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Cal Poly Humboldt scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$29,894per year · 2026-2027 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

Cal Poly Humboldt may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jul 2026
2 school sources to explore

Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.

Step 1 of comparing your list

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The award collection

Published scholarships

These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.

Where does your student land?

  1. Manuel C. Kaster ScholarshipAmount not publishedNot automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Manuel C. Kaster Scholarship

    Amount not published

    Published award termsNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    2.5
  2. Csu Coast AwardsUp to $750Not automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Csu Coast Awards

    Up to $750

    Variable or qualified amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    2
  3. Green Diamond Resource Company Natural Resources ScholarshipUp to $1,000Not automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Green Diamond Resource Company Natural Resources Scholarship

    Up to $1,000

    Variable or qualified amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

  4. Northern California Botanists Barbara Castro Student Botany Research Scholarship ProgramAmount not publishedNot automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Northern California Botanists Barbara Castro Student Botany Research Scholarship Program

    Amount not published

    Published award termsNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

  5. Western Chapter Of The International Society Of Arboriculture Scholarship$1,500Not automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Western Chapter Of The International Society Of Arboriculture Scholarship

    $1,500

    Published amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

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What makes Cal Poly Humboldt different

Cal Poly Humboldt awards merit aid to students pursuing specialized studies in environmental science, natural resources, and marine biology.

Merit tiers5See who qualifies
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

Selection beyond grades and scores

Start with the selection process.

These awards are not recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read each award's selection rules, application steps and dates. Meeting a minimum is not an award offer.

  1. Read the selection rules

    Look for the school's stated criteria and whether an additional application is needed.

  2. Check the application dates

    Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.

  3. Know what happens next year

    Check renewal, credit requirements and how other aid affects the award.

The fine print / Three questions to carry forward

Before you count on it.

Does it apply to us? Confirm the entering year, residency and every eligibility condition.

Can we keep it? Check renewal GPA, credits and how long the award lasts.

Can we combine it? Ask how outside scholarships and other school awards change the offer.

Take Cal Poly Humboldt's decision sheet

A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

This aid is designed for students focused on hands-on work in environmental and natural science fields, particularly those interested in research or teaching careers.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $29,894 for 2026-2027. Source

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Cal Poly Humboldt, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at Cal Poly Humboldt, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$8,483
$30,001–$48,000$8,812
$48,001–$75,000$11,088
$75,001–$110,000$15,593
$110,001+$22,228
All income levels (average)$13,171

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$8,250
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$20,850
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$13,171

That works out to roughly a 48% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $25,170 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Cal Poly Humboldt is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
49%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
76%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$18,000 (~$191/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$47,626
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
37%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
34%
See other scholarships and cost examples

Other Cal Poly Humboldt scholarships worth checking

These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityRumble Award for Excellence in Botany recognizes an outstanding graduate botany student, with selection based primarily on academic excellence.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityFred and Margaret Telonicher Memorial Scholarship is granted annually to a Cal Poly Humboldt undergraduate student in any concentration or major within the Department of Biological Sciences exclusively on the basis of academic excellence.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityBrusca Zoology Scholarship is awarded annually to graduate students in their 1st or 2nd year at Humboldt with exceptional interest and promise in field and/or laboratory studies of Invertebrate Zoology.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilitySterling J. Sam Botany Diversity Award is for qualifying Botany seniors and graduate students and is based primarily on academic experience, with field and/or research experience also considered.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityStephen Hillenburg Marine Science Research Award is awarded based on a research proposal and academic excellence to recognize students conducting creative marine science research.

Source

Amount$500–$1,500EligibilitySiering/Wilson Undergraduate Research Endowment funds undergraduate research activities in Microbial Ecology and Environmental Microbiology, with multiple grants of $500-$1500 anticipated.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityMalcolm Oliphant Scholarships in Marine Science are awarded on the basis of excellence, with academic promise demonstrated by scholastic achievement and faculty letters.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityMilton J. Boyd Teaching Associate Award recognizes outstanding first-year graduate students in Biological Sciences who have served as Teaching Associates through exemplary performance.

Source

Amount$2,500–$3,000EligibilityJames F. Welsh Biology Scholarship provides multiple scholarships of $2,500 - $3,000 to eligible senior-standing biology, botany, or zoology majors with an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher who intend to pursue graduate education in the biological sciences.

Source

See sources and other schools

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against Cal Poly Humboldt’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

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  • UCSB merit aid. California public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • UCLA merit aid. California public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
The next chapter

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