Chancellor's Doctoral Incentive Program

About the Program

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.

CDIP Fellows

Receive mentorship from a Cal Poly Humboldt faculty member to (a) support completion of their doctoral studies and (b) develop their potential for employment as a CSU faculty member;

Have access to three CDIP grant programs:

Mini-Grants: up to $2500 for collaborative activities and research-dissertation activities (e.g., research supplies, small equipment, computer programs, software, books, journal subscriptions)

Travel Grants: up to $1,500 in travel funds to participate in professional meetings, conferences, and workshops (mentors are also eligible for $1500 in travel funds!)

Dissertation Fellowships: up to $5,000 in funds to support the completion of doctoral studies in the final year of the dissertation

Can choose to receive a loan of up to $10,000 per year for three years (max. $30,000), which will be forgiven at 20% per year for each year of fulltime postdoctoral teaching employment in the CSU.

For more information, visit the program website or contact the Humboldt campus coordinator, Terri Fisher.

Eligibility to Apply

Applicants must be ONE of the following:

New or continuing full-time doctoral student currently enrolled in an accredited program in the U.S.
Undergraduate and master’s level graduate students (CSU students included) in the process of applying to an accredited doctoral program in the U.S. or
Lecturer (including current CSU lecturer) enrolled full-time in a doctoral program
Applicants are not required to have attended a CSU for eligibility.

Applicants in professional doctoral degree programs (e.g., EdD) may apply only if:

They are not in or applying to a CSU EdD program,
The doctoral program’s mission explicitly includes preparation and training of future university faculty members,
They can present evidence that graduates of the program have become faculty members at the CSU or comparable universities, and
The doctoral degree is in a discipline in which they are currently teaching as a lecturer or will be teaching as a lecturer.

Pre-Doc & CDIP Application Quick Guide

The Application

Applications will open mid-January and are to be completed and submitted electronically through Smartsheets before March 15th.

You can reach out to the campus coordinator Terri Fisher for a courtesy review of your application. Please submit all documents for a courtesy review before February 2nd.

Here are the components:

Application Form (through Smartsheets)
Curriculum Vitae (4 pages max)
Statement of Qualifications and Motivation (3 pages max)
Collaborative Plan of Support, co -constructed with their HSU Faculty Mentor (faculty mentor must be tenured or tenure-track). The plan must be for the duration of the CDIP fellowship
Two letters of recommendation; one letter must be from the Mentor (they will receive an email to upload their letter directly to InfoReady; a current email address of the referee is required)
A recent CSU faculty position announcement in their general field

For more information, refer to this powerpoint presentation or contact our office at hsugrad@humboldt.edu

Resources

If you were unable to attend our recent CDIP Informational Session that was held on December 14th, 2023 we've attached the PowerPoint Presentation below. Also, we've included a presentation that covers pertinent information for all applicants:

cdip_powerpoint_presentation_from_informational_session_12_4.pptx