Pre-Doc Online Application Instructions

Submit an online application by the CSU Deadline:  

1.     Start at the CSU Pre-Doctoral Program "How to Apply" page.

2.     Register for a Smartsheet account to begin the "2026-27 California Pre-Doctoral Program Application." 

3.     To start using your Smartsheet account, check the email address you used to register, and then confirm your email address.

4.     On Smartsheet, you will be asked to fill out a Pre-Application Questionnaire, which includes what year you are in your undergraduate or graduate studies, your contact information, your campus, and your Faculty Mentor's name, rank (assistant, associate or full professor) and other required information, including their email address.

5.     Indicate on your application whether you are applying to the California Pre-Doctoral Program or the Health Professions Scholars Initiative (HPSI).

6.     You will receive an email from the program acknowledging your application and asking you to use the application link to complete your online application. This will lead you to an application platform with the resources you need to complete your application, including a fillable form for your proposed budget, and an in-system email field for any questions you may have.

7.    Login into the application platform to work on your application until the submission deadline. You may save your work and return to complete your application.

8.    Note that is your responsibility to ensure that the recommendation has been uploaded timely. If your Faculty Mentor fails to do so, your application will not be considered. Your recommender must submit their recommendation by one week after the application deadline of February 13, 2026.

9.     Consult with your Faculty Mentor to design a focused, realistic budget proposal, itemizing the allowable scholarly activities you propose to fund during the Pre-Doctoral year, and ensuring that the total is exactly $5,000. 

       Eligible expenses may include:

• Travel to academic conferences or professional meetings,
• Travel to visit doctoral programs,
• Graduate school application fees,
• GRE preparation or test fees,
• Memberships, journal subscriptions, software, or research materials (limit $500 for research items).

10.     Use the fillable Budget Proposal form on the application platform to add individual expenses, selecting the most appropriate activity type, and providing estimated cost and a brief description for each expense.  

11.    Compose several drafts of your application essays, preferably in consultation with your Faculty Mentor and the Campus Coordinator.

12.     Note that essay prompts are different for Pre-Doctoral Program and Heath Professions Scholars Initiative (HPSI) applicants. See below, "ADDITIONAL INFORMATION," "Essay Prompts" for the prompts for each track.

13.      Use the fillable fields for Essays 1, 2, and 3, to copy-and-paste or type in text for each application essay. 

14.      Pre-Doctoral Program applicants should prepare a CV (an academic resume) in consultation with their Faculty Mentor and/or campus coordinator.

15.       Pre-Doctoral Program applicants should then upload a single PDF that includes both their transcripts and their CV.  

16.       Health Professions Scholars Initiative (HPSI) applicants do not need to upload a CV. Instead, they upload a PDF with their transcripts, and a PDF of the Collaborative Mentorship Plan.   

17.       The Collaborative Mentorship Plan submitted by HPSI applicants should be prepared in close consultation with their Faculty Mentor. (See below, "ADDITIONAL INFORMATION," for what the Collaborative Mentorship Plan should contain.)

15.  For questions specific to the HPSI program, application process, or Collaborative Mentorship Plan, please contact the Dr. Arnab Mukherjea, Health Professions Scholars Initiative Program Director: Arnab.Mukherjea@CSUEastBay.edu. 

16.  For trouble-shooting related to the online application, submit your questions through the in-system email field. Navigate to the "Questions" tab on the application platform.

16. Meet with the Campus Coordinator if you would like feedback on your application materials. This is highly recommended. Email Dr. Viveros to schedule a meeting to take place  at least two weeks before the CSU deadline of February 13, 2026.  

17. Before your meeting with Dr. Viveros, please email her drafts of your essays, CV, and proposed budget.

18. Submit the online application on or before 5:00PM, February 13, 2026.

19. Please email Dr. Viveros a copy of your final application essays.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

____________________________________________________________________________

Application Prompts

Pre-Doctoral Program track applicants respond to 3 essays, of 300-600 words each. The prompts are as follows:

1. Describe a field of study you would like to pursue for a doctoral degree. What are the specific research questions or theoretical perspectives that interest you? What activities or achievements from past experiences have helped you develop important knowledge and skills related to these research interests? Be specific about your interests, but please use language that someone outside of your discipline would understand.
2. Describe your interest in a faculty career at a college or university that serves a diverse student body. What specific research, mentoring, or teaching activities interest you based on your past experiences? How have these experiences developed interpersonal skills related to working with people from different backgrounds? Be specific with concrete examples of leadership or group activities related to educational, research, work, and/or community service settings.
3. Describe your experience overcoming challenges or setbacks to your goals. What specific strategies did you take to resolve them and achieve long-term goals? How have these experiences developed interpersonal, adaptability, or self-management skills to succeed in a doctoral program? Be specific with concrete examples or adapting or self-managing goals related to your education, research, work, and/or community service activities.

Health Professions Scholars Track applicants address the following prompts, in three essays of 300-600 words each:

1. What activities or achievements from past experiences have helped you develop important knowledge and skills contributing to your interest in and preparation for pursuing a research-oriented career in the health professions?
2. Describe the discipline in the health professions in which you would consider pursuing a research-based doctoral degree. What area of research or conceptual frameworks interest you in this field? How do you envision becoming a scholarly leader in the field you wish to study?

3. Many areas of the health workforce in California are experiencing a shortage. How do you envision your career in helping address some of these gaps? Describe how your professional interests would help contribute to protecting and promoting the health of California’s communities. Please include any interests in training and developing the next generation of state’s health workforce.

    

4.  Health Professions Scholars Track applicants also submit a Collaborative Mentorship Plan that describes (at a minimum) activities the student will engage in for the duration of the scholarship, and the frequency of communication between student and faculty mentor.

Transcripts

Be sure to upload a transcript from each institution you have attended, including community colleges (if you received a degree there) or other colleges or universities.  

Faculty Recommendation

Remember to keep in touch with our Faculty Mentor to ensure that they upload the online recommendation no later one week after the CSU application deadline of February 13, 2026.