Pursuing a degree in counseling can be the first step to a rewarding and fulfilling career, but financing your counseling degree can be a challenge. Fortunately, many organizations offer scholarships, grants, and loan programs designed to help aspiring counselors pay for their education. Knowing the resources available to you as you make your plan for financing your graduate degree is key. Here are just some of the many scholarship and loan repayment opportunities dedicated to helping you pay for your master’s in counseling.

Scholarship Provider: The Great Southwest Civitan Foundation

Scholarship Amount: $2,000

Info and Availability: The Ab Irvine scholarship is granted to a college student whose career goals include working with disabled children. To be eligible, students must have a minimum 3.0 GPA and reside within the Great Southwest District (Colorado, New Mexico, or El Paso County, Texas) and attend a school in one of these three states. Three awards are given.

Scholarship Provider: Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund

Scholarship Amount: Based on donations

Info and Availability: These need-based grants are awarded to students who are actively working for peace and justice, and part of a progressive movement at their campus. Davis-Putter scholars are both graduate and undergraduate students and must be living in the U.S. and planning to enroll in an accredited school. Exact amounts of the awards are determined by circumstance and the amount of funding available.

Scholarship Provider: Unigo Group

Scholarship Amount: $1,500

Info and Availability: To qualify for the Flavor of the Month Scholarship, you must be at least 13 years old and be enrolled in an accredited post-secondary educational institution by 2023. Provide a 250-word response to the following: “Summer and ice cream go hand-in-hand. In fact, July is National Ice Cream Month, and that’s the inspiration behind this award. We think people are very similar to ice cream; some are nutty, others a little exotic, while some are very comforting. If you were an ice cream flavor, which would you be and why?”

Scholarship Provider: Grungo Colarulo, LLC

Scholarship Amount: $1000

Info and Availability: The Grungo Colarulo Giving Back to the Community Scholarship focuses on what giving back can do. Applicants must write a 750-word essay that describes your community service experience and what it means to you. A resume and current transcript completes the application.

Scholarship Provider: Hispanic Scholarship Fund

Scholarship Amount: $500–$5,000

Info and Availability: Student must be of Hispanic heritage, and have a minimum 2.5 GPA (for college and graduate students). Student must be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, DACA, or eligible non-citizen planning to enroll in an accredited not-for -profit 4 year university or graduate school during the fall of the scholarship year. If applicable, the student must also complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Each HSF scholarship and grant may also have its own specific requirements. Scholarships are available for both undergraduate and graduate students.

Scholarship Provider: Hawai’i Community Foundation

Scholarship Amount: up to $5,000

Info and Availability: Applicants eligible to apply are females of Hawaiian ancestry as well as living in the state of Hawaii, who are pursuing a full-time degree in education, health, science, counseling, or social work.

Scholarship Provider: Japanese American Citizens League

Scholarship Amount: Varies

Info and Availability: The Japanese American Citizens League offers a variety of scholarships to applicants at the graduate level. To be eligible, applicants must be JACL members (membership is open to individuals of every ethnic background). Applicants must be planning to attend full time at a university within the United States in the fall of the application year.

Scholarship Provider: The Kosciuszko Foundation

Scholarship Amount: $1,000–$7,000

Info and Availability: The Kosciuszko Foundation provides tuition scholarships for U.S. citizens of Polish descent to be used for full time graduate studies in any field at colleges and universities in the United States. Scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis for one academic year.

Scholarship Provider: The Melanie Foundation

Scholarship Amount: $2,500

Info and Availability: The Melanie Foundation Scholarship is a scholarship awarded annually to a student pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree in a mental health field. The student must be currently enrolled in a U.S. graduate program accredited by the ACGME, APA, CACREP, or CSWE. Interested applicants will also need to provide past involvement in volunteer, extracurricular, research and other career related activities.

Scholarship Provider: National Association of Junior Auxiliaries

Scholarship Amount: To be Decided by NAJA

Info and Availability: Applicant must be working or planning to work directly with children; be pursuing graduate-level studies for one year in fields which address the special needs of children and youth, such as counseling; be a U.S. citizen and permanent resident of a state with a Junior Auxiliary Chapter, limited to: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee; and plan to attend a U.S. college or university for full-time or part-time study.

Loan Provider: National Health Service Corps

Loan Amount: $30,000–$50,000

Info and Availability: Licensed health care providers are eligible to apply for loan repayment assistance in exchange for working in a health professional shortage area (HPSA) at a site approved by the National Health Service Corps. Funding is tied to HPSA score and is in exchange for two years of full-time service. A half-time service commitment option is also available.

Scholarship Provider: National Board for Certified Counselors Foundation

Scholarship Amount: $8,000

Info and Availability: The NBCCF Military Scholarship was developed to increase the number of counselors serving military service members and families for whom there exists a shortage of mental health professionals. Five scholarships are available annually to students enrolled in a CACREP-accredited, master’s-level counseling program. Students must be active duty, have served in the military within the past five years or are a military spouse.

Scholarship Provider: National Board for Certified Counselors Foundation

Scholarship Amount: Up to $15,000

Info and Availability: Eligible applicants must effectively demonstrate experience and knowledge with ethnically and racially diverse populations. They must also commit to providing substance abuse and addictions counseling services to underserved minority transition-age youth (16-25) populations. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or have permanent resident status. Students must also be enrolled in an accredited addictions counseling master’s program or a CACREP accredited program with a concentration in addictions counseling.

Scholarship Provider: National Board for Certified Counselors Foundation

Scholarship Amount: Up to $8,000

Info and Availability: Eligible applicants must effectively demonstrate experience and knowledge with ethnically and racially diverse populations. They must also commit to providing mental health counseling mental health services to underserved minority transition-age youth (16-25) populations. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or have permanent resident status. Students must also be enrolled in a CACREP accredited counseling program.

Scholarship Provider: National Federation of Republican Women

Scholarship Amount: Up to $2,500

Info and Availability: The National Federation of Republican Women offers scholarships each year to young women who are seeking undergraduate or master’s degrees.

Scholarship Provider: Pride Foundation

Scholarship Amount: Up to $10,000

Info and Availability: The Pride Foundation offers post-secondary educational scholarships to present and future leaders in the LGBTQ and ally communities from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.

Scholarship Provider: The Recovery Village

Scholarship Amount: $1,000

Info and Availability: The Recovery Village Healthcare Scholarship is awarded to a student pursuing a health-related degree, including counseling, social work, psychology, and more. Special consideration to those in substance-abuse related fields, including addiction counseling.

Scholarship Provider: American Psychological Foundation

Scholarship Amount: $10,000

Info and Availability: The scholarship is awarded to a graduate student whose research seeks to increase the public’s understanding of the psychological suffering and stigma experienced by adults living with physical disabilities. Eligible applicants are full-time graduate students in good standing at an accredited university.

Scholarship Provider: American Psychological Foundation

Scholarship Amount: $5,000

Info and Availability: This award from the American Psychological Foundation is available to one full-time graduate student in good standing at an accredited university who has demonstrated a commitment to stigmatized issues.

Last updated: April 2020