Combined Doctoral Program Alumni Scholarship Endowment

Psychology student posing for a photo with faculty Mike Twohig.

To honor the past 50 years of dedication and growth, we are excited to announce the creation of the Combined Doctoral Program Alumni Scholarship Endowment. This endowment scholarship will support the next generation of students in the combined doctoral program here at USU and will provide financial assistance to talented and passionate individuals who are committed to making a positive impact in the mental health field.

 

Why This Scholarship Matters

Scholarships are crucial for helping students pursue their dreams without the financial burden that often comes with higher education. By offering this support, we help our students focus on their academic journey, clinical practice, and personal growth—ultimately preparing them to become compassionate and skilled professionals who will serve their communities. 




Diploma

How You Can Help 

Your contribution to the Combined Doctoral Program Alumni Scholarship Endowment will directly benefit future students, allowing them to achieve their educational goals. No matter the size of your donation, you are helping to shape the future of mental health professionals who will make a difference for years to come. We invite you to be part of this exciting journey by supporting the scholarship and helping our students succeed!



Make a Donation!


Scholarship Criteria

The income of the Endowment will be used to support scholarships to students in the Combined Doctoral Program in the Department of Psychology. The scholarship shall pay for any cost of attendance. USU will select scholarship recipients according to the following criteria:

  1. Recipients shall be graduate students in the Combined Doctoral Program who have completed at least one year of graduate study.
  2. Recipients should demonstrate academic achievement, excellence in scholarly and clinical training activities, and should be developing capacity for leadership at local, regional, and national levels.
  3. Recipients shall be chosen by the scholarship selection committee of the Psychology Department

Required application materials:

  1. CV
  2. Personal statement/essay with the following prompt: “Please provide the scholarship committee with additional context that supports your eligibility for the USU Combined Program Alumni scholarship. Speak to the criteria for scholarly and clinical excellence and developing leadership potential. Do not simply restate the content of your CV, but rather provide important contextual information that supplements your CV.


Your gift will be used only for the above-stated purpose if the required minimum endowment level of $25,000 is met by December 31, 2030.  If not met, the gift will be considered expendable towards the stated purpose.

The Endowment will exist in perpetuity. If circumstances arise that render the stated purpose of the Endowment (as set forth herein) illegal, impractical, impossible, or wasteful (e.g., a change in law, the elimination of a USU program, position, or course of study, the persistent unavailability of scholarship recipients that meet the criteria, etc.); then, as set forth in this Solicitation, under such circumstances and in keeping with Utah Code 51-8-501(1), USU may designate a new purpose and/or scholarship selection criteria for the Endowment. Any such new purpose shall be defined by USU’s President and the Senior Vice Provost of Graduate Studies.

The Endowment shall be deposited and invested by the Board of Trustees of USU, through the USU Investment Advisory Committee in accordance with USU’s investment policy.  The USU Foundation is the legal entity designated by USU to receive charitable gifts in support of its academic mission.

Distributions from the Endowment shall be governed by USU’s Endowment Spending Policy. The spending policy calls for an annual distribution up to 5% (currently set at 4%) of the value of the endowment account to be expended per the gift agreement. An additional 1.5% of the endowment value shall be used to fund the administration of the endowment and USU advancement efforts. All additional gains shall be retained as appreciation and invested along with the corpus to grow the value of the Endowment over time.

By letter dated May 21, 2008, the Internal Revenue Service has declared the USU Foundation (federal tax identification number 87-0627128), to be a duly qualified charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) and also an organization described in sections 509(a)(1) and 170(b)(1)(A)(iv) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation is a duly chartered active Utah nonprofit corporation, under the provision of Utah Code, Title 16, Chapter 6a.