Art Department Scholarships & Awards

The Department of Art sponsors over eight scholarships and awards programs for its students each year. Certificates and awards are announced at the Annual Student Awards Show reception in April each year.

Scholarships & Financial Awards

• The R. W. and Joyce Witt Scholarship Award in Studio Art for any Sacramento State student with a declared minor or major in Art or Photography. All media are eligible.
• The Frederick M. Peyser, Sr. Prize in Studio Art for any Sacramento State undergraduate. Only two-dimensional media (painting, photography, printmaking, mixed media, and digital, video and interactive works) are eligible.
• The University Art Product Award for works of art in ANY medium that are submitted by Sacramento State undergraduates with a declared major in Art and an overall GPA of 3.0.
• The Increase Robinson Memorial Fellowship Award is for classified graduate students in Studio Art. Entries may be in any medium.

Note: Application forms for the awards listed above are available early in the spring term.

• The Peggy Saunders Hall Memorial Scholarship is a $5,000 award to support an outstanding undergraduate Art student who has chosen teaching at any level as a future goal.
• The Juanita and Jose Montoya Memorial Art Scholarship is a $500 award to support an outstanding undergraduate Art student with an interest in teaching. Open to Junior and Senior students with a declared major in Art and an overall GPA of 2.7.
• The Ruth Rippon Ceramic Scholarship is a $1000 award offered once a year to an outstanding student majoring in Studio Art, with an emphasis in ceramics, who shows promise in making ceramic art a career.
• The R. W. and Joyce Witt Art History Competition gives out two awards of $100 each. One prize is awarded in each category
  • Category A: graduate or undergraduate art history research papers.
  • Category B: graduate or undergraduate art writing of any genre. Students may submit one entry per category.

Communication Studies Department Scholarships

Undergraduate Student Scholarships & Awards

• BMG Scholarship
• Donald R. Gerth Forensics Program Memorial Scholarship
• Jamie Gonzales Memorial Scholarship
• JoAnne McDougal Robinson Scholarship for Journalistic Excellence
• Joseph Harvey Harris, M.D. and Margaret Alice Harris Memorial Communications Studies Endowed Scholarship
• Miller/Zanze Scholarship
• Nancy Kincaid Goldberg Memorial Communication Studies Endowed Scholarship
• Patrick Marsh Scholarship in Rhetoric and Message Design Scholarship
• Robert T. Forsyth Scholarship

Graduate Student Scholarships & Awards

• Leah Vande Berg Graduate Scholarship in Communication Studies Scholarship
• Patrick Marsh Scholarship in Rhetoric and Message Design Scholarship
• Robert T. Forsyth Scholarship

To apply visit: Sacramento State Scholarship Portal

Contact Alexis Garcia in the Communication Studies Office for more information.

Design Department Scholarships

All Eligible Applicants Must Apply Through the Sacramento State Scholarship Portal

John Scott Barmby Memorial Graphic Design Endowed Scholarship

This scholarship is intended to support graphic design students in the College of Arts and Letters. Applicants must meet the following criteria to be eligible to receive this scholarship:

• Major: Graphic Design
• Minimum GPA: 3.0 overall GPA
• Class Level: Undergrad: Junior, Senior
• Enrollment: Part-time at time of award and at time of application

Hogue & Associates Interior Design

The Hogue & Associates Interior Design Scholarship was create to support student majoring in Interior Design. Open to Student who meets the following requirement:

• Minimum GPA of 2.5 over all
• Freshman, Sophomores, or Juniors
• At least half time at time of application
• Pre -major in Interior Design or Interior Design major with a concentration in Interior Architecture or Interior design/marketing

Rebecca Renee Bell Memorial Photography

The scholarship was created to honor the memory o Rebecca Renne Bells's Memory, and support Photography Students. Open to Student who meets the following requirement:

• Sophomores Juniors, or Seniors
• Minimum 3.0 GPA
• full time at time of award
• Majoring in photography

Patricia Ford

The Patricia Ford was created to award Photography Students. Open to Student who meets the following requirement:

• Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors, Classified/Unclassified Graduate, or 2nd bachelors
• at least half time at time of award
• Majoring/minoring in Photography

International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Merit

The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Merit was created to reward student for academic performance and design abilities. Open to Student who meets the following requirement:

• Junior, Seniors, or 2nd bachelors
• Minimum GPA of 2.5 over all
• At least half time at time of application
• Interior Design or Interior design with a concentration in Interior Architecture - Please be aware that Design and Marketing concentration students are not eligible
• Potential Recipient that are selected must be available for interview by selection committee

English Department Scholarships 

The English department sponsors a number of scholarships for its students. Applications for these awards are accepted — and winners are announced — each Spring semester; the scholarships are then awarded the following Fall semester.

Scholarship offerings vary but may include the following;.

• John F. Wilhelm Memorial Scholarship
• Katherine Hohlwein Poetry Award of Merit
• Karen Lee Warmdahl Memorial Scholarship
• Elizabeth Keith Olmstead & John and Kathryn von Saltza Memorial Scholarship
• Literary Insight Award
• Patrick Michael Ewing Memorial Scholarship
• Hortense Simmons Study Abroad Scholarship
• Robert G. Mino Memorial Writing Competition
• Theresa Mary McCourt Memorial Scholarship
• Ray Brankline and Paulette Gray English Scholarship

To apply vist: https://www.csus.edu/apply/financial-aid-scholarships/scholarships/

The Theresa Mary McCourt bio page can be found here.

The English department also hosts the Dominic J. Bazzanella Writing Competition each Spring semester, where undergraduate and graduate students are invited to submit their best poetry, critical analysis, short fiction, or creative nonfiction for the chance to win cash prizes and publication. Contact Dr. Rosa Martinez for information.

History Department Scholarships 

Undergraduate Student Scholarships & Awards

• The Peter H. Shattuck Undergraduate Scholarship provides two scholarships of approximately $7,000 each for selected undergraduate students.
• The Professor Thomas Swift History Scholarship provides one scholarship of approximately $3,000 for a history major, preferably with a focus on Asian history.
• The Department of History Undergraduate Scholarship provides approximately $2,000 for a selected undergraduate student.
• The Senator Nicholas C. Petris Scholarship is for students pursuing Hellenic Studies. Award amounts vary. Contact Dr. Lagos, (916) 278-7103.

Graduate Student Scholarships & Awards

• The George and Eleanor Craft Graduate Scholarship provides about $2,000 each to two classified history graduate students. Recipients are normally in their second year of the program.
• The George Bramson Award for Historic Preservation is a $1,000 award given for graduate student achievement in historic preservation.
• The Kenneth H. W. Earle Graduate Fellowship in History Scholarship provides about $1,000 to support and encourage graduate students to pursue historical research in California history.
• The Kenneth N. Owens Award for Excellence in Public History provides $500 to support tuition costs, academic book purchase, and research activity.
• The Rose-Christensen History Research Travel Scholarship provides $500 for history graduate students to travel to academic conferences or for research.
• The Lawrence A. Brooks Memorial Graduate Conference Scholarship can provide up to $300 for participation at academic conferences. Please inquire with the History Department Chair for more information if you are planning to attend a conference.
• The Faculty Graduate Writing Prize in History provides about $200 in prize money for the two best papers written by history graduate students in their programs. Recipients are normally in their second year.

Some non-departmental scholarships offered by the university give preference to History majors, such as the James William Whitsell Memorial Scholarship. The James Madison Graduate Fellowship is awarded to students who are currently teaching 7th through 12th grades or who plan on teaching at that level.

School of Music Scholarships

The School of Music offers many scholarships for highly meritorious performance during auditions.

• Talented students enrolled in the Music Education and Credential programs have opportunities to receive awards from the Nicholas "Mr. A" Angiulo Scholarship.
• Talented brass, woodwind and percussion students enrolled in a Sac State Large Performing Ensemble are considered for Ronald A. Holloway scholarships.
• We also administer a number of need-based awards for highly meritorious performance, including the Alpha Sigma Phi Paschal Monk Scholarship.

Contact Mark Allen in the Music Admissions Office at (916) 278-6543 for more information.

World Languages & Literature Department Scholarships

All Eligible Applicants Must Apply Through the Sacramento State Scholarship Portal

The Margaret E. Lavezzo Memorial Italy Travel Scholarship

• Created in memory of Mrs. Margaret E. Lavezzo, member of the graduating class of 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, and a multiple subject credential in Education in 1993. This scholarship is intended for one Italian minor traveling to Italy for educational purposes. Award amount: $2500.

Lew Robinson Chinese Endowed Scholarship

The Lew Robinson Chinese Endowed Scholarship was created to encourage and provide support for students studying Chinese in the Department of World Languages and Literature in the College of Arts and Letters. Applicants must meet the following criteria to be eligible to receive this scholarship:

• Be in Good Academic Standing, 2.0 overall GPA
• Be minoring in Chinese
• Be of Junior or Senior Class level
• Be enrolled full time at the time of the award and application
  Note: Student must submit a short statement (1-2 paragraphs) on “Why they are minoring in Chinese?”

The Thomas Swift Japanese Minor Travel Scholarship

• A $1000 travel scholarship will be awarded to one student minoring in Japanese and traveling to Japan for educational purposes. Created in honor of the late Dr. Thomas J. Swift, former professor of Asian History at CSUS.

The William J. Sullivan, Jr. Endowment

• Created by the late Dr. William J. Sullivan, former Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages (now World Languages & Literatures) and Dean of the College of Arts & Letters at CSUS, to support students minoring in German or majoring in French or Spanish. Award amount: not to exceed $1000.