HRSA’s Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) program funds graduate counseling programs, which pass a portion of that funding to students as field-year stipends. Published award amounts vary by institution, grant cycle, and discipline — many programs list stipends between $10,000 and $25,000 for the clinical placement period. You don’t apply to HRSA directly. You apply through your graduate program once you’re enrolled.
Most counseling students who receive a BHWET stipend describe it the same way: they didn’t plan for it. A professor mentioned it in passing, or they spotted a small notice on their department’s financial aid page. They applied, got it, and used it to cover rent and reduce loan borrowing during the most demanding year of their program. The funding is real and substantial — but because HRSA writes grants to universities, not students, most prospective counselors have never heard of it.
This guide explains how the BHWET program works, who’s eligible, how much support counseling students actually receive, and — critically — how to find programs that participate before you apply to graduate school.
What Is the BHWET Program?
HRSA — the Health Resources and Services Administration — runs the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) program as one of its major workforce investments. The program’s goal is straightforward: grow the supply of trained behavioral health professionals in communities that don’t have enough of them, particularly for children, adolescents, and young adults transitioning out of the school system.
HRSA funds this through institutional grants — awards that go to universities and training programs rather than directly to individual students. Eligible institutions apply for multi-year grants and use the funding to expand clinical training placements in high-need settings. A portion of each award flows to students as stipends during their clinical training period. Grant cycles, award amounts, and program structures vary by institution and funding round.
Why HRSA Funds It
The national shortage of behavioral health providers in schools and community settings isn’t new, but it’s been sharpening. Youth mental health demands have surged, rural and underserved districts often can’t recruit and retain counselors, and the pipeline of trained professionals hasn’t kept pace. BHWET is HRSA’s mechanism for addressing both sides of that gap: training more people and deploying them specifically in the places that need them most.
Which Professions Are Included
BHWET funding covers a range of behavioral health disciplines. For prospective school counselors, the relevant categories are:
- School counseling (MEd, MA, EdS)
- Clinical mental health counseling (MA, MS)
- Marriage and family therapy (MA, MS, MFT)
- Rehabilitation counseling
- Social work (MSW, in many but not all programs)
- Psychiatric nursing and occupational therapy (less common in school-counseling-adjacent programs)
Not every graduate counseling program has active BHWET funding — and not every funded program includes school counseling students in its eligible disciplines. This is something you’ll need to verify program by program, which we’ll cover below.
How the Money Gets to You
Understanding the funding structure matters because it explains why there’s no central student application and why eligibility rules vary so much from one program to the next.
HRSA awards BHWET grants at the institutional level. A university’s counseling or behavioral health department applies, is reviewed, and — if awarded — receives a multi-year grant. Recent publicly announced BHWET institutional awards have commonly fallen in the low-million-dollar range over multi-year grant cycles, though award sizes vary significantly by institution, program scope, and funding round.
The department then allocates those funds across several uses: faculty time, supervision infrastructure, evaluation systems, community partnership development, and student stipends. The portion that reaches students — the stipend — is budgeted and obligated at the time a trainee is selected. That’s part of why programs are strict about eligibility, timing, and completion: they’ve already committed federal dollars to that slot.
HRSA → University Department → BHWET Project → Student Stipend + Specialized Clinical Placement
What Counseling Students Actually Receive
Stipend Amounts
Published counseling-track BHWET stipends vary widely by institution and grant cycle, with many programs publicly listing awards between roughly $10,000 and $25,000 for the clinical placement period. The $10,000 figure appears frequently in program pages for counseling-specific fellowships; programs with interprofessional components, rural placement requirements, or higher cost-of-living settings have published higher amounts. Because award structures are set at the institutional level and change with each grant cycle, treat any published figure as a reference point rather than a guarantee.
The table below shows examples from programs that have publicly documented their BHWET awards and student stipends. Amounts and eligibility criteria reflect what was published at the time of research and may have changed:
| Program | Eligible Degrees | Stipend (Approx.) | Placement Focus | Key Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iona University BHWET IC Fellowship | Mental Health Counseling (MA), Marriage & Family Therapy (MS), School Psychology | $25,000 total ($12,500/semester) — verify current cycle | Youth and underserved communities | Final year, approved BHWET site, interprofessional training |
| PennWest California BHWET | Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Social Work | $10,000 (field year) — verify current cycle | Rural/underserved; opioid-related services | Clinical field experience in funded focus area |
| Molloy University BHWET | Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Psychiatric Nursing | $10,000 per student (2021–2025 cycle) — verify current cycle | Behavioral health; integrated care settings | Placement at an eligible site |
| William James College BHWET | Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychology | $10,000 annually — verify current cycle | High-need behavioral health settings | BHWET training curriculum and competency evaluation |
These examples are illustrative only. Programs, award amounts, eligible disciplines, and eligibility criteria change with each grant cycle. Confirm current details directly with the department before making any enrollment or financial planning decisions based on this information.
When You Receive It
BHWET stipends are generally tied to the clinical training phase of a master’s program — typically the supervised field experience or internship period — rather than earlier coursework. They’re not scholarships applied to tuition at the start of your degree. Most programs pay stipends in installments across the approved placement period, though the exact structure varies by institution. Some programs support different trainee timelines or formats beyond a standard final-year placement, so it’s worth asking how a specific program structures its BHWET fellowship before assuming a uniform model applies. If you want a closer look at what the internship year actually looks like in school counseling, that’s worth reading before you start comparing programs. The timing matters for financial planning: if you’re counting on this funding, confirm your eligibility for the BHWET fellowship track well before your clinical year begins.
Who Is Eligible
Program Types That Qualify
HRSA’s program guidelines cover a range of behavioral health master’s degrees, but each grantee university sets its own student-level eligibility criteria within those parameters. In practice, counseling students are most likely to encounter BHWET fellowships in:
- Master of Science or Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
- Master of Education or Master of Arts in School Counseling
- Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy
- Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling
- Master of Social Work (at programs that include counseling-track BHWET awards)
You’ll want to ask specifically whether a program’s BHWET funding covers school counseling students or is limited to clinical mental health tracks — the distinction matters at some institutions.
Student-Level Requirements
Common eligibility requirements across BHWET-funded counseling programs include:
- Clinical placement year status — Most programs restrict stipends to students in their supervised field experience, though timelines and formats vary by program
- Placement at an approved community site — The site must serve underserved populations, often with a focus on youth, transitional-age young adults, or integrated care
- Minimum GPA — Commonly 3.0 to 3.25; programs vary
- Application materials — Typically a personal essay, CV, and one or two faculty recommendations
- Good academic standing — No active academic or professional conduct concerns
The key thing to understand is that you do not apply to HRSA. You apply to your program’s BHWET fellowship track after you’ve been admitted and are approaching your clinical placement year. The selection process is internal to the department, and criteria differ meaningfully across institutions.
What You Commit To in Return
A question that comes up constantly in student forums: is there a work obligation attached to BHWET funding, the way National Health Service Corps loan repayment requires you to work in a shortage area for a set number of years?
BHWET generally does not operate like a formal service-obligation repayment program — but institutions may impose program-specific participation requirements of their own. What you can expect to commit to across most programs:
- Completing your approved field placement and graduating on schedule. Failing to complete the placement after stipend funds have been obligated can create complications for your program and potentially affect future eligibility for that cohort.
- Pre- and post-training assessments, competency evaluations, and participation in any required additional seminars or interprofessional modules built into the BHWET program.
- Post-graduation tracking — Most programs require alumni to respond to follow-up surveys about employment, licensure, National Provider Identifier (NPI) status, and practice setting for several years after graduation. This is how HRSA measures whether the program is achieving its workforce goals.
Programs strongly emphasize the expectation that fellows will seek employment in high-need or underserved settings after graduation. That expectation is real and meaningful. Before you accept a fellowship, ask the department explicitly what participation requirements apply and get any commitments in writing.
How to Find BHWET-Funded Counseling Programs
There is no comprehensive student-oriented directory of BHWET-funded counseling programs, though HRSA data tools and USAspending.gov can help identify recipient institutions. Here are the most reliable approaches:
- Search program websites directly. Use the phrase “Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training” combined with “counseling” or “stipend” in Google, limited to a specific university’s site. Department pages for clinical mental health or school counseling programs often list active grants and fellowship opportunities.
- Check HRSA’s grant database and USAspending.gov. HRSA’s data tools and USAspending.gov provide partial public visibility into awarded grants by recipient institution. Search “BHWET” or the full program name to see which universities have received recent awards — then investigate those programs directly to confirm current student eligibility.
- Ask admissions and financial aid directly. When researching programs, ask: “Does your department have an active BHWET grant? Are school counseling students eligible for the fellowship track?” Departments with active awards will know immediately. Those without may have applied previously or be planning to apply in the next cycle.
- Cross-reference your CACREP-accredited program list. BHWET-funded programs tend to be CACREP-accredited or accreditation-eligible, since HRSA’s grant criteria often reference accreditation standards. If you’re already filtering by accreditation, layering in a BHWET search is a natural next step.
The investment in this research is worth it. A meaningful stipend during the most financially stressful year of a graduate program can reduce loan borrowing and expand your placement options — and knowing which programs carry active BHWET funding can be a deciding factor in where you apply.
Once you’ve identified programs worth exploring, the master’s in school counseling program guide on this site breaks down accreditation, program formats, and what to look for when comparing options. And if you’re earlier in the process and still working through the path to licensure, our overview of how to become a school counselor covers the full credential sequence from bachelor’s degree through state certification.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I apply to HRSA directly for a BHWET stipend?
No. HRSA awards BHWET grants to universities and graduate programs, not to individual students. You apply to your program’s internal BHWET fellowship track after you’re admitted and approaching your clinical placement year. The selection and administration of student stipends is handled entirely by the department, and criteria vary by institution.
Is there a list of BHWET-funded counseling programs I can search?
There’s no comprehensive student-facing directory, but HRSA’s data tools and USAspending.gov provide partial visibility into recipient institutions. Search “BHWET” or the full program name to identify universities with recent awards, then contact those programs directly to confirm whether school counseling students are eligible for the fellowship track. Individual program websites are often the most reliable source for current fellowship details.
Will I have to work in an underserved area after I graduate?
BHWET programs strongly encourage — and track — employment in high-need and underserved settings after graduation. The program does not operate like a formal service-obligation repayment program, but individual institutions may have their own participation expectations. Ask the department explicitly what post-graduation commitments apply to BHWET fellows before you accept a stipend, and get any terms in writing.
What happens to my stipend if federal funding priorities change mid-program?
BHWET grants run in multi-year cycles, and once stipend funds are formally obligated for a trainee, programs follow HRSA’s guidance on honoring those commitments within the grant year. That said, federal workforce grant programs can be affected by budget changes or policy shifts. It’s worth asking any program you’re considering how they’ve handled funding continuity in past cycles and whether they have contingency plans for active fellows if a grant isn’t renewed.
Can I stack a BHWET stipend with student loans or other scholarships?
In many cases, yes — BHWET stipends are typically not structured as tuition awards that would affect your financial aid package in the same way a scholarship might. But this varies by institution and program design. Ask the department’s financial aid or BHWET coordinator specifically: “Does receiving a BHWET stipend affect my eligibility for federal student loans or other departmental funding?” Get that answer in writing before you accept.
What fieldwork settings do BHWET placements typically use?
BHWET-funded placements are concentrated in community-based settings serving underserved populations — school-based counseling, pediatric or integrated behavioral health clinics, rural mental health centers, and youth-serving nonprofits. Some programs include telebehavioral health rotations or interprofessional training experiences that aren’t part of standard practicum placements. Approved placement sites are defined by the grantee institution; ask the BHWET coordinator for the current list before committing to a placement.
- The funding is real — HRSA’s BHWET program has funded universities across the country through multi-year institutional grants, a meaningful portion of which flows directly to student stipends during clinical training.
- Stipend amounts vary significantly — Published counseling-track awards range widely by institution, discipline, and grant cycle. Many programs have publicly listed stipends between $10,000 and $25,000 for the clinical placement period; confirm current figures directly with each program.
- You don’t apply to HRSA — Stipends are administered by individual departments. You apply internally, after admission, once you’re approaching your clinical placement year. Eligibility criteria differ across institutions.
- No comprehensive directory exists — Finding BHWET-funded programs requires direct research: HRSA data tools, USAspending.gov, and conversations with admissions staff at programs you’re already considering.
- Understand your commitments before accepting — BHWET doesn’t impose a formal post-graduation service contract, but institutions may have their own participation expectations. Ask what applies and get terms in writing.
Comparing master’s programs in school counseling? Knowing which ones carry active federal funding is worth researching before you apply.
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