Department of Religious Studies Program Scholarships
In addition to university-wide scholarships, grants, fellowships, student loans and work-study funds, the Department of Religious Studies awards three additional program scholarships. The endowed support for these scholarships is made available by friends of the department, families of former students, and former faculty. The scholarships vary with respect to the qualifications required of students, the basis on which the scholarship is awarded, and the amount of the scholarship.
Students will only be considered for the scholarships for which they technically qualify.
In addition to a completed application form, students should consult the various scholarships to determine what other supporting materials are required. It is the responsibility of students to request, assemble, and submit the required forms and supporting documents on time. The department is unable to accept late applications. Note: the scholarship award year begins in the fall following the December in which the application is submitted.
The Kurt Stai Scholarship
After graduating from CSU, Chico with a major in religious studies in 1996, Kurt Stai went on to seminary, where he began training for the Lutheran pastorate. He was tragically killed in an automobile accident in early 1997. The scholarship is the gift of his parents, Wayne and Marilyn Stai of Chico, and of Kurt´s friends.
Eligibility: GPA: 2.0. Class standing at time of award must be junior, senior, or enrolled graduate student in a bona fide master´s, MDiv or PhD program in religious studies for the award year. This is a scholarship based on financial need as well as academic performance. Students may be awarded this scholarship more than once.
The John Bash Scholarship
John Bash was, for nearly 30 years, a professor of religious studies at CSU, Chico. He received his PhD in religious studies from Yale University in 1965. In 1971 John and several other Chico faculty founded the Department of Religious Studies. John was part of a cohort of faculty that educated hundreds of students and dozens of majors through the 70s, 80s, and 90s. John taught courses in the religions of the East and West, the history of Christian thought, religion and autobiography, religious humanism and freedom and evil. He directed CSU, Chico study tours to New Zealand, east Africa, China, the eastern Mediterranean, and Europe. In 1991 and 1996 he taught with the University of Pittsburgh´s Semester at Sea program. John traveled widely through Asia, including several significant treks to remote villages and monasteries in Nepal.
Eligibility: Junior or senior in good standing at the time that the award is made. GPA of 3.0. You must be enrolled at least for the fall semester of the award year. Applicants are eligible for this award for more than one year. This is predominantly an academic scholarship.
