Skip to content

California State University, Dominguez Hills · California

CSU Dominguez Hills Merit Aid

CSUDH is a low-cost CSU public ($8,705.72 resident direct cost) where the only full-ride merit award is the competitive Presidential Scholarship (full in-state fees, 3.5 GPA); most other institutional scholarships are small, competitive, application-based, and routed through one common portal.

Verified Jun 20264 days ago· CC
Merit tiers8See requirements
Last verifiedJun 2026Analyst CC

Rules that bite at CSU Dominguez Hills

The trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook. Each is derived from CSU Dominguez Hills's own published policy, not generic advice.

  • renewalPresidential Scholarship (Presidential Scholars Program): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

    Awarded to first-year students for four years and to transfer students for two years. Renewal requires completing at least 15 units per semester, two pre-selected community-service/campus activities per semester, and a rising GPA floor: at least 3.0 by end of freshman year, 3.25 by end of sophomore year, and 3.5 by end of junior/senior years. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

Common merit-aid mistakes at CSU Dominguez Hills

  1. It is a competitive, application-based award (essay, resume, and a letter of recommendation) with a hard deadline (March 12, 2026 for the cycle shown) — meeting the 3.5 GPA only makes you eligible to apply, not guaranteed to win it.

  2. The Pledge is an income/eligibility guarantee (Student Aid Index of 10,000 or less, Pell for FAFSA filers, FAFSA/CADAA by April 15), not a merit award, and it covers tuition and mandatory fees only — not housing, parking, textbooks, or orientation fees.

  3. The $8,705.72 figure is tuition fees plus campus fees for California residents only; it excludes housing, food, books, transportation, and personal costs, and non-California residents pay an additional $471 per unit on top.

  4. It is restricted to incoming first-year students from five specific cities — Carson, Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Torrance, or Wilmington — so most applicants are not eligible regardless of GPA.

  5. Most CSUDH institutional scholarships are not automatic; they require a separate online application submitted by each scholarship's deadline through the CSUDH Scholarship Portal (csudh.scholarships.ngwebsolutions.com).

Who this school is for

Cost-conscious California students for whom CSUDH is already affordable (resident direct cost under $9K/yr); high-stat applicants (3.5+ GPA, CA high-school grads) chasing the one full-fees Presidential Scholarship, and need-eligible CA residents who qualify for the Toro Tuition Pledge (free tuition + mandatory fees).

Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $8,706 for 2026-2027. Source

Institutional merit aid tiers

Every tier below is sourced to the school’s own published financial aid pages. Renewal terms apply only if the student maintains the stated GPA.

Full in-state tuition and fees…Full in-state tuition and fees (plus book allowance, parking, laptop, housing stipend)

Presidential Scholarship (Presidential Scholars Program)

ApplicationRenewable
GPA
Minimum weighted GPA of at least 3.5
Requirements & details
Eligibility

Competitive/application-based. First-time freshmen must graduate from a California high school; transfer applicants must transfer directly from a California Community College with a minimum of 60 transferable units; applicants must be admitted to CSUDH to apply. Application requires a personal essay, resume, and one letter of recommendation.

Renewal terms

Awarded to first-year students for four years and to transfer students for two years. Renewal requires completing at least 15 units per semester, two pre-selected community-service/campus activities per semester, and a rising GPA floor: at least 3.0 by end of freshman year, 3.25 by end of sophomore year, and 3.5 by end of junior/senior years.

Notes

This is CSUDH's only full-ride-equivalent merit award and is competitive, not automatic on stats. A separate CSUDH President's-office 'Presidential Scholars - Requirements' page lists renewal terms but does not state SAT/ACT cutoffs; the financial-aid Presidential Scholarship page (used here) states a 3.5 GPA and 60 transferable units and lists no test-score requirement. (Some third-party/older summaries cite 1000 SAT / 25 ACT and 44 transfer units; NOT confirmed on the current official financial-aid page — see Section C.)

Source

$2,500 - $3,000

Honors Scholarship

ApplicationRenewable
View requirements
Eligibility

Awarded to incoming first-year students or transfer students who meet specific academic requirements (specific GPA/test cutoffs not published on the scholarships listing page). Application-based via the CSUDH Scholarship Portal.

Renewal terms

Renewable for up to four years for first-year students and two years for transfer students.

Notes

Amount and renewal length are quoted verbatim from the New Student Scholarships listing. The specific academic threshold is not published; apply through the portal.

Source

$4,000

Katherine Bogdanovich Loker Scholarship

ApplicationRenewable
View requirements
Eligibility

Awarded to an incoming first-year student from Carson, Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Torrance, or Wilmington. Application-based via the CSUDH Scholarship Portal.

Renewal terms

The official New Student Scholarships listing states the $4,000 amount but does NOT state renewal terms. (A non-official summary describes it as renewable annually up to four years with a 3.0 GPA maintained, but that renewal/GPA detail is not on the official page — left unconfirmed.)

Notes

Geographically restricted to five South Bay / Harbor-area cities. $4,000 quoted verbatim; renewal/GPA terms not verified on the official listing.

Source

up to $10,000

Breakthrough Scholarship

ApplicationRenewable
View requirements
Eligibility

Provides support to students who are enrolled in a degree program at CSUDH. Application-based via the CSUDH Scholarship Portal.

Renewal terms

Renewal terms not stated on the listing.

Notes

'up to $10,000' is a ceiling, not a fixed award. Eligibility detail is thin on the public listing.

Source

$1,000

CSU Future Scholars

ApplicationRenewable
View requirements
Eligibility

Up to 30 entering first-year or transfer students. Application-based via the CSUDH Scholarship Portal.

Renewal terms

Listed as a renewable scholarship for up to 30 entering first-year or transfer students; specific renewal conditions not published on the listing.

Notes

Small fixed award; renewable per the listing language.

Source

$2,500 for full time students…$2,500 for full time students (pro-rated for part time attendance)

Osher Scholarship Program

ApplicationRenewable
View requirements
Eligibility

Awarded to students who transfer from a California Community College. Application-based via the CSUDH Scholarship Portal.

Renewal terms

Renewal terms not stated on the listing.

Notes

Transfer-only award; pro-rated for part-time enrollment.

Source

Up to $2,000

Edison STEM Scholarship

ApplicationRenewable
View requirements
Eligibility

Designated for undergraduate junior or senior students majoring in one of the STEM disciplines. Application-based via the CSUDH Scholarship Portal.

Renewal terms

Renewal terms not stated on the listing.

Notes

For continuing junior/senior STEM majors rather than incoming freshmen; included for completeness. 'Up to $2,000' is a ceiling.

Source

$500

Catalina Island Scholarship

ApplicationRenewable
View requirements
Eligibility

Designated for students who are a current Catalina Island resident or have attended high school on Catalina Island. Application-based via the CSUDH Scholarship Portal.

Renewal terms

Renewal terms not stated on the listing.

Notes

Highly niche, geographically restricted, small award.

Source

Lesser-known scholarships at CSU Dominguez Hills

Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.

AmountFull tuition and mandatory fees (no fixed dollar amount)EligibilityNEED/ELIGIBILITY-BASED, not merit. California resident or in-state tuition eligible; FAFSA or CADAA completed by April 15; Student Aid Index of 10,000 or less (FAFSA filers must be receiving a Pell Grant); not enrolled in College of Professional and Extended Education programs.

Guarantee, not a competitive merit award: covers tuition and mandatory fees only (Student Activity Fee, Student Center Fee, Health Facilities Fee, Instructionally Related Activities Fee, Student Success Fee, and others) for up to four years (first-time first-year) or two years (upper-division transfers). Does NOT cover on-campus housing, parking, textbooks, or New Student Orientation fees. Requires Intent to Enroll, orientation, and continuous full-time enrollment (12+ units) with satisfactory academic progress.

Source

AmountVaries (amount not published)EligibilityEntering first-time freshman students who meet certain academic requirements and demonstrate enthusiasm for university education.

Merit-oriented but no dollar amount published on the official listing; apply via portal.

Source

AmountVaries (amount not published)EligibilityIncoming CSUDH first-year student from an area high school.

Amount not published; apply via portal.

Source

AmountVaries (amount not published)EligibilityNEED-BASED: first-time freshman with demonstrated financial need.

Need-based, not merit; amount not published.

Source

AmountVaries (amount not published)EligibilityStudents who have transferred from a California Community College within the last four years.

Transfer award; amount not published.

Source

CSU Dominguez Hills merit aid FAQ

  • Does CSUDH give automatic merit scholarships based on GPA or test scores?

    No published automatic GPA/test merit grid was found. CSUDH's institutional scholarships, including the flagship Presidential Scholarship, are competitive and application-based through the CSUDH Scholarship Portal. All scholarships require a minimum 2.0 GPA, and the Presidential Scholarship requires a minimum weighted 3.5 GPA to apply.

  • What is the biggest merit award and what does it cover?

    The Presidential Scholarship covers full in-state tuition and fees (plus a book allowance, parking permit, laptop, and on-campus housing stipend) for four years for first-year students and two years for transfers. It requires a 3.5 weighted GPA, graduation from a California high school (or transfer from a California Community College with 60 transferable units), admission to CSUDH, and an application with essay, resume, and a recommendation letter. The deadline shown was March 12, 2026.

  • What is the scholarship deadline?

    The Presidential Scholarship deadline shown is March 12, 2026; the Toro Tuition Pledge requires FAFSA/CADAA by April 15. Other portal scholarships each have their own deadline, listed per-scholarship in the CSUDH Scholarship Portal — there is no single universal deadline published on the scholarships page.

  • If I win an outside (private) scholarship, will CSUDH reduce my aid?

    CSUDH does not publish an outside-scholarship displacement policy on its public financial-aid pages. As a federal-aid recipient your total aid generally cannot exceed your cost of attendance, so ask the Financial Aid Office directly how an outside award is applied (see Section C).

How CSU Dominguez Hills compares across our verified dataset

  • 669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    CSU Dominguez Hills is one of them. The cohort minority (82 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against CSU Dominguez Hills’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

  • UCLA merit aid — California public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • UC Berkeley merit aid — California public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • UC San Diego merit aid — California public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • Cal Poly SLO merit aid — California public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.

Keep exploring CSU Dominguez Hills merit aid