Bennett-Bickford Biology Scholarship

Spring 2025: 2024-2025 Academic Year Award

The Bennett-Bickford Biology Scholarship was created to encourage undergraduate and Graduate Biology students who are sophomore level and beyond who have attained academic excellence to enter the teaching profession.

This scholarship was established by the late Margaret Bennett in honor of her two husbands, Leonard Bickford and Leland Bennett. She was married first to Leonard Bickford who had a long and successful career as an employee of Sears, Roebuck and Company. Her second husband, Leland Bennett, was a civil engineer who worked on the Casitas Dam located in Ventura County, California.

Preference will be given to students who come from disadvantaged economic and/or educational backgrounds.

*Applicants:

• Open to Graduate Students and Undergraduate students who are sophomores, juniors or seniors who are pursuing a career as a biology teacher.
• Must be a Biology major via the College of Science and Math.
• Undergraduate Students Must be enrolled in 6 units for the current Spring term.
• Graduate students must be enrolled in at least 8 units for the Academic Year.
• Must have a CSUN GPA greater than or equal to a 3.0.
• Must submit a personal essay describing how and why student intends to pursue a career as a biology teacher (1 brief paragraph); as well as a statement explaining and describing background/minority status.
• Must request 2 letters of recommendation via the myMatador Scholarship portal.
  At least one of the two letters must be from a CSUN faculty/staff member.
• Upload: A copy of your unofficial CSUN transcript
  
  

If selected as a scholarship recipient, student agrees to write a thank-you letter to the donor(s) and must be willing to meet with the donor(s) or designee(s). Both to be coordinated by the College’s Director of Development.

Should you have any questions regarding this scholarship opportunity contact Dr. Cristian Ruiz Rueda at cristian.ruiz-rueda@csun.edu.

Please Note: Any change to your enrollment status resulting in less than required enrollment for any term within the award year will result in a cancellation of your award. If you are receiving financial aid (including loans), your financial aid award(s) may be adjusted if you receive a scholarship amount that exceeds your financial aid total limit. Speak to a financial aid counselor during walk-in hours to get a detailed overview about your individual situation.