Graduate Studies

Chancellor's Doctoral Incentive Program (CDIP)

The California State University (CSU) Chancellor's Doctoral Incentive Program (CDIP) aims to increase the number of promising doctoral students applying for future CSU instructional faculty positions by offering financial assistance in the form of a loan and mentorship by CSU faculty.

The CDIP offers loans up to $10,000 per year over 5 years, with a maximum amount of $30,000. The loans are:

  • Repayable over a 15-year period commencing one year after completion of, or withdrawal from, full-time doctoral study;
  • Forgivable at the rate of 20 percent for each year of full-time postdoctoral teaching employment in the CSU or 10 percent for each year of part-time postdoctoral teaching employment in the CSU.

Established in 1987, the CSU CDIP is the largest program of its kind in the United States. As of June 2015, the program has loaned $47 million to 2,050 doctoral students enrolled in universities throughout the nation. 1,245 participants have successfully earned doctoral degrees, and over half (705 participants) have subsequently obtained employment in CSU instructional faculty positions.

Application Deadline:

2025–2026 application deadline is February 17, 2025 – Applications are submitted online to the Chancellor's Office

Go directly to the CDIP application guide webpage for detailed application guidelines (PDF).

Please note that the application must be completed in one sitting. You cannot save the application in progress. Have all materials prepared and ready to submit before you begin the CDIP application form.  

Dr. Sharon Barrios, Dean of Graduate Studies, can meet with students, read essays and materials, and review applications before submitting them.

For more information, please contact graduatestudies@csuchico.edu.

Increasing the Diversity of CSU Faculty

The California State University Chancellor's Doctoral Incentive Program aims to recruit future faculty, mostly from among CSU undergraduate and graduate programs, and deepen their commitment to educating the most ethnically, economically, and academically diverse student body in the nation. Fellows learn to be student role models, advocates, and mentors as they pursue their doctorate degrees.

To read about a few of the CDIP faculty who returned to teach at a CSU campus and are inspiring the next generation, go to Increasing the Diversity of CSU Faculty(opens in new window).