Graduate Students

Are you majoring in Education, Counseling/School Psychology, Human Services/Social Work, or Human Resources?

Do you intend to pursue a career that advances work-based learning opportunities for students? 

Do you want to join a professional organization or attend a conference?

If you answered yes, then you should apply for our professional development scholarship. Please review the following information before applying: graduate student instructions and an appendix containing the graduate student application form.

To find out about the benefits of the V-TOP professional development scholarship for graduate students, check out this brief YouTube video.

V-TOP Scholarship Recipient – Jada Pearson

V-TOP Scholarship Recipient – Jessica Pappagianopoulos (International Society for Autism Research Annual Meeting)

Practitioners

Are you employed at a Virginia public institution of higher education or a Virginia private non-profit institution of higher education that participates in the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant (TAG) Program?

Does your job involve connecting students to work-based learning and internships?

Do you want to join a professional organization or attend a conference?

If you answered yes, then you should apply for our professional development scholarship. Please review our instructions for practitioners and an appendix with the application form.

To find out about the benefits of the V-TOP professional development scholarship for practitioners, check out these brief YouTube videos. 

V-TOP Scholarship Recipient – Sterling Smith (NACE Management Leadership Institute)
V-TOP Scholarship Recipient – Quina Weber-Shirk (VACE Conference)

V-TOP Scholarship Recipient – Ashley Crute (VACE Conference) 

V-TOP Scholarship Recipient – Maeghan Crews Fallow  (NACE Conference) 
V-TOP Scholarship Recipient – JC Hazelwood (VACE Conference)

Read these testimonials from other career practitioners:

V-TOP Scholarship Recipient – Breona Walker (VACE Conference)

V-TOP Scholarship Recipient – Katie Maher (NACE Conference)

V-TOP Scholarship Recipient – Nicole Ramsey (NACE Conference)

General Information

Scholarships may be awarded in these categories for career practitioners: (1) conference presentation/attendance (2) fees for membership in professional organizations or (3) professional development training/workshop.

The amount of a scholarship will vary by category. Applicants may request up to the amounts listed below; awards may be for a lower amount.

  • All categories: up to $2,500

Applications are accepted on a rolling, we ask for at least 60 days’ notice before attending conferences, etc. Applications for conference presentation/attendance scholarships MUST BE submitted by the deadline before the month of the conference. For example, if requesting scholarship funds to attend the VACE conference in April, the application should be submitted by February 1 to ensure there is enough time to receive the funding. 

Application for Practitioners

Application for Graduate Students


Forms to Download, Fill Out, and Upload with Your Scholarship Application (see instructions)

Scholarship Follow-Up

To fulfill the obligations associated with your professional development scholarship, within seven business days of returning from your conference or obtaining your membership, please either: 1) email Emily Salmon at emilysalmon@schev.edu to set up time (~15 minutes) to record a video of your scripted response to the questions in the linked form below or 2) if you prefer, simply provide your written responses via the form response link. Responses (video and written) will be posted on https://virginiatop.org/highered/professional-development-scholarships/  

Failure to comply with this requirement will make you ineligible to receive future professional development scholarships through V-TOP.  

  

Questions

Emily Salmon, Senior Associate for Strategic Planning and Policy Studies
State Council of Higher Education for Virginia
emilysalmon@schev.edu

Relevant Organizations and Conferences

The following is a list of potentially relevant organizations and conferences.

Note: Submitting a scholarship for one of the listed organization memberships or conferences does not guarantee scholarship acceptance.

Cooperative Education and Internship Association (CEIA)
Website: https://www.ceiainc.org

Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL)
Website: https://www.cael.org

National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE)
Website: https://www.nsee.org/

Eastern Association of Colleges and Employers (EACE)
Website:  https://www.eace.org

National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)
Website: https://www.naceweb.org

Southern Association of Colleges and Employers (SoACE)
Website: https://www.soace.org

Virginia Association of College and Employers (VACE)  
Website: https://www.vace.org

Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE)
Website: https://www.acteonline.or