Fresno State offers a variety of scholarships that recognize student achievements and talents. There are over a thousand donor-sponsored scholarships ranging from $100 to nearly $5,000. These opportunities are available to students with an increased level of educational success.

Eligibility for scholarships is granted to all US citizens who are incoming freshmen, continuing or transfer students who plan to attend California State University, Fresno as either undergraduate or graduate students.

The individual donors determine the specific qualifications for each scholarship, but many of the factors included are scholastic achievement, major, school and community involvement and full-time enrollment.

The scholarship office is located in the Joyal Administration building and applications for scholarships can be found online at www.csufresno.edu/scholarships.

The Rotary Club of Fresno is now accepting applications for students who wish to study abroad. These scholarships provide up to $24,000 for a full academic year, covering tuition, travel, room and board and insurance.

The Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship Awards program is the oldest and best-known program and awarded nearly 800 scholarships for the 2005-2006 school year. The Ambassadorial Scholarship was founded in 1947 and has granted approximately $500 million to students from about 70 countries in more than 70 nations.

Their purpose is to further understanding and friendly relations between people of different countries.

The Rotary Foundation requires recipients to have at least two years of academic work completed by the time they go abroad and must also be a citizen of a country in which there is a Rotary Club.

Applicants can apply online at www.rotary.org or contact the International Programs Office in room 111 of the Family and Food Sciences building.

The Lyles Center is currently offering scholarships to students seeking entrepreneurship opportunities. With two $5,000 scholarships available for incoming freshmen or transfer students who plan to attend Fresno State.

The program began in spring 2007 and brings students from across the nation to Fresno to learn how to be entrepreneurial in the Central Valley. The scholarships call for students to either have a current business plan or propose to have a business in the Fresno area.

Along with the scholarship money, the recipients will also receive office space in the Lyles Center’s “Hatchery,â€Â which is an area designed to provide help and support through mentoring and coaching.

The Lyles Center is also offering $10,000 in the annual student business plan competition. The contest permits students to build a business plan that will be presented at the Invention to Venture workshop.

First place will be awarded $6,500, an office in the Lyles Center Hatchery and will also be entered into the Draper Fisher Jurveston $250,000 Venture Challenge. Second and third-place winners will receive $2,500 and $1,000, respectively.

The Lyles center is currently holding workshops to help students create business plans. Information and applications can be found on the Lyles Center Web site, www.lylescenter.com/scholarships_in_entrepreneurship.php.

Additional scholarships can be found on various online sites.

The Fresno State scholarship Web site offers a variety of free search engine links that provide further opportunities for student scholarships including ScholarshipsExperts.com, BrokeScholar.com, NextSTUDENT.com, Scholarship-News.com, FastWeb.com and college-scholarships.com. Applications and information for these alternative scholarships are available on their respective Web sites.