VET Center
About Vet Center
The Vet Center (Readjustment Counseling Service) Scholarship is similar to the HPSP program in what it covers, and how it is managed. The difference is under the Vet Center scholarship health professionals will be placed at a Vet Center and their service obligation is 6 years in length.
Vet Center scholarships are only provided for the last 2 years of your educational program, not including the internship year.
Vet Centers are community-based counseling centers that provide a wide range of social and psychological services, including professional readjustment counseling to eligible Veterans, active-duty service members, including National Guard and Reserve components, and their families. More information about Vet Centers can be found here: Vet Centers (Readjustment Counseling) Home (va.gov)
Scholarships are determined and published for VHA workforce/Vet Center needs.
In FY2024 (October 2023 – September 2024) scholarships were offered in the following areas:
Vet Center:
- Social Worker (MSW)
- Psychologist (Doctoral Degree) *** (See below)
- Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselors (LPMHC)
- Marriage and Family Therapists (MFT)
*** School Psychology degrees are not eligible for this scholarship.
Changes to the list of eligible degree plans will be posted here as they become known.
Scholarship Details:
- Full-time students:
- Tuition and Fees – The HPSP/Vet Center award pays a participant’s school tuition and approved fees through direct payment to the school. HPSP/Vet Center assistance includes topping off any existing grants and scholarship to ensure 100% of tuition and required/mandatory fees are paid.
Required/Mandatory Fees are defined as those fees assessed by the college or university to all students in the academic program for which the scholarship was awarded. General Guideline: If the fee is optional, the fee is not required by all participants in the plan of study, or if the student at any time can opt out of the fee, they do not qualify for reimbursement. - Stipend – HPSP/Vet Center will pay a monthly stipend directly to the participants. The payment is made for each month a participant is enrolled in coursework, beginning with the first month of the school year. The current stipend amount is $1,302 per month.
- Tuition and Fees – The HPSP/Vet Center award pays a participant’s school tuition and approved fees through direct payment to the school. HPSP/Vet Center assistance includes topping off any existing grants and scholarship to ensure 100% of tuition and required/mandatory fees are paid.
- Book Stipend – HPSP/Vet Center will pay an additional stipend to help cover books, paper, pens, pencils, computers, etc. This stipend is usually paid out annually during the July/August timeframe while under scholarship.
- Full-time VA employees are not eligible for the monthly stipend.
- Part-time and Intermittent VA employees can receive the monthly stipend.
- Intermittent employees will be required to provide total hours worked at the end of each year to prove part-time status.