Applicant Information

General Information
New or continuing full-time students who will be enrolled in doctoral programs at accredited universities anywhere in the United States are invited to apply for participation in the Chancellor's Doctoral Incentive Program.

Applications must be submitted through a CSU campus, each of which has different deadlines and procedures. However, enrollment or employment in the California State University is not required. Participation is not restricted to CSU students and employees.

Applications are generally available starting in mid October each year. Application deadlines vary by campus, but most campus deadlines are in February.

Applicants to the Chancellor's Doctoral Incentive Program must have a full-time tenured or tenure track CSU Faculty Advisor. The Advisor provides consultation and assistance to the candidate to enhance his/her academic experience. It is recommended that the Faculty Advisor and the student be in the same discipline, but it is not required.

• Promise as a doctoral student and interest in teaching a diverse student population. Considerations include:
  • The applicant's academic record and professional qualifications.
  • The quality of the proposed doctoral program.
  • The applicant's relevant background, experience, skills, and motivation needed to educate a diverse student body.
  • Faculty Advisor's statement by CSU Tenure-track Faculty member(s) that enhances the student's academic experience and provides mentoring and networking opportunities.
• Academic Discipline: Primary consideration will be given to candidates whose proposed area of study falls where CSU campuses anticipate the greatest difficulty in filling potential future instructional faculty positions.

• Applicants have the greatest possibility of success if they understand the demand for faculty in their discipline and the competitive nature of faculty hiring. You should consider the following factors when deciding whether to apply for the Chancellor's Doctoral Incentive/Forgivable Loan Program:
  • Academic Discipline - The academic discipline that you are pursuing will have a major impact on the likelihood of acceptance to the Chancellor's Doctoral Incentive Program. If you are pursuing a degree in a field that is not widely offered within the CSU, then you are much less likely to be accepted to the program.
  • Academic Discipline - The academic discipline that you are pursuing will have a major impact on the likelihood of acceptance to the program. If you are pursuing a degree in a field that is not widely offered within the CSU, then you are much less likely to be accepted to the program. In some fields, there is significant competition for faculty positions, whereas in other fields, there are more openings than candidates. This program seeks to provide funding primarily to individuals obtaining their degree in "hard to hire" disciplines. Your Faculty Advisor may be able to provide information on whether your intended field of study is in an area of high demand. You may also wish to review the annual report on Faculty Recruitment in the CSU and the number of CSU job postings within your discipline that are currently available.
  • Quality and reputation of program and school - Individuals accepted to the Chancellor's Doctoral Incentive Program will ultimately compete for jobs with individuals from all over the nation. If you plan to pursue your degree through an established program with an excellent national reputation, then you have a much better chance of being accepted to the program. Individuals attending lesser known schools and programs are less likely to be accepted to the program, because graduates of these schools are less likely to be successful in nationwide tenure track search.
• Admission to a graduate program is not required for acceptance to the Chancellor's Doctoral Incentive Program. However acceptance will be conditional upon attending a program and institution listed in the application. In addition, the selection committee may require additional restrictions on the programs listed on the application. Therefore, you should list all graduate programs where you have applied or plan to apply.
• Choose your CSU Faculty Advisor carefully, and if possible, obtain the support of multiple advisors. Applicants who have the support of multiple CSU faculty members have a greater chance of acceptance to the program.
• Applications to the program are first reviewed by a committee on the CSU campus through which you apply. Campus level recommendations on your candidacy will influence the systemwide selection committee. Therefore, it is helpful to address both the local context, as well as a systemwide context, in your application.
• Submit a COMPLETE application. Carefully review the checklist provided in the application.
• Make sure you address each of the selection criteria to the best of your ability.
• Do not submit extraneous information or documents. The selection committee will not review extraneous materials.

The 2009/2010 CDIP application will be available for downloading in early October 2008.