Racial and Ethnic Minorities make up more than 28% of the Nation's Population, yet less than 20% of America's Behavioral Health Workforce consists of these diverse populations.

This scarcity of professionals who are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds constitute a workforce issue that contributes to the health disparities and quality of care and access to mental health care and or substance use treatment among minority populations.

In 1974, the National Institute of Mental Health established the Ethnic Minority Fellowship Program, a grant initiative, to enhance services to minority communities through specialized PhD training. NIMH awarded funding to the four core mental health organizations that included nursing at the American Nurses Association; Psychiatry, at the American Psychiatric Association, Social Workers, at the Council on Social Work Education; and Psychology, at the American Psychological Association.

Around 1994, NIMH transferred the Minority Fellowship Program to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) which is a Division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

In 2014, under President Obama's Now is the Time Initiative, SAMHSA expanded the Minority Fellowship Program to include the Minority Fellowship Program-Masters. The MFP-M initiative aims to increase the number of culturally competent Masters level behavioral health professionals available to serve children, adolescents and youth transitioning into adulthood ages 16-25.

Citizenship

American citizen or permanent resident.

Ethnicity / Race

Be a member of an ethnic/racial minority group as designated by federal guidelines:

• Asian or Asian American
• Black or African American
• Hispanic or Latino
• American Indian or Alaska Native
• Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

Enrollment Status

Doctoral Applicants (PhD and DNP)

• Applicants must have a Master's Degree or completed at least nine (9) credits related to Psychiatric/Mental Health or Substance Abuse.
• Enrolled as a full-time doctoral student in a fully accredited nursing program. A full-time student is enrolled in a school for the number of credit hours or courses in any academic term that the school considers to be full-time. A fully accredited school or degree program is one that is accredited by a national accrediting agency and/or a state approval agency recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

Masters Applicants

• Enrolled full-time in an accredited masters degree behavioral health (psychiatric mental health/substance use) program in nursing. Full-time status is determined by the academic institution where you are currently or planning to matriculate; this status is typically designated by credit hours or a pre-determined number of courses. A fully accredited degree program is one that is recognized by a national accrediting agency, which is approved by the Secretary of the United States Department of Education.
• Your masters level curriculum and plan of study must embody behavioral health disorders prevention, treatment, and recovery that are under girded with theoretical and clinical science.
• Your approved plan of study, signed by your major academic advisor, which includes required core courses and clinical practice hours in behavioral health, must be submitted to the MFP staff 30 days after acceptance into this fellowship.

Commitment

The documents included in your application should demonstrate your commitment to a sustaining behavioral health (psychiatric mental health and/or substance use) in Practice, Education, Service or Health Policy for the designated populations in the fellowship program. Fellows are required to commit to a minimum of 2 years’ service in mental health and/or substance use after graduation.

1. Register

Click on the "Register" link to the right and complete and submit the registration form.

2. Login

Login to the Minority Fellowship Program with your email and password.

3. Select

Select the applicable Fellowship from the drop down list to create an application.

4. Save

During the applications period, your application can be saved as DRAFT until all the required information is completed and attachments uploaded. At any time, you can download and print your application by clicking on the icon in the application Summary section.

5. Submit

On completion, submit your application as FINAL. Download and print a copy of your application for your records by clicking on the icon in the application Summary section in the right column. Note: If an update is required prior to the Deadline, you can make the update and resubmit as FINAL.