Federal Grant Funds $1.18M in Graduate Scholarships for SHMS

Fort y graduate students will each receive $20,500 tuition scholarships as part of a five-year $1.18 million federal training grant awarded to the School of Health and Medical Sciences.

The 20 Occupational Therapy students and 20 Speech-Language Pathology students will be part of “Project Transitions,” a collaborative interdisciplinary program they will undertake as they work with local educators and autistic school-age children during their clinical education experience.

After graduating, the scholarship recipients will be required to complete two years working with special needs children in a school or hospital setting.

“This component of the grant ensures that our students will share their newly acquired skills and resources, giving back to the communities in which they work in the years to come,” said Ruth Segal, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy and codirector of the program with Vikram Dayalu, Ph.D., interim dean of the School of Health and Medical Sciences. “It complements Seton Hall’s commitment to servant leadership.”

The remainder of the funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education will be used for curriculum development and training during the five-year program as the students work with local school districts to observe, assess and plan interventions to help children with autistic spectrum disorder.