Graduating seniors at California Lutheran University can automatically receive a $2,500 Graduate Incentive Grant if they choose to continue their education at Cal Lutheran.

“Essentially, if somebody graduates now, in May, and they decide that they want to come back in the spring, even this fall, to start an M.B.A…. a teaching credential or any of those programs, they will receive a $2,500 grant for their program,” Associate Director of Graduate Admissions Carol Chung said in a phone interview.

Chung said all students who graduated from the traditional undergraduate program in December 2020, May 2021 or summer 2021 are eligible to receive the award.

Students do not need to go through an application process in order to receive the grant; they just need to be enrolled as a full-time graduate student.

“A full-time student is six units or more for grad students, so essentially they take two classes a term and that will meet the full-time requirement,” Chung said. “The great thing about this is that our students don’t need to apply for it.”

This grant is only being offered this upcoming academic year due to the financial stress some students may face as a result of the pandemic.

“This has been quite an interesting challenging year finishing up in the pandemic,” Chung said. “We realize that there is a number of students that are considering continuing on straight into a graduate program, so here we are giving a little financial booster just something to help them out and getting started in their graduate program.”

For more information on the Graduate Incentive Grant along with other scholarships and grants for graduate students, visit the Graduate Scholarships and Grants financial aid website.