Richard Garza Scholarship

2009-10 RICHARD GARZA SCHOLARSHIP
Criteria and Procedures

Purpose

The purpose of the Richard Garza scholarship is to assist students, who meet the eligibility requirements noted below, in earning a certificate in paralegal studies or bachelor’s degree in criminal justice/paralegal option.

Eligibility

To be considered for the Richard Garza Scholarship, a student must:

1. Attend CSUSB as a declared paralegal certificate or criminal justice/paralegal option major;
2. Have completed a minimum of 16 quarter units of paralegal coursework with at least a 3.0 grade point average;
3. Have an overall grade point average of at least 2.75;
4. Have completed at least 45 quarter units of college course work; and
5. Be enrolled at CSUSB on at least a one-half time basis at time of receipt of the Scholarship, i.e., fall quarter, 2009.

Procedure

1. The Department of Criminal Justice will publicize scholarship eligibility requirements, evaluation criteria, procedures, application deadline, and date of award. Scholarship information will be disseminated to CSUSB paralegal students.
2. By the application deadline, each applicant shall forward the following information to the criminal justice department.
   (1) completed application form (2) one letter of recommendation from a faculty member; and (3) statement of purpose of 250 words (minimum) which describes your educational/career plans for the first few years after leaving Cal State.
3. A department committee shall evaluate applicants on the basis of the quality of submitted materials, i.e., information on the completed application form, strength of academic letter of recommendation, and clarity and content of written statement of purpose.
4. After review and deliberation, the committee will select the recipient of the Richard Garza Scholarship, informing the Criminal Justice chair and the Director of Financial Aid.
5. The Richard Garza scholarship recipient shall be notified of the award by the Financial Aid Office. The criminal justice department chair shall notify all other applicants of the Scholarship Committee’s decision.

The Financial Aid Office coordinates the award with other financial aid provided to the award recipient and gives written authorization to the CSUSB Foundation Office for disbursement of funds to the recipient.