American Psychological Association —
Predoctoral Fellowship in Mental Health
and Substance Abuse Services

Note to PIs: The following program summary is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It does not replace the sponsor’s actual funding opportunity announcement. Always review the most recent version of the sponsor’s full announcement to verify that the deadline has not changed and to identify the most current program requirements.

About the fellowship

Funded by a grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the MFP has created the Predoctoral Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (MHSAS) Fellowship to support the training of practitioners in behavioral health services and prevention. This fellowship program is designed for students in clinical, counseling and school psychology, and other psychology doctoral students whose training prepares them for careers in behavioral health services.

MHSAS Policy Fellowship: Applicants who have experience or an interest in behavioral health public policy may request to be considered for the Policy Fellowship on the online application. Fellows on this track will have an opportunity for a paid summer internship at SAMHSA.

Eligibility

Applicants must:

  • Be U.S. citizens, permanent residents or noncitizen nationals.
  • Have a strong commitment to a career in ethnic minority behavioral health services or policy. Applicants must sign a letter of commitment attesting that they will work for a period of two years in a capacity that addresses that behavioral health needs of racial and ethnic minority populations.
  • Be enrolled full-time in an APA-accredited doctoral program during the fall term immediately following the application deadline. Doctoral programs must receive APA accreditation by the application deadline to be eligible.
  • Not be interns; no fellowship support is available during a student's internship year.
  • Sign a letter of commitment attesting that they will work for a period of two years in a capacity that addresses the behavioral health needs of racial and ethnic minority populations.
  • It is not required for applicants to identify as ethnic minorities; however, African-Americans, Alaska Natives, American Indians, Asian-Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are especially encouraged to apply.

Award amount

The stipend amount coming directly from the MFP varies each year. The financial support provided for fellows is based on the guidelines mandated by the National Research Service Award. The program also requests “in-kind” support such as tuition remission, health insurance, research assistantships, etc. from the institutions at which their fellows are training. Therefore, the overall support package a student might receive by becoming an MFP fellow is dependent upon the support available from their respective institution.

Award period

Up to three (3) years. Must be renewed annually, and is not available during internship.

Application deadline

Applications accepted October - January 15.

Learn more

Visit https://www.apa.org/pi/mfp/psychology/predoctoral/.

Last updated: July 2021.