Clinical Training

A federally funded program to support doctoral training in mental health and substance abuse services

To promote culturally competent mental health and substance abuse services provided to ethnic minority populations
To increase the number of ethnic minority psychologists delivering mental health and substance abuse services to ethnic minority populations
To increase the general knowledge and research of issues related to ethnic minority mental health and substance abuse treatment

About the Minority Fellowship Program

The American Psychological Association MFP's mission is to increase the knowledge of, and research related to ethnic minority mental health and to improve the quality of mental health and substance abuse services delivered to ethnic minority populations. We do this by providing financial support, professional development activities, and professional guidance to students pursuing doctoral degrees in psychology. Our mission is consistent with Health People 2010, the Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health, and other federal initiatives to reduce health disparities.

About the MFP Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Program

Funded by a grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the MFP has created the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (MHSAS) fellowship to support the training of practitioners or practitioner/researchers in mental health and substance abuse services and prevention. This fellowship program is directed at students in clinical, counseling, and school psychology, or other psychology doctoral students whose training prepares them to provide counseling, therapy, testing, assessments, etc…

An MFP fellowship is more than a simple scholarship that only provides financial support. An MFP fellowship is a professional training appointment into a community of other students and professionals who hold similar professional interests. Indeed, the MFP provides stipends, or living allowances, to students who hold the fellowships. However, we also facilitate professional development and provide professional guidance with the aim of moving students towards high achievement in areas related to ethnic minority mental health research or services.

Basic Eligibility

Applicants must be American citizens or permanent resident aliens with an alien registration card (I-151 or I-551). Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible.
Applicants must demonstrate a strong commitment to a career in ethnic minority mental health and substance abuse services. This commitment must be demonstrated in the application essays, graduate school curriculum or training plan, practicum and internship training experiences, and thesis and dissertation topics developed.
Applicants should be enrolled full-time in an APA-accredited doctoral program. Students not currently enrolled in an APA-accredited doctoral program may apply as long as they gain acceptance into an APA-accredited doctoral program for the fall term immediately following the application deadline.
African American, Alaskan Native, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander students are especially encouraged to apply.
This fellowship is aimed at students specializing in clinical, counseling, school, or other programs associated with the delivery of mental health services.

MFP Benefits

Financial Support (3 years maximum. Must be renewed annually)
Travel support to the APA Convention
Dissertation support (limited availability)
Ancillary training opportunities and enrichment experiences
Access to information and resources
Lifetime network of professional association with psychologists interested in ethnic minority mental health and services

Deadline

Applications are accepted until January 15th of the year in which support is being sought. For an online application, click here.

For more information, contact:
APA/MFP
MHSAS Application
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
Phone: (202) 336-6127
Fax: (202) 336-6012
E-mail: MFP

Frequently Asked Questions about the MHSAS Predoctoral Fellowship

Q: If my program is not APA-accredited, can I still apply for the Fellowship?

A: Yes. However, it may make you less competitive.

Q: I also wanted to inquire about whether or not the funding I receive from my university would have a bearing on my eligibility for the fellowship. Currently, I receive tuition wavers on my out-of-state and in-state tuition. They are not full waivers that cover the total cost of tuition, but they cover a number of credit hours. Please let me know if you need further information in regards to this. I would like to begin the application soon, if possible.

A: We encourage universities to provide tuition waivers and to cover health insurance for our fellows. As long as you are not receiving any funds from federal sources, there will not be a conflict with our MHSAS predoctoral fellowship, although we may reduce the amount of the fellowship based on what the university is already covering.

Q: Do I have to be an ethnic minority to apply for the fellowship?

A: No, you can apply as long as you are a US Citizen or Permanent Resident.

Q: Do I need to have successfully completed my Bachelors to apply?

A: As long as you are applying to a doctoral program, they are eligible for this Fellowship.

Q: I have a question regarding the format of the two essays I will submit for the APA MFP. Should I include citations in my essays, and if so, does the list of references count against the page total?

A: Citations are not necessary. If they are included, they do not count toward the page limit.

Q: Am I required to specialize in substance abuse?

A: No. However, each Fellow must agree to receive some training or exposure to substance abuse treatment, prevention, or research. This training may be in the form of research, courses, workshops, etc.

Q: How long does the fellowship last?

A: Each Fellow is provided a stipend for up to 3 years. However, stipend support for three years is provisional and must be renewed each year. Reappointment is contingent upon the satisfactory academic progress of the Fellow and continued support from our federal funding agency. Beyond the 3 years of stipend support, Fellows are expected to maintain a career-long relationship with the MFP for professional development, guidance, and association.

Q: How do Fellows renew their appointments?

A: Each Fellow currently receiving a stipend must complete a progress report and return it to the MFP in January. Progress reports are reviewed by the MFP Training Advisory Committee in March and reappointment decisions are announced in April.

Q: How much is the stipend?

A: The stipend coming directly from the MFP varies each year depending on the amount set by the federal funding agency. The exact amounts are subject to change from year to year. However, the MFP tries to ensure the financial support of its Fellows at a level that is based upon the NRSA mandated guidelines by requesting various types of “in-kind” support such as tuition remission, health insurance, research assistantships, etc. from the universities at which students are training. Thus, the overall package of support a student might receive by becoming an MFP Fellow is, in part, dependent on the support available from the university.

Q: If I receive support from another federally-funded training grant, may I also accept funding from the MFP?

A: No. Individuals supported by other federal training grants are not eligible for support from the MFP.

Q: What if the funding is from a private foundation, the state, or the university?

A: Please contact our office for guidance. Funding eligibility in these instances has to be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Q: What are the criteria used to select Fellows?

Commitment to ethnic minority mental health and substance abuse services
Knowledge of ethnic minority psychology or mental health services issues
Fit between career goals and training environment selected
Potential to become a culturally competent mental health service provider demonstrated through accomplishments and goals
Scholarship/grades
Letters of recommendation

Q: When are selections announced?

A: The MFP Training Advisory Committee meets in March to review applications. Awards are announced in April. Students awarded fellowships may expect to begin receiving support no earlier than September.

Q: May I apply to more than one MFP Fellowship?

A: No. You may apply to only one MFP Fellowship.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Online Application System

Q: I am having trouble logging in. Can you please reset my password and question?
I forgot my password.
I forgot my login, password and security information.

A: Have you tried the: I forgot my password method on the Registration screen? If so, are you unable to login because you forgot your password and also forgot your password prompt question? If so, please email me back and let me know as we will need some additional information from you in order to reset both the login and the password.
If you are unable to log in using the challenge question to reset your password you will need to:
1. Send us an email FROM the email account you registered with and
2. Provide additional personal information such as birthday, street address, educational background (schools/dates) and one other piece of information

Q: I have submitted my application but one of my recommenders did not receive the email to complete the form what should I do?

A: You can log back into your application and resend the email to your recommender even after you have submitted your application.

Q: I registered and filled out the recommender information and clicked Send Email and my recommender has not received the link.

A: If you have not yet submitted your application you can go back into the Recommendations section and request that the email be Resent to the recommenders. Also advise them to have their Recommenders turn off any filters that might prevent them from getting emails from APA or auto generated emails. The link will also be copied to you and you may forward that link to the recommender, but the email entered for the recommender on the form must be used for the recommender to log on.

Q: The system will not let me re-register, it says there is already an applicant under my email address.

A: You do not need to re-register. You need to go to the left-hand side of the screen and just log in with the email and password you used when first logging on. We are not allowing people to register more than once as that was part of the problem with the wrong application coming up.

Other MFP Fellowships (Note: Applicants may apply to only one of the MFP fellowships)

The MHSAS Postdoctoral Fellowship is aimed at early career doctoral recipients who are interested in developing a career in mental health services research, services, or policy. Deadline January 15th.

The Diversity Program in Neuroscience Fellowship is geared to those pursuing careers in neuroscience. Predoctoral and postdoctoral fellowships are offered. Doctoral students in psychology or any life science discipline related to neuroscience may apply. Deadline January 15th.