Scholarships & Awards

Note: To be eligible for scholarships, the university requires that students complete the CSU, Chico Wildcat Scholarship application.

Department Scholarships

Maria S. Haynes Italian Studies Scholarship

Named to honor the long career of the late Professor Emerita Maria S. Haynes, this award is funded by family and colleagues. The award is given to students enrolled in Italian classes who show academic potential.

Melitta T. Singer Memorial Scholarship (German)

This scholarship was established by Barbara and Joseph Stengel in 2009 to honor the memory of Mrs. Stengel’s mother, Melitta Theresia Singer. Melitta Singer was born in 1922 and grew up in Sudetenland, Germany, the daughter of a working, lower-to-middle class family. She apprenticed as a seamstress until World War II intervened, and then spent the war years in Berlin working for the German Red Cross. She eventually settled in Wiesbaden, where she raised her daughter Barbara, endowing her daughter with a rich love of reading and learning. Barbara attended Chico State, earning her B.A. and Masters in History. This scholarship is intended to support students pursuing a major or minor in German.

The Betsy Randolph Spanish Language Award

A Chico State Spanish alum and retired kindergarten teacher, Betsy Randolph believes passionately in the importance of acquiring a second language. She created this award to recognize a student with demonstrated service to the Spanish program through participation with publications and other activities, including the department's honor society Phi Sigma Iota, of which she is an honorary member.

John Boyle Outstanding Japanese Language Student Award

This award was established by John Boyle to recognize and award student excellence in the study of Japanese language. John Boyle, an author and scholar in the area of pre- and post-war Japan, taught courses in east Asian history at Chico State from 1968 until his retirement in 1997. He and his wife Barbara Shipley Boyle lived for many years in Tokyo, and now reside in Chico.

HFA Scholarships

Bix Whitcomb Study Abroad Award

This scholarship was created by Chico State alum Bix Whitcomb to recognize outstanding English or Spanish major students within the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, and create an opportunity for them to experience the culminating experience of foreign study.

While a student, Bix was a scholar-athlete, excelling in swimming as well as in academics as an honors student in English. During his tenure at Chico State, he had the opportunity to live and study for one year in Spain, which he considers one of the defining experiences of his college career.

Elizabeth Randolph Study Abroad Award

Chico State alum Elizabeth Randolph (Spanish, '68) created this $3500 award to help support the study abroad experience of one student each year from the College of Humanities and Fine Arts.

Betsy spent a year in Spain while a student at Chico State, and believes her study abroad experience was one of the most formative times of her life. Betsy, a retired teacher, also supports a Spanish Language scholarship, and returns to campus regularly for Phi Sigma Iota events, of which she is an honorary member. The award recipient is selected based on his or her application each spring by a committee chaired by the Dean.