While it is often said that there are scholarships for almost all types of people, conditions or situations, this bit of hyperbole is not always entirely true. For example, scholarships for depression, which do exist in some forms here or there, are not as readily available as say disability scholarships for other mental disorders. This could be for a number of reasons, but amongst them is that depression is incredibly wide spread, difficult to diagnose, and more or less a subjective experience than it makes it a situation in which exact numbers cannot applied to.
That being said, there are in fact a number of depression scholarships available to those students who can show medical evidence of depression, often in the form of bipolar disorder or other depression types which are chronic and verifiable. These would be a form of bipolar scholarships.
The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) offers some disabled scholarships themselves, but with regards to finding additional funding provides a handy checklist where students should also check should they not get an award from the DBSA. DBSA suggests that students looking for depression scholarships contact their state’s Department of Mental Health, which is sometimes packed in with the Department of Human Services, and attempt to ascertain whether or not funds have been allocated for assistance to formally diagnosed patients with depression in the form of financial aid for education. There are also support groups in many areas which may supply additional funding for students who may be involved in the organization or are just an active person in their circles. In many cases vocational rehabilitation agencies may have funding available which they provide, and students should always check in with any groups which provide financial assistance to people with disabilities for which depression is often considered.
Churches or even local chapters of the National Alliance on Mental Illness may be able to give aid as well, so students should always be sure to check in on these sources.
Many of the funds available for depression scholarships for disabilities will come from regional or local sources such as the Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH). This agency provides depression scholarships for students who attend workshops or conferences to enhance their leadership skills and are interested in helping the overall depression community in advocacy. Their Technical Assistance award provides varying amounts for students who are interested in moving on beyond advocacy, self help programs or support groups, giving money for leadership development and mental health education. Interested students will need to submit a plan indicating what they are trying to accomplish, whether the people involved are capable of helping them meet their goals and whether or not the amount requested is within reason for the application of funds. It is important to note that this program is not solely available for educational purposes, so students interested in applying a Technical Assistance depression scholarship to their schooling should request relatively small amounts while rationalizing carefully why they need the assistance. The deadline for this program is not a static date and applicants should fill out the forms at their convenience but long before school starts.
Students who may not be depressed but are interested in researching the topic and expand knowledge regarding depression will have scholarships available to them as well. There are a number of research oriented depression scholarships available for these students, and interested applicants should certainly look into them very carefully. The National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression Young Investigator Award offers up to $30,000 a year for up to two years worth of research, aimed at graduate students interested in conducting research on depression. All research must be relevant to bipolar disease, borderline disorders, depression, and suicide or involve research with children. The deadline for this scholarship for depression is July 25 of every year and interested applicants should contact the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression for more information and an application.
Though widespread depression may be, scholarships for depression are sorely lacking in many cases. There are a number of such programs available for researchers on the topic, or for specific types of depression such as bipolar disorder. If a student is able to specify which type of depression they may have then they are more likely to identify scholarships related to the disorder.
