About the Minority Fellowship Program

I am pleased to welcome you to Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) at the American Psychological Association (APA). The MFP is one of the most successful training programs for ethnic and racial minority researchers and service providers in the history of federally funded training programs. We began in 1974 under the leadership of Dalmas Taylor, and graduated our first doctoral recipient in 1978. Since then the MFP has grown in myriad ways. We have supported over 1,300 trainees at over 85 different institutions over 600 of whom have earned their doctoral degrees. Our programs now enjoy sponsorships by the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Strokes (NINDS), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA). We provide a range of supporting programs for our fellows including annual surveys, APA Convention programs, and special projects. We also maintain contact with alumni through a variety of listserves, newsletters, and dissertation support.

I invite you to learn more about the MFP program by browsing through this website. If you can’t find what you are looking for or have further questions, please contact us. Let me now summarize the general aims and approaches of the MFP.

The principal aim of the APA Minority Fellowship Program in Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (MHSAS) and Mental Health Research (MHR) is to identify, select, and support the training of doctoral level ethnic minority students and postdoctoral trainees whose prior experiences and clearly stated career goals suggest they will make significant contributions to the mental health needs of ethnic and racial minorities. This principal aim is directly related to efforts to reduce health disparities among ethnic minorities in the U.S. by filling a crucial need for mental health service providers. Thus, the APA-MFP has two target populations at the center of its efforts: the members of ethnic and racial minorities in need of mental health and substance abuse services and research and ethnic minority doctoral students in psychology. The MFP selects individuals with promise and a commitment to careers that address the mental health needs of ethnic minorities. The program is designed to meet its goals and specific aims by providing stipend support, ancillary training experiences, mentoring and career guidance, and access to an outstanding network of professional contacts. An expert advisory committee provides oversight and program guidance as well as mentoring and professional leadership.

Our MFP evolution is ongoing. We not only have added areas of specialization, and funding sources, but now more than ever, we are taking on more of a training role. What does that mean? What is becoming increasingly clear is that simply obtaining the doctoral degree is not enough. Our clinical grant, (MHSAS), now focuses on assisting our trainees to have significant experiences with both mental health and substance abuse. Need areas such as rural mental health, child mental health, as well as the dual consequences of substance abuse and mental illness for mental health services and research become critical. The research grant (MHR), focuses on training, recruiting, and facilitating the development of mental health, HIV/AIDS, and substance abuse researchers from under-represented ethnic/racial minority groups. Earning a doctoral degree and being trained in areas relevant to these priorities is now a standard of accountability and program and individual success. Tying it all together, the training must be "culturally competent." That is, successful service delivery must be within the parameters of culturally appropriate and effective modalities of care. Further, psychological research should advance our knowledge of ethnic, racial and cultural foundations of human behavior. So we not only seek out talented and dedicated applicants to the MFP, we must evaluate their training plan and professional goals against these needs and criteria.

We hope that whether you are a potential applicant, faculty, mentor, or administrator, as you browse the MFP website, you find it informative and enlightening in answering any questions that you may have regarding the different MFP programs. Our staff is always available to answer any questions or comments about the programs that we offer.

It is exciting to contemplate another 30 years of MFP and the continued evolution of our role and mission in mental health in America.

Andrew T. Austin-Dailey, MDiv
Acting Director