American Music Therapy Association

(2024 Update) 

The arrival of Covid-19 continues to present unprecedented challenges for us all as we work together to remain as productive as possible.  Due to current AMTA restructuring efforts, our current scholarship offerings are on hold. Watch this space or current our news section for updates.

Each year, AMTA provides over $25,000 in scholarship and grant opportunities to qualified AMTA members to support the education of music therapy students and continuing education for professional music therapists.

 

 

Learn about AMTA Scholarships and Grants: Rebecca Preddie, AMTA Grant Coordinator, shares details about AMTA scholarships available for undergraduate students, graduate students, and interns, as well as AMTA scholarships and grants for music therapy professionals.

 

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To learn more about a specific scholarship program and its selection criteria, scroll down or click on the link in the table of contents below to go directly to the desired program.  For application instructions, see the How to Apply section.

Student, Intern, and Graduate Student Level Scholarships:

• E. Thayer Gaston Research Competition
• Edwina Eustis Dick Scholarship for Music Therapy Interns
• Brian & Cathy Smith Memorial Fund
• Christine K. Stevens Development Scholarship
• AMTA Student Conference Scholar

Applications for some student level scholarships require nominations.  Nominations may be student- or faculty-initiated; please see descriptions of the nomination process.  To nominate a student, please use the nomination form.  To apply for a scholarship, please use the application form.

See also: eligibility requirements for Student Level Scholarships

Professional Level Scholarships & Grants:

• Anne Emery Kyllo Professional Scholarship
• Florence Tyson Scholarship to Study Music Psychotherapy
• AMTA Conference Scholar Program
• AMTA Past Presidents' Conference Scholar
• Research Committee's Clinician-Based Grant Program
  • IV: Clinician-Based Grant Budget Form
• Arthur Flagler Fultz Research Award

See also: eligibility requirements for Professional Level Scholarships & Grants

 

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AMTA SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION FORM - click here to download and complete the scholarship APPLICATION form

AMTA SCHOLARSHIP NOMINATION FORM - click here to download and complete the scholarship NOMINATION form

 

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ELIGIBILITY FOR AMTA SCHOLARSHIPS

Student Scholarship Eligibility

All undergraduate, undergraduate equivalency students and graduate students enrolled in a college or university program in music therapy approved by the American Music Therapy Association. All interns in clinical training are considered eligible through their parent academic institution. Student status will be verified through that institution prior to awarding the prize. Applicants must be current Student Members of AMTA in the year in which they apply AND the year in which the award is granted.

• Only AMTA-Approved Program Faculty may nominate students for indicated awards.
• A Nomination form must be completed and submitted by the Nominations deadline.
• Those nominated will be notified electronically of any nominations no later than one (1) week after nomination deadline.
• Those nominated must then submit an application and follow the process indicated below.

Professional Scholarship Eligibility

Those considered eligible must be a music therapist with a current credential of MT-BC and Professional member in good standing of AMTA. Applicant must maintain both of these criteria for the course of the scholarship/grant.

 

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HOW TO APPLY FOR AMTA SCHOLARSHIPS

1. Complete the Scholarship Application form (and Nomination form if required).  This must be submitted with your application.  Only complete applications that follow the application guidelines and format will be considered.

2. Any submitted narrative must be double-spaced, 1-inch margins, in 12-point font.  Your narrative must be written for anonymous review, without specific reference to your name or place of employment (unless indicated otherwise.)

3. All applications must be submitted electronically to the AMTA National Office at: scholarships@musictherapy.org

4. Application must be submitted electronically as a Microsoft Word document. Additional materials – if required – must be submitted as Microsoft Word or .pdf documents.

5. In your email, please include the name of the scholarship for which you are applying and the application year in the subject line.

Applicants will receive an email confirming the receipt of their application materials once all required materials have been received.

 

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AVAILABLE SCHOLARSHIPS:

E. Thayer Gaston Research Competition

(*Undergraduate Students, Undergraduate Student Interns, & Undergraduate Equivalency Students are eligible to apply for this award. Graduate Equivalency Students are NOT eligible to apply for this award. )

Sponsored by the American Music Therapy Association in cooperation with the Student Affairs Advisory Board. Papers on any topic relevant to the music therapy profession using the philosophical, historical, descriptive, qualitative, mixed methods or experimental mode of research are invited.

Award: A cash award of $500 to the winner(s) and an opportunity to have the paper reviewed for possible publication in the Journal of Music Therapy.

Requirements: Papers may be individually or jointly authored. Only one paper per entrant.  Papers may be any length up to 3,000 words (word count includes tables and body text--does not include references) and shall have a title page indicating the author's name, academic institution, and academic advisor's name.  No identifying information found on the title page is to be found on any page of the text. Papers are to be submitted in the most recent edition in the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. For historical or philosophical papers, Chicago (Turabian) style is also accepted.  Papers must be previously unpublished. Proposed studies and stand-alone literature review are not acceptable manuscript types for this award.

Selection Procedure: Judging will be done on the basis of originality, organization, clarity of writing, relevance of content to the music therapy profession, literature documentation and adherence to the APA style. In the event that the criteria is not met or the judges feel that no paper is worthy, the award will not be presented. Judging will be done by a clinician, an academician, and a non-music therapist in a related field.

Application Deadline: All entries must be received by 5:00 pm EST June 24, 2022 without exception.

Edwina Eustis Dick Scholarship for Music Therapy Interns

Nomination for this award is required (This award is NOT anonymous.)

**Applicant must either be a current Intern or entering an Internship within 6 months of the application deadline**

After decades of watching the profession of music therapy grow from the early years to its present prominence, Mrs. Edwina Eustis Dick graciously donated funds to establish a scholarship program for music therapy interns.

Award: Two cash scholarships of $500 will be available for interns each year.

Requirements / Scoring:

1. Completed Scholarship Application Form, signed and dated - 0 points

2. Personal, community and college activities - 10 points

3. College transcript (student copy, "unsecured") - 15 points 

4. Three letters of recommendation - 15 points **must be submitted by author in pdf or Word format ONLY

5. a. from a music therapy professor (Nomination form may be used to fill this requirement!)
   b. from a professional familiar with the applicant's clinical skills
   c. another person of the applicant's choice

6. Participation in AMTA, conferences, AMTAS, committees, presentations, publications - 20 points

7. "GOALS" essay (800 words) on long-term professional goals - 20 points

8. "IMPACT" essay (400 words) on how AMTA can impact the profession of music therapy - 20 points

Selection Procedure: Nominations due - February 25, 2022 5pm ET without exception

Application deadline: All entries must be received by -  March 25, 2022 5pm ET without exception.

Brian & Cathy Smith Memorial Fund

Nomination for this award is required (This award is NOT anonymous.)

**Applicant must either be a current Intern or entering an Internship within 6 months of the application deadline**

The Brian and Cathy Smith Memorial Fund was established by AMTA member Alice Avigal and the Smith family in memory of Brian Smith, a young man who valued music in his life and died in a drug-related accident. The scholarship is for music therapy interns pursuing training in chemical dependency or in adolescent programs. In 2006, the fund was renamed to include Brian's mother, Cathy, who passed away in 2005.

Award: One cash scholarship of $500 will be available each year.

Requirements / Scoring:

1. Completed Scholarship Application Form, signed and dated - 0 points

2. Personal, community and college activities - 10 points

3. College transcript (student copy, "unsecured") - 15 points

4. Three letters of recommendation - 15 points **must be submitted by author in pdf or Word format ONLY
   a. from a music therapy professor (Nomination form may be used to fill this requirement!)
   b. from a professional familiar with the applicant's clinical skills
   c. another person of the applicant's choice

5. Participation in AMTA, conferences, AMTAS, committees, presentations, publications - 20 points

6. "GOALS" essay (800 words) on long-term professional goals - 20 points

7. "EXPLANATION" essay (400 words) explaining why the applicant is pursuing training in chemical dependency or adolescent programs - 20 points

Selection Procedure: Nominations due - February 25, 2022 5pm ET without exception

Application deadline: All entries must be received by -  March 25, 2022 5pm ET without exception.

Christine K. Stevens Development Scholarship

Nomination for this award is required

The Christine K. Stevens, MT-BC Professional Development Scholarship has been established by Remo, Inc., in Christine's honor for her pioneering work and is offered through AMTA to support music therapy students in their efforts to expand their training in the use of percussion-based strategies through continuing education opportunities with the research-based HealthRHYTHMS Group Empowerment Drumming program.

Award: Two full tuition scholarships for HealthRHYTHMS training (valued at $599 each) will be awarded annually.

Requirements: The application narrative should be a maximum of one (1) page. Statement of need and potential professional development should be addressed within your narrative.

Selection Procedure: Nominations due - February 25, 2022 5pm ET without exception

Application deadline: All entries must be received by -  March 25, 2022 5pm ET without exception.

Anne Emery Kyllo Professional Scholarship

The Anne Emery Kyllo Professional Scholarship of the American Music Therapy Association has been established in Anne's memory by the Emery and Kyllo families through The Denver Foundation to support professional music therapists in their efforts to expand their training and professional interactions through participation in continuing education opportunities

Award:  Three (3) cash scholarships of $500 each will be awarded annually for use towards CMTE credits.

The award may be used for national and/or regional conferences, CMTE (continuing music therapy education) courses, and/or other continuing education courses that meet the Educational Activity guidelines as established by the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT). CBMT guidelines state that educational activities must be at least five contact hours in duration, and must relate to the CBMT Examination Content Outline, as published in the CBMT Recertification Manual. The award may not be used for undergraduate coursework. The award may be used for post-undergraduate coursework as it relates to the clinical practice of music therapy. The award is for one calendar year. All funds must be used within 12 months of the award. If not used, the balance must be returned to AMTA. A final written report is required and must be submitted to AMTA within 30 days of the end of the award period. The report will include a summary of the continuing education activities, the impact these activities made on the recipient's career and clients, and a financial accounting of the award funds.  Award winners may not reapply for a period of 5 years. AMTA Executive Board members, review committee members, and AMTA National Office staff are not eligible to apply.

Requirements: The application narrative should be a maximum of two (2) pages. Statement of need, potential professional development and client impact, and strength/appropriateness of continuing education goals and opportunities should be included.

Application Deadline: All entries must be received by - July 1, 2022 5pm ET without exception.

Florence Tyson Grant to Study Music Psychotherapy

The Florence Tyson Grant to Study Music Psychotherapy of the American Music Therapy Association has been established in Florence's memory by Michael G. McGuire, MM, MT-BC, to support professional music therapists in post-undergraduate training in music psychotherapy, music and psychotherapy, or psychotherapy.

Conference Scholar awards are designed to help support AMTA members cover the cost of attending the AMTA annual conference.  Conference Scholar monies are donated by AMTA, while Past Presidents' Conference Scholar monies are thanks to generous donations by former presidents of national music therapy organizations.  Conference Scholar awardees are chosen from the same pool of applicants, so if you apply for the conference scholar program, your application will be considered for both categories (i.e., you do not need to submit two applications).

The AMTA Student Conference scholar will receive:  $250 cash for conference expenses at the upcoming AMTA National Conference, free conference registration, and free participation in CMTE courses and Institutes. 

Award: Two (2) scholars will be selected.

Requirements: The application narrative should be a maximum of one (1) page. Statement of need and potential development should be addressed within your narrative. (Your narrative should be submitted for anonymous review)

Application Deadline: All entries for the 2022 conference must be received by - July 1, 2022 5pm ET without exception.