Smittcamp Family Honors College - President's Honors Scholarship Application

Scholarship Announcement
The Smittcamp Family Honors College (SFHC) at California State University, Fresno, which is recognized as one of the top programs of its kind in the Western United States, provides a rigorous, yet friendly setting for scholars to engage in courses that match those offered at a small liberal arts college while also having access to the breadth of resources and extracurricular activities offered at a high quality, comprehensive university. That’s quite an achievement, especially when one considers that some of the most prestigious universities in the country are located in California. No other institution in the region can match the benefits of the Smittcamp Family Honors College.

The admission to SFHC is highly competitive. Each admitted applicant becomes a “President’s Honors Scholar” and will receive a President’s Honors Scholarship (PHS) up to a maximum of eight semesters of undergraduate studies. The dollar value of PHS award may vary in a progressive fashion from one academic year to the next and will be determined by the Honors Council (the governing body of SFHC). In addition, SFHC will award a Housing Stipend to any Scholar who chooses to live on-campus in order to offset the related cost. For the 2024-2025 academic year, the PHS is set at $6,000 ($3,000 per semester) and the Housing Stipend at $5,937 ($2,944 for Fall, and $2,993 for Spring), making the total value of SFHC’s offer equal to $11,937. (Note: the room assignment is at the discretion of the University Housing Office). Each PHS recipient is expected to keep a full-time status (a minimum of 12 undergraduate units) and to maintain a minimum cumulative GPA each semester as follows: 3.25 for Semesters 1 – 2, 3.35 for Semesters 3 – 4, and 3.50 for Semesters 5 – 8. (Note: A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50 is required in order to graduate with University Honors through SFHC.)

Admission Requirements
You must be a first-time freshman who has not been matriculated as a full-time student at any institution of higher learning (i.e., community college or any four-year university). Applicants must meet at least one of the following two criteria in order to be eligible to apply to SFHC:

1. Have a minimum 3.8 high school GPA (weighted or unweighted; grades 9-11)
2. Ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class

Please read all the instructions to make sure you understand the requirements for this scholarship.

Be prepared to list the name and email address of your high school counselor or school official who will receive an email from Fresno State requesting that they upload a copy of your high school transcript. You will also need to provide the name and email address for two (or three) people who can each submit a recommendation letter on your behalf. At least one of the recommenders has to be a teacher, and the other can be either a teacher or an academic counselor. Please note that your official transcript is the only document that has to be uploaded by your counselor or another school official by the application deadline specified below (12/6/24). Each of your two (or three) recommenders will provide their recommendation by filling a text box. It is highly recommended that you monitor the status of your application to verify that your counselor and teachers have uploaded your transcript and/or submitted their recommendation letters on your behalf. This can be done by clicking on the “References” section on this site. From this page, you can see the status of all your reference requests. Note: All required documents (transcripts and recommendation letters) must be uploaded by 11:59 p.m. on 12/6/24. No exceptions!

Application Period
The SFHC scholarship application period begins October 1, 2024 and closes on December 6, 2024 at 11:59 pm (PST).

Award Notification
You will receive notification of your application status via an email sent directly by the SFHC Director to your Fresno State address no later than March 1, 2025. If you have not received such a notification, please check your email’s spam folder or call (559-278-8160) or email (honors@csufresno.edu) the SFHC Office. You may also visit the SFHC website at: https://academics.fresnostate.edu/honors/index.html