VACES Graduate Counseling Student Development Grant Program

I. Purpose:

The purpose of the VACES Graduate Counseling Student Development Grant is to provide funding to VACES graduate student members (i.e., masters-level, Ed.S., and doctoral student members) for either research intended to enhance understanding of professional issues in counseling -or- for the development of innovative, creative practice strategies to help improve clinical treatment.

II. Funding Amount:

VACES will allocate a maximum of $500.00 to three (3) grant recipients. 

III. Application Criteria: 

A panel of reviewers will evaluate proposals based upon the following criteria:

• The project must be in progress (*not completed*) at the time of submitting the application. Applications for completed projects will not be considered.
• The grant proposal must describe either a Research -or- Innovative Best Practice project related to counseling or counselor education.
• The Research -or- Innovative Best Practice project reflects the potential for contribution to the counseling, counselor education, or supervision field(s).
• The applicant is a graduate student (master’s, Ed.S., or doctoral student) in counseling who meets the following criteria: (a) in good academic standing, (b) current VCA/VACES member, (c) provides written endorsement from a professional mentor in their program, (d) has submitted only one proposal for the current grant cycle, and (e) has not previously received VACES grant funding.
• The applicant agrees to present the project results as per the Grant Recipient Requirements.

IV. VCA/VACES Membership Requirements: 

Our office will confirm the student’s VCA/VACES membership at the time of the application submission. Only confirmed VCA/VACES student members’ applications will be eligible for grant consideration.

V. Grant Recipient Requirements:

• The grant recipient must agree to present the research or innovation project results at the 2026 VACES Conference as an educational session or a poster session.
• If the recipient is unable to attend the conference, the grant recipient agrees to email a poster of the project to the VACES President via vacespresident@gmail.com no later than January 31, 2026. The emailed poster will be displayed during 2026 VACES Conference.

VI. Submission Due Date:

• The grant proposal submission due date is  December 1, 2024, by 11:59 pm EST.  
• Please note that late proposal submissions will not be considered for grant review.

VII. Notification of Grant Winners:

Recipients of the grant awards will receive winner notification and acknowledgment during the 2025 VACES Conference, the weekend of March 7-8, 2025, in Norfolk, Virginia.

VIII. Contact Person:

Students may contact the VACES Grant Committee (vacespresident@gmail.com), with questions regarding the Graduate Counseling Student Development Grant.
We look forward to receiving your applications!

The VACES Grant Committee
Email: vacespresident@gmail.com