The LDR Fellowship Program is housed within the Counseling and Behavioral Health Department at William James College. Its primary objectives are to:
- Provide 20 scholarships annually to eligible students from backgrounds underrepresented in the clinical mental health counseling field (e.g., first-generation college students, students from low-income communities, and students from under-represented groups in the counseling profession, which may include, but are not limited to, racial/ethnic minorities (e.g., Black or African American, Hispanic/Latinx, Native American) and individuals from rural communities, who are currently enrolled in WJC’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling M.A. (on campus) Program on a full-time basis and have a demonstrated financial need. Each student will be awarded $32,500 annually to cover the costs of tuition and fees.
- Facilitate access to culturally focused academic training to promote greater awareness of, and commitment to, careers in medically underserved communities (MUCs) and/or primary care settings.
- Offer culturally focused field training opportunities for awardees to work with unserved populations and in underserved communities.
- Provide mentorship and career counseling to support the successful retention and training of students who are underrepresented in the field of clinical mental health counseling.
- Foster a sense of community belongingness and peer cohesion through the provision of social-cultural and professional development activities.
- Facilitate academic and professional development success in graduate school by linking scholarship awardees to academic resources and student support services at WJC.
- Evaluate the program’s impacts on the career choices of scholarship awardees by tracking the number of graduates who practice in primary care settings and in medically underserved communities.