Graduate Equity Fellowship Program

The Graduate Equity Fellowship Program (GEFP) seeks to increase the diversity of students completing graduate degree programs at Chico State, encourages exploration of doctoral degree opportunities, and promotes consideration of university faculty careers. It provides support for students from historically underrepresented groups including those who have experienced economic disadvantages, restricted access to quality educational opportunities, and underrepresentation in the respective discipline.  

The program aims to support student success by providing paid research assistantships of $3,678/semester (amounts are subject to change), supervised by faculty mentors who assist students to develop their research skills and to complete a research project for (ideally) eventual presentation or publication. Students either assist the faculty mentor in an established research project or work with the mentor to design a project tailored more specifically to the students’ interests.

Recipients are determined through a competitive application process. To qualify for a Graduate Equity Fellowship, applicants must:

• Be admitted to a CSU, Chico graduate program as a classified or conditionally classified master’s student;
• Be a California resident or have an AB540 affidavit on-file;
• Complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act Application (CADAA);
• Have financial need of at least $1,000;
• Enroll in at least 6 units directly related to their graduate degree program;
• Be able and qualified to work 10 hours per week as a student employee;*
• Be available to meet with the GEFP Coordinator and other fellows for one hour each month during the semester;
• Be willing to participate in the CSUC Annual Student Research Competition;
• Have an undergraduate GPA of 2.70 and/or a graduate GPA of 3.0;
• Have secured a faculty mentor willing to guide the research project.**

*CSU policy restricts students to working on campus no more than 20 hours per week during the academic year, thus, our fellows may not work more than 10 hours per week at another campus job.

**Students without a faculty mentor may contact the Program Coordinator, Dr. Matt Thomas, prior to the deadline. He may be able to assist you in finding a mentor.

Compensation and Duration:

• Fellows are provided a stipend of $1050/semester and, contingent on budget approval, a salary of $3,678 for one semester;
• Fellows may be able to reapply and compete for funding for additional semesters;
• Reappointment is contingent upon satisfactory performance in research work with the faculty mentor, as well as continuing to meet all eligibility;
• Funding amounts are subject to change from semester to semester depending on the budget.

Application Deadlines:

• April 1^st for Fall
• November 1^st for Spring

This program has been supporting graduate student success since 1986 and is funded by the CSU Chancellor’s Office (stipend) and the Office of Graduate Studies (salary).  All qualified students are encouraged to apply and will be considered without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, or national origin.

GEFP Application (PDF)

GEFP Instructions (PDF)

(If you need special accommodation to access these documents, please contact the Office of Accessible Technology and Services.)

For more information, please contact Matthew Thomas.

All application documents should be emailed to graduatestudies@csuchico.edu.