CSU Howard C. Christiansen Scholarship

The Howard C. Christiansen Trust established an endowed scholarship in 2016 for undergraduate or graduate students pursuing any major in engineering. Scholarship nominees for the CSU Trustees’ Award will be reviewed first. If there are not enough applicants nominated who are in an engineering field, then the scholarship may be awarded to a second pool of engineering applicants outside the CSU Trustees’ Award.

• Six (6) $5,000 scholarships will be awarded for the 2026-2027 academic year.

APPLICANTS MUST

• Demonstrate superior academic performance with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and be in good academic standing.
• Demonstrate financial need as determined by the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships for the 2026/2027 academic year.
• Be currently enrolled as a full-time equivalent undergraduate or graduate student in any engineering major field at Fresno State and remain a full-time Fresno State student during the 2026/2027 academic year.

The Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships will review applications to ensure that they meet all stated requirements. If selected as a final nominee, the CSU Foundation will request two letters of recommendation from individuals such as teachers/professors, counselors or community leaders who can attest to the candidate’s meritorious performance and personal strengths and assess the nominee’s potential for success. One letter of reference must be from an academic instructor.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
In addition to completing the general scholarship application on this site, applicants must provide a brief personal statement answering the following questions:

1. What experience has impacted your personal growth?
2. Tell us about a time you failed. What did you learn from that experience?
3. Why are you pursuing your major? How does it relate to your career aspirations?
4. Provide an example of service beyond the classroom (i.e., have you taken on significant family obligations, helped others in a specific way, been involved in political action, worked/volunteered/interned at a particular organization, etc.). Why is this example significant to you?

Applicants must submit two letters of reference from individuals, such as teachers/professors, counselors, or community leaders, who can attest to the candidate’s meritorious performance and personal strengths and assess the nominee’s potential for success. One of the letters of reference must be from a current faculty member at Fresno State. All letters must be dated this calendar year. Recycled letters of recommendation from prior years will not be accepted for this scholarship.

This scholarship opportunity has a financial need requirement. To qualify for this scholarship applicants must also submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), or the California Dream Application, for the upcoming 2026/2027 academic year. When the Office Financial Aid Office & Scholarships receives and processes the FAFSA information, a financial need calculation will automatically be uploaded to your scholarship application.

APPLICATION DEADLINE IS APRIL 3, 2026

Please direct all questions to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.
Phone Number: (559) 278-2182