Student Scholarships
The Wisconsin School Psychologists Association offers several scholarships for current graduate students in School Psychology.
Elizabeth Lindley Woods Scholarship Award
The Wisconsin School Psychologists Association is honored to offer the Elizabeth Lindley Woods Scholarship Award ($500). The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction appointment of Elizabeth Lindley Woods in 1917 marked the beginning of the profession of school psychology in Wisconsin. As Wisconsin public education’s first psychologist, Woods was dedicated to identifying children with exceptional needs, collaborating with educators to plan educational programs, and ensuring teacher training programs adequately prepared teachers for working with all children. The Woods Scholarship Award will be presented to a graduate student enrolled in a university school psychology training program.
Qualifications:
1. Nominators and candidates need to be current members of the WSPA.
2. Candidates must be in good standing and actively pursuing a Master’s or Specialist Degree leading to certification as an entry level School Psychologist.
3. Candidates must be nominated by a professor or instructor from a Wisconsin school psychology training program.
4. Priority will be given to candidates agreeing to practice in the state of Wisconsin for a period of not less than one academic year after internship.
Nomination packets require the following:
1. Completed Scholarship Candidate Information form.
2. A one-page Letter of Nomination submitted by the University Program Director or Coordinator addressing the candidate’s academic achievement, skills in conducting research, and skills in relating with peers, instructors, and professionals.
3. A one-page Letter of Application by the candidate addressing his or her professional goals, commitment to the discipline of school psychology, and involvement in WSPA.
4. Current Resume
The selection of the recipients will be decided by the Recognition and Scholarship Committee. The nominator and/or university professor will be asked to present a certificate to the student selected for this award at the Spring convention.
Nominations must be submitted by January 10, 2025 to Ann Reyes, WSPA Recognition and Scholarship Committee Chair, WSPA.awards.recognition@gmail.com
Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship Award
The WSPA Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship Award ($500.00) is offered to encourage and support the growth of minority representation in professional school psychology. The WSPA Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship Award follows NASPA’s ethnic minority scholarship description. While there is no federal statute specifically regulating the use of racial, ethnic, or similar criteria under scholarship programs administered by private organizations, NASP uses the Federal Government definition of minority as their guideline.
Qualifications:
1. Candidates must be a WSPA student member enrolled in one of the Wisconsin school psychology programs at both the time of application and award presentation. Newly admitted students are eligible and encouraged. Interns and first-year psychologists are ineligible. A single recipient may receive the award more than once.
2. Candidates must be recognized by the university as having minority status in any of the following groups: American Indian or Alaskan Native (All persons having origins in any of the original peoples of North America and maintaining identifiable tribal affiliations through membership and participation or community identification.); Asian and Pacific Islander (All persons having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands.); Black (All persons having origins in any of the black African racial groups not of Hispanic origin.); and Hispanic (All persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.)
3. Candidates must be nominated by the individual School Psychology Program Director or Coordinator with a one-page Letter of Nomination. It is the responsibility of the Director or Coordinator to adhere to the spirit of this award and restrict nominees to those deserving students with the greatest financial needs.
4. Preference will be given to those candidates that have future work location goals in the state of Wisconsin.
Nomination packets require the following:
1. Completed Scholarship Candidate Information form.
2. A one-page Letter of Nomination submitted by the University Program Director or Coordinator addressing the candidate’s academic achievement, skills in conducting research, and skills in relating with peers, instructors, and professionals.
3. A one-page Letter of Application by the candidate addressing his or her professional goals, commitment to the discipline of school psychology, and involvement in WSPA.
4. Current Resume
The selection of the recipient will be decided by the Recognition and Scholarship Committee. The nominator and/or university professor will be asked to present a certificate to the student selected for this award at the Spring convention. Nominations must be submitted by January 10, 2025 to Ann Reyes, WSPA Recognition and Scholarship Committee Chair, WSPA.awards.recognition@gmail.com