The program is designed to increase the pool of university faculty by supporting the doctoral aspirations of individuals who are: current upper division or graduate students in the CSU, economically and educationally disadvantaged, interested in a university faculty career, U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and leaders of tomorrow.

Students who are chosen for this prestigious award are designated Sally Casanova Scholars as a tribute to Dr. Sally Casanova, for whom the Pre-Doctoral scholarship is named. These scholars are exposed to unique opportunities to explore and prepare to succeed in doctoral programs. CSU and UC faculty members are an integral component of this program as they work closely with scholars to prepare them for graduate studies.

What the California Pre-Doctoral Program Offers

CSU Pre-Doctoral Scholars

Junior, senior, and graduate students in the CSU, especially those from environments where university teaching is not a common career goal, have unique opportunities to explore and prepare to succeed in doctoral programs.  Working one-on-one with faculty members from both CSU and doctoral-granting institutions, students receive funding for activities such as:

• participation in a summer research internship program at a doctoral-granting institution to receive exposure to the world of research in their chosen field
• visits to doctoral-granting institutions to explore opportunities for doctoral study
• travel to a national symposium or professional meeting in their chosen field; other related activities such as membership in professional organizations and journal subscriptions
• graduate school application and test fees.
  
  

CSU Faculty

Any CSU faculty member may identify and sponsor a promising upper division undergraduate or master's degree student to the Pre-Doctoral Program. Applicants may include students who want to explore the possibility of pursuing a doctoral degree, as well as those who are already firmly committed to pursuing the doctoral degree.

As the student's "advisor," the faculty member guides the candidate through the program, including travel to accompany the student to UC and other doctoral-granting campuses for site visits, or to national symposia or professional meetings.

The advisor can personally acquaint the student with information about academic careers, identify appropriate journal subscriptions and learning experiences, and insure that the student is prepared for doctoral study.

Faculty in Doctoral-Granting Programs

Faculty members at doctoral-granting institutions have the opportunity to meet and mentor promising students who may be interested in doctoral work at their institutions. The summer internship component allows faculty in doctoral granting institutions to play crucial roles as mentors.

Students participating in the summer internship component are matched with professors according to their areas of interest, thus providing the faculty member with an opportunity to:

• expose the student to research processes, with as much hands-on involvement as possible;
• mentor the student through a crucial decision-making time which may then lead to pursuit of a doctoral degree;
• Assess the pre-doctoral student's readiness and ability to pursue a doctoral degree successfully.