Counseling and Educational Psychology grant funds disadvantaged students

In 2020, the then-College of Education at NMSU received nearly $3.5 million from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration to fund scholarships for disadvantaged students and underrepresented minorities. The scholarships benefit doctoral students studying counseling psychology, and master’s students studying clinical mental health counseling, over the next five years. 

Since then, the master’s program, which is overseen by associate professor Mike Kalkbrenner and associate professor Anna Lopez, has funded more than 20 students. The doctoral program has funded more than 40 students. 

“Because of this financial support, students do not need to find additional sources of income so they can truly focus on their studies,” says Eve Adams, who oversees the scholarships for the doctoral program along with assistant professor and admissions coordinator for the counseling psychology program Andres Perez-Rojas. 

“This allows them to engage in additional research and clinical experiences that support their professional development making, them more competitive to attain highly sought-after internships and post-doc positions,” she says.