Funding opportunities, through a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), are available and designed to support the training of future nurse practitioners in behavioral health practice, education and health policy. If you have the potential to be a leader and are committed to a career providing behavioral health services or developing policy for ethnic and racial minority populations, we invite you to apply to one of the following programs:
Supported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), this program provides 3-5 year fellowships to masters prepared nurses, or nurses who have completed at least nine (9) credits related to Psychiatric/Mental Health or Substance Abuse and committed to pursuing doctoral study on minority psychiatric-mental health and substance abuse issues.
Students admitted to or currently matriculating in a full-time accredited masters degree program in behavioral health (psychiatric nursing) or substance abuse disorders prevention and treatment.
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.
American citizen or permanent resident.
Member of an ethnic or racial minority group, including but not limited to:
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.
Click on the "Register" link to the right and complete and submit the registration form.
Login to the Minority Fellowship Program with your email and password.
Select the applicable Fellowship from the drop down list to create an application.
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.
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.
To be eligible to apply for the Minority Fellowship Program, you must meet the following criteria:
You must be an American citizen or permanent resident.
Member of an ethnic or racial minority group, including but not limited to:
Membership in the American Nurses Association is recommended.
The documents included in your application (CV, recommendations, essay, etc.) should demonstrate your commitment to a career in substance abuse or psychiatric/mental health issues affecting minority populations. Fellows are required to commit to a minimum of 2 years’ service in mental health and/or substance use after graduation.
Certification by the American Nurses Credentialing Center in one of the following is recommended:
To be eligible to apply for the Minority Fellowship Program, you must meet the following criteria:
Be an American citizen or a permanent resident
Be a member of an ethnic/racial minority group as designated by federal guidelines:
Membership in the American Nurses Association is recommended.
The apply.emfp.org portal provides the following additional services to Fellows, Mentors, and National Advisory Committee (NAC) members:
To access these services, a user is approved by MFP/ANA staff and will have access specific areas of the portal after logging on with their username and password. For any questions, please email Mfp@ana.org.
American Nurses Association
SAMHSA Minority Fellowship Program
8515 Georgia Ave, Suite 400
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Email: mfp@ana.org