Some people are able to pay for their education easily, but most people need to obtain loans or grants.
Look for opportunities related to your field or the area or population you will work with in:
- Internal Grant programs at higher education institutions
- State programs
- Federal programs
Different structures can help in different ways:
- a Scholarship, or a Tuition Waiver, does not require you to put money into your education up front.
- Loan Repayment programs or Tuition Reimbursement programs, require that you pay for your education and then the repayment/reimbursement program will help to pay down the money which you already paid.
Most programs require some form of service commitment in return for the payments.
Here are some of the programs available in Massachusetts:
- Massachusetts Loan Repayment Program for Health Professionals - Massachusetts offers loan repayment programs for primary health care professionals including Master's level substance use and addiction professionals.
- National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program (HRSA) - Multiple options available for behavioral health workers.
- Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers list of loan repayment options for serving in a shortage area or serving an underserved population, for a required amount of time.
- Tuition Remission Program for Human Service Providers (developed by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education and the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers).
- Tufts Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) Tufts University offers awards to Tufts graduates who are employed full-time by a public sector or nonprofit organizations.
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Yellow Ribbon Program - Certain veterans and child transferees of active duty service members are eligible for varying levels of tuition payment. See a list of participating Massachusetts institutions of higher education.
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Education Benefits information through Massachusetts Veterans' Services - various programs for veterans and their families, to support and/or prepare for further education.
There are some times funding opportunities for specific professions, so check the Career Paths pages on this site and relevant professional associations or government sites.
Local Community Colleges will often offer a free course for one individual staff member at an organization which accepts the College’s students for field internships. See if that is true, or explore establishing such an arrangement for your organization!