Grants and Writing Resources for California State University, Sacramento

Sacramento State students came back from the 39th Annual CSU Student Research Competition in 2025 with three second-place finishes and a third, according to the Student Research Center's Research and Creative Activity Spotlight; one of the second places went to a master's student in public policy and administration. A year earlier, at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Sac State students took three first-place awards and one second-place award against competitors from all 23 CSU campuses, in fields from communication studies to biochemistry.

Presenting Research

The road to the CSU competition starts on campus. Each spring the Student Research Center holds its Symposium Competition, where each presenter gives a 10-minute oral presentation and first- and second-place winners receive monetary awards. The top 10 first-place winners go on to represent Sac State at the CSU Student Research Competition, and the center can fund their travel and lodging. Its Fall Poster Forum is open to undergraduate and graduate students in any discipline, as well as spring alumni.

Some colleges run their own events. The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics holds a student research symposium each fall; in 2024 it drew 61 posters, with all six of the college's departments represented.

Fellowships and Graduate Awards

Sac State's Graduate Excellence & Engagement Program runs the main graduate funding. The Graduate Equity Fellowship supports full-time master's students who have faced educational or economic disadvantages, for up to four semesters. The program's page also covers two systemwide programs sponsored by the CSU Chancellor's Office. The California Pre-Doctoral Program names upper-division and master's students preparing for a research doctorate as Sally Casanova Scholars, pairs each with a CSU faculty mentor, and provides up to $5,000 for approved academic and professional-development activities; scholars may also apply for a fully funded summer research experience at a major U.S. research university.

The Chancellor's Doctoral Incentive Program is for people applying to or enrolled in a doctoral program who want to teach in the CSU. It offers mentoring by a tenured or tenure-track CSU professor and competitive grants that can pay for research or for finishing the dissertation.

Where Theses Are Published

Approved theses, projects, and dissertations are submitted electronically and published in Sac State Scholars, Sac State's research portal. Before that, the Office of Graduate Studies requires each author to complete the Culminating Experience Format Workshop, pass its quiz with at least 10 of 13 correct, and book a format review appointment. Word templates for each format are on the same page.

Our editors work with Sac State writers at the final-draft stage, from seminar papers to dissertations. See our California State University, Sacramento dissertation and thesis editing and California State University, Sacramento essay editing pages, or write to editors@editorsforstudents.com.

From Our Writing Guides

• The Lecture as a High-Stakes Professional Presentation
• Crafting Deep-Dive Narratives for Elite Programs
• Writing the Abstract and Title: First Impressions Matter