Army Clinical Psychology Scholarships: ‘Tis the Season at Thanksgiving – ‘Tis too Late by Christmas

I am often asked “When is the best time to apply for Army Doctoral Scholarships in Clinical Psychology?” The short answer is that your whole application packet must be completed and submitted by Thanksgiving. There is some small amount of flexibility in this deadline, but Christmas is certainly too late.

It is important to understand why this deadline is so crucial to the application process. The most noticeable reason is because there is only one chance per year for clinical psychology doctoral students to apply for the Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP), as opposed to most other doctoral fields (dentistry, medicine, and veterinary medicine) for which the scholarship is available until the total annual pool is exhausted.

The HPSP application packet includes a considerable amount of documentation that will be reviewed by a selection board to determine who will be selected for that year’s scholarships. Although the Army Medical Department AMEDD has a greater number of available scholarships than the Navy or Air Force, the selection board is highly competitive, so the serious applicant would be wise to start working with a knowledgeable Army Healthcare Recruiter by August in their second year of graduate school. It takes time and expertise to collect the documents and information needed to apply for both a federal job and a 100% tuition scholarship at the same time, so it is essential to find the right person to guide you through the process, and you must get started early!