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.

CSU Dominguez Hills award rules

Will the scholarship last four years at CSU Dominguez Hills?

We pulled the school’s grade, credit, and time limits into one place so you can see what it takes to keep the award.

Verified Jul 20262 months ago

The short answer

8 of 8 published awards are listed as renewable.

The exact rule can change by award. Check the award your student may receive before you count on the same amount every year.

What to do

Find the award name in the full research below. Save its grade, credit, and deadline rules with your college plan.

See every award rule, common mistake, and source

At a glance

Renewable tiers: 8 of 8
One-time tiers: 0
Tiers with published renewal terms: 8
Renewal risk profile: moderate

Renewal risk profile

CSU Dominguez Hills's renewal bar is achievable for steady students but isn't generous. Most awards require a cumulative GPA in the 3.0–3.4 band plus full-time enrollment. Audit the strictest tier on this school's list before assuming the four-year value is locked in.

Presidential Scholarship (Presidential Scholars Program): See notes
Honors Scholarship: See notes
Katherine Bogdanovich Loker Scholarship: 3.0 GPA
Breakthrough Scholarship: See notes
CSU Future Scholars: See notes
Osher Scholarship Program: See notes
Edison STEM Scholarship: See notes
Catalina Island Scholarship: See notes

Renewal terms by tier

Presidential Scholarship (Presidential Scholars Program)
Full in-state tuition and fees (plus book allowance, parking, laptop, housing stipend)
Entry requirements: Minimum weighted GPA of at least 3.5 GPA
To keep it: 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.
Source: https://www.csudh.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/presidential-scholarship/
Honors Scholarship
$2,500 - $3,000
To keep it: Renewable for up to four years for first-year students and two years for transfer students.
Source: https://www.csudh.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/new-student-scholarships/
Katherine Bogdanovich Loker Scholarship
$4,000
To keep it: 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.)
Source: https://www.csudh.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/new-student-scholarships/
Breakthrough Scholarship
up to $10,000
To keep it: Renewal terms not stated on the listing.
Source: https://www.csudh.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/new-student-scholarships/
CSU Future Scholars
$1,000
To keep it: Listed as a renewable scholarship for up to 30 entering first-year or transfer students; specific renewal conditions not published on the listing.
Source: https://www.csudh.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/new-student-scholarships/
Osher Scholarship Program
$2,500 for full time students (pro-rated for part time attendance)
To keep it: Renewal terms not stated on the listing.
Source: https://www.csudh.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/new-student-scholarships/
Edison STEM Scholarship
Up to $2,000
To keep it: Renewal terms not stated on the listing.
Source: https://www.csudh.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/new-student-scholarships/
Catalina Island Scholarship
$500
To keep it: Renewal terms not stated on the listing.
Source: https://www.csudh.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/new-student-scholarships/

How families lose this aid

Assuming the Presidential Scholarship is automatic if you hit a 3.5 GPA.
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.
Treating the $4,000 Loker award as open to everyone.
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.

Renewal questions families ask

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.

Rules that bite at CSU Dominguez Hills

The renewal trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook, derived from CSU Dominguez Hills's own tier rules and not generic advice.

Renewal rulePresidential 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.

How CSU Dominguez Hills compares across our verified dataset

69 of 749 verified schools publish a top renewal tier requiring 3.5+ GPA or major-GPA gating.
CSU Dominguez Hills is one of them. Calibrate year-one academic load against the renewal floor, not just freshman survival.
665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
CSU Dominguez Hills is one of them. The cohort minority (84 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 renewal claim is checked against CSU Dominguez Hills’s own published materials.

Cost of attendanceCSU Dominguez Hills cost-of-attendance worksheet
Merit tiersPresidential Scholarship (Presidential Scholars Program)
Merit tiersHonors Scholarship
Scholarship pageToro Tuition Pledge