Stipend Information

Three Different Training Stipends Available

There are three stipends (Integrated Behavioral Health [IBH], School-Based Mental Health [SBMH], & and Disability Counselor Training [DCT]) available to students actively enrolled in the SF State Department of Counseling. It is possible to obtain them simultaneously if you meet all the criteria. 

IBH Stipend

  • Amount: $10,000
  • Who: Students enrolled in School Counseling, MFCC, CMHC specialization or College/Career with a School Counseling or CMHC emphasis.
  • When: Your final year of internship (2nd or 3rd year)
  • Intern at: You need to complete your internship at an integrated behavioral health focused placement. See details in application information.
  • Commit to: Completing your internship and attending ten (10) 1-hour webinars about IBH during the year.
  • You can only get this award one time

SBMH Stipend

  • Amount: $10,000
  • Who: Students enrolled in School Counseling, MFCC, CMHC specialization or College/Career with a School Counseling or CMHC emphasis
  • When: Any year when you are completing a field placement
  • Intern at: High-needs school in Oakland Unified School District or San Francisco Unified School District
  • Commit to: Completing your internship and working 1-year full-time at a high needs public school within 3 years of graduating.
  • You can get this award multiple times, but each time means an additional year of committing to working in a high-needs school post-graduation

DCT Stipend

  • Amount: $10,000
  • Who: Students enrolled in CMHC as specialization or emphasis.
  • When: Any year when you are enrolled as a student in the DOC.
  • Intern at: A facility that works with people with disabilities and/or chronic illness including those with psychiatric disabilities.
  • Commit to: Complete 2-years of service payback in a non-profit setting serving persons with disabilities and/or chronic illness for every 1-year of receiving the stipend.
  • You can get this award multiple times, but each time means an additional two years of committing to working in a non-profit setting serving persons with disabilities and/or chronic illness.

Students enrolled in the SF State Department of Counseling Master’s Counselor Training Program who are starting their 2nd + year internship in Fall 2024 are eligible to participate in the EJF-IBH training project. Those participating in the training will receive a $10,000 stipend for the 2024-2025 academic year. Please be advised that the stipend may impact Financial Aid. Given the goals of the grant, priority will go to those students who are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. To participate in this training project, stipend recipients must agree to the following expectations:

  • I am committed to learning and practicing EJF-IBH with youth from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in healthcare practice shortage areas (HPSA) 
  • I am enrolled full or part-time in SF State’s graduate counseling program in the CMHC Specialization or Emphasis, MFT Specialization, or School Counseling Specialization or Emphasis
  • I will complete the project’s ten EJF-IBH didactic training modules 
  • I will complete a project approved 2nd (or 3rd) year internship for one academic year and receive a grade no lower than a “B” in COUN 890/891/850 (Sample Internship Approval Application)
  • I will provide project staff with a plan to obtain employment in an IBH-oriented, FQHC and/or HPSA work setting within six months of graduation
  • I will provide project staff with post-graduate employment data for a minimum of one-year post-graduation
  • I am a citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States 
  • If applicable, I will apply for a National Provider Identifier (NPI) for the purposes of collecting post-graduation employment demographics 

If you participate in the project/receive the stipend, in addition to your regular coursework, you will receive advanced training in equity and justice-focused integrative behavioral health via a series of 10 webinars while completing your final year internship over the course of the 2024-2025 academic year. This training grant is open to all specializations, and you can view a recording of our most recent information session at our project YouTube channel or later on this page.

How to Apply for IBH Stipend

Step 1: Secure your internship! There are specific sites that have been pre-approved as meeting the requirements for this project (see Partner Internship Sites for list). However, you are still eligible for this stipend if you are not at one of these sites. If your site is not on the list, on your application you will just need to provide the name of the site and a brief explanation of how your site is aligned with our project goals:

  • Helping you understand the specific concerns for children, adolescents, and transitional-aged youth who are at risk for behavioral health disorders.
  • Increasing your knowledge and skill with interdisciplinary and interprofessional collaboration.
  • Preparing you for utilizing team-based care in integrated behavioral health and primary care settings.
  • Helping you meet the needs of individuals and groups from different racial, ethnic, cultural, geographic, religious, linguistic, and class backgrounds, and different genders and sexual orientations, in high need and high demand areas.
  • If you have any questions about sorting the above out (e.g., will my site be considered? What if it doesn’t meet all or many of the goals above? Please email Dr. Chronister! (jchronis@sfsu.edu).  Many of our training sites are not considered integrated behavioral health but often provide many aspects of team-based integrated care. Please check in if you have any questions!

*Simply put, If you select an internship at a site that is not on the pre-approved list, please still apply for the stipend, and be sure to complete the brief questions about your placement so we can evaluate how it helps to prepare you for the behavioral health workforce. We would love to approve you for this stipend!

Step 2:

After you’ve secured your internship site, Click here to complete this brief EJF-IBH application via Qualtrics by April 15, 2024. 

Award Notification

Award notifications will be made in late spring for the 2024-2025 academic year. As always, please feel free to reach out to Drs. Chronister, O’Shaughnessy, or Strear with any questions.

2022-2023 HRSA Student Commitment Letter (For Review Only)

Students enrolled in the SFSU Department of Counseling Master’s Counselor Training Program that meet the following criteria will be eligible for this stipend:

  1. Currently enrolled in school counseling, marriage, family and child counseling, or clinical mental health counseling specializations/emphases;
  2. Beginning a school-based fieldwork placement in an OUSD or SFUSD high-need school in August of the year their application was submitted;
  3. Completed statement of interest in school-based mental health and a clear commitment to project requirements;
  4. Is a student in good standing with an overall GPA of 3.0 or above.
  5. Is a citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States (or otherwise eligible to complete the FAFSA)  

Given the goals of the grant, priority will go to those students who submit a strong application, express a need for financial support, and for those students who are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds - given the priority of this grant. You will receive a $10,000 stipend for the 2024-2025 academic year. This stipend will be sent directly to your home address. Please be advised that this stipend may impact your level of Financial Aid.

MHSP stipend recipients agree to the following expectations:

  • Complete school-based fieldwork for one academic year in a project approved high-need K-12 school.
  • Provide a plan to obtain employment in a high-need, school-based work setting within six months of graduation.
  • Complete the equivalent of 1 academic year of full-time service as a school-based mental health provider in a high-need school. See full details regarding service commitment in the Stipend Agreement form. 
  • Provide project staff with post-graduate employment data every 6 months until the service commitment is fulfilled.

Application

If you are willing to complete your fieldwork in a high-need school in Oakland Unified or San Francisco Unified School Districts for the 2024-2025 academic year, please complete the brief application at this link:

https://sfsu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8tRuB3PboLCHhXw 

You will need to apply and obtain a placement at OUSD or SFUSD (See Contact Information at the top of our Project Partners page). Once you have secured your placement at OUSD or SFUSD, you will be sent a project agreement form and service agreement form. You can view samples of both of those forms here so you can see the full commitment: 

Agreement Form

Award Notification

Award notifications will be made in late spring for the 2024-2025 academic year. As always, please feel free to reach out to Drs. Strear, Chronister, or O’Shaughnessy with any questions.

Students enrolled in the SFSU Department of Counseling Master’s Counselor Training Program that meet the following criteria will be eligible for this stipend:

  1. Currently enrolled in clinical mental health counseling as a specialization or emphasis.
  2. Signed Agreement to complete 2-years of service payback in a non-profit setting serving persons with disabilities and/or chronic illness for every 1-year of receiving the stipend. 
  3. Is a student in good standing with an overall GPA of 3.0 or above.
  4. Is a citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States (or otherwise eligible to complete the FAFSA)

Given the goals of the grant, priority will go to those students who have a specialization in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) followed by those with an emphasis in CMHC. Students with disability lived experience will also be given priority. You will receive a $10,000 stipend for the 2024-2025 academic year by mid-October 2024. This stipend will be sent directly to your home address. Please be advised that this stipend may impact your level of Financial Aid.
DCT stipend recipients agree to the following expectations:

  • Complete COUN 870 and COUN 704

  • Complete an internship that provides opportunities to work with people with disabilities and/or chronic illness including those with psychiatric disabilities.

  • Complete 2-years of service payback in a non-profit setting serving persons with disabilities and/or chronic illness for every 1-year of receiving the stipend.

  • Enroll/update employment information in the Rehabilation Services Administration’s Payback Information Management System (PIMS) (Learn more about using PIMS here)

Application

Step 1: If you are willing to commit to working post-graduation in a non-profit setting that provides counseling-related services to people with disabilities/disabled people and/or chronic illness  complete the brief application at this link:

Disability Training Stipend Interest Survey

(Link here: https://sfsu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eXbrN6Ut1wC7iOa)

Step 2: Await to receive an award notification email from Dr. Chronister or Dr. Fitzgerald. 

Step 3: If you received the award, complete the RSA Agreement Form, the SFSU Student Stipend Form and the Certificate of Eligibility Form no later than September 2nd, 2024. All these forms will be sent to your email via DocuSign. Please fill in all the information requested otherwise the stipend process will be held up. Below are the forms for your preview.

 

Link to RSA Commitment Form

Link to SFSU Student Stipend Form

Link to Certificate of Eligibility Form

 

**Please be advised that you may receive this award for multiple years**

 

Award Notification

Award notifications will be made in late spring for the 2024-2025 academic year. As always, please feel free to reach out to Drs. Chronister or Fitzgerald with any questions.

Most Recent Information Session Video