Grants and Writing Resources for California State University San Marcos

Two graduate students in CSUSM's Sociological Practice program are Sally Casanova Scholars for 2026-27, part of a CSU cohort of 75 juniors, seniors and master's students who plan to pursue research doctorates. Each scholar has up to $5,000 for doctoral preparation, such as conference travel, graduate application fees and visits to doctoral campuses, and can seek separate funding for an eight-week summer research experience at a major research university.

Where Students Present

The Symposium on Student Research, Creative Activities, and Innovation is a juried contest in ten categories, from Education to Humanities and Letters. Each entry starts with a written summary approved by a faculty mentor. Presenters get ten minutes to talk and three minutes for questions, judges choose a finalist and runner-up in each room, and top presentations earn cash awards. Ten projects go on to the CSU Student Research Competition, which CSUSM hosts in April 2027. At the 2026 statewide round, two CSUSM students took second place in their categories.

Grad Slam judges a three-minute talk with one static slide for a general audience. Undergraduate, master's and doctoral students may enter, and cash prizes go to an undergraduate winner and to graduate winners in STEM and non-STEM fields. The two graduate first-place finishers advance to the CSU-wide competition. Literature and Writing Studies marked ten years of its Spring Graduate Conference in April 2026 with the theme "Bodies of Work: Corporeal, Conscious, and Creative," with critical and creative presentations of up to 20 minutes from graduate students. Outstanding upper-division undergraduate work could also be considered.

Travel Money and the Student Excellence Award

Student travel funds from the Office of Graduate Studies and Research pay $50 to $500 toward the cost of presenting research or creative work completed at CSUSM. Individual and group projects qualify. A student can receive the award once as an undergraduate and once as a graduate student, and money goes out first-come, first-served until it runs out.

The Committee for Undergraduate Research gives the Student Excellence Award of $500 for faculty-mentored research, scholarship or creative activity. Undergraduate, post-baccalaureate and graduate students may apply, with no GPA requirement, and a winning group splits the prize. Applicants write a 500-word statement and present at the Student Poster Showcase, a non-competitive event at the end of fall semester open to students from every discipline.

Doctoral Preparation and Graduate Honors

The Chancellor's Doctoral Incentive Program lends doctoral students up to $10,000 a year, with a $30,000 maximum, and forgives 20 percent of the loan for each year of full-time postdoctoral teaching in the CSU. Fellows who have advanced to candidacy can apply for a $5,000 Dissertation Fellowship Award, and a competitive Conference Travel Grant pays up to $1,500.

Under the 2025-26 criteria for the Graduate Dean's Award, each graduate program could nominate one graduating student, and nominees needed a graduate GPA of at least 3.7. The recipient is considered for the President's Outstanding Graduate Award.

Writing Center and Thesis Submission

The Writing Center in Extended Learning Building 204 books tutoring sessions of up to 50 minutes, in person or online, and takes walk-ins. Quick Help, a chat channel in Microsoft Teams, answers questions on grammar, word choice and formatting. The center also holds a Formatting Clinic that supports all styles, with emphasis on MLA and APA.

Every master's program ends in a thesis, project or comprehensive exam. Thesis committees have at least two members, and the chair is typically tenure-line CSUSM faculty. A Literature and Writing Studies thesis runs at least 25 pages, can be critical, creative or hybrid, and is defended in a public forum. Students follow their program's style guidelines and submit to the library. The library's fall 2026 checklist asks for an accessible Word file with tagged headings, alt-text and an unsigned signature page, plus a $25 fee. The library then posts the work in ScholarWorks, the CSU repository.

The library accepts no changes once a thesis or project is uploaded, so the final edit for grammar, consistency and format belongs before that step. See our California State University San Marcos dissertation and thesis editing and California State University San Marcos essay editing pages, or write to editors@editorsforstudents.com.

From Our Writing Guides

• How to Write an Analytical Essay: Analysis vs. Interpretation
• Literature Synthesis: Moving Beyond the Summary toward Authority
• Writing the Abstract and Title: First Impressions Matter