the diversity of students completing a graduate degree program at CSU, Sacramento. Students selected as fellows will be awarded money per semester, up to 4 semesters as long as they continue to meet the requirements of the program.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:
• California Resident or have an AB540 affidavit on file;
• Admitted and enrolled as a graduate student in a Graduate Program and must be full time status (8 units);
• Have a graduate program GPA of 3.0 or higher;
• Applicant has applied for financial aid and demonstrates a minimum financial need of $1,000 as determined by the Financial Aid Office;
• Applicant has experienced various impediments to obtaining entry to graduate school. Impediments can be absence of a family member who attended college; matriculation in a school or schools with poor financial or curricular support, have physical or learning disability; or
• Academic research interest focusing on cultural, societal, or educational problems as they affect educationally underserved segments of society; or
• Evidence of an intention to use the degree toward the fostering of engagement among underserved students in the field of education.
The deadline is April 11, 2025.
More information about the fellowship and application is available on the Graduate Diversity website. Should you have any questions, contact the Graduate Diversity Program at graddiversity@csus.edu.
TO APPLY FOR THE GRADUATE EQUITY FELLOWSHIP: You will need to provide a response to the following questions on the application (answers will need to less than 500 words or approximately one page).
1. Provide a statement of purpose. Please discuss why you are applying for the fellowship, your goals and why you feel these are important. In addition, discuss your potential to succeed in a graduate program.
2. Have you experienced social, economic, or other obstacles that you have had to overcome? Please discuss the ways in which these experiences have affected your academic opportunities.
3. How do your academic interests relate to issues affecting the education of underserved groups in society? Please describe how your scholarly or creative work will contribute to serving or expanding their opportunities.
4. Please discuss how your prior life experiences – academic, professional, volunteer, etc. demonstrate a commitment to serving underserved segments of society.
You will also need to upload the following documents:
• A copy of all college transcripts (unofficial transcripts)
• Proof of eligibility for Financial Aid (Student Aid Report or Proof of Submission to FASFA or CADA)
• Request two faculty recommendations (The link to the recommendation form will be sent out to you automatically by Qualtrics, upon submission of this application.)