CoAccess Scholars Program

CoAccess Scholars Application and Information Session

The CoAccess Scholars Program is currently accepting applications. The application deadline is September 12, 2025 at 5:00 PM (Mountain Time Zone).

Join us for our Information Session via Zoom on September 4th at 12:30 PM. To join this Information Session, click here.

What is the CoAccess Scholars Program?

Colorado suffers from an extreme lack of mental and behavioral health workforce, resulting in hard-to-access care and poor outcomes in communities across the state. The Colorado Department of Public Health (CDPHE) reports that 54 of the state’s 64 counties are health professional shortage areas (HSPAs) and behavioral health shortages exist in 57 counties. Workforce vacancies, including both licensed and unlicensed clinicians, counselors, social workers, and peer specialists, contribute to many of the behavioral health service gaps across all Colorado regions (WICHE Report, 2015). The cracks in the state’s mental and behavioral health infrastructure have only been widened by the COVID-19 pandemic. What’s more, a lack of culturally and linguistically relevant care further exacerbates these problems, resulting in disproportionately negative outcomes for historically underserved populations.

MSU Denver’s Department of Social Work is poised to meet these needs. Financial barriers prevent many students from pursuing or completing a degree in social work when they realize the cost of earning the Bachelor and Master’s degree necessary for most industry positions. A partnership with Colorado Access will offer financial relief for many students, making the decision to pursue post-secondary social work education easier and empowering students to follow their interest in these critical careers. Through the CoAccess Scholars program, the Department of Social Work offers financial and programmatic support to students wanting to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Social Work (BSSW) degree followed by a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree via the MSU Denver Advanced Standing MSW Program. This initiative encourages dual degree completion by increasing financial access through two years of scholarship/stipend support, provides peer-to-peer community building and faculty mentorship, and prepares students to enter the mental and behavioral workforce through professional development, networking opportunities, and relevant field experience.

MSU Denver will support 20 students over two years of study, beginning in the final year of the BSSW Program and continuing through the single-year of the Advanced Standing MSW Program. Students will receive $5,000 as an undergraduate student and $8,000 as a graduate student. If a student chooses to pursue the Advanced Standing MSW Program part-time over two years, the funding would be split over the two years. Upon acceptance to the program at the end of their junior year of study, students will commit to 1) pursuing the Advanced Standing MSW Program at MSU Denver* and 2) two years of work in a medically underserved community in Colorado following MSW completion, focused on serving individuals on Health First Colorado/Medicaid.

*Note: Admission to the Advanced Standing MSW Program at MSU Denver is not guaranteed. Participants will still need to apply during the normal application cycle and submit a strong application for admission. For more information on applying to the MSW Program, please click here.

If you are interested in working in mental and behavioral health settings for underserved or rural communities, we invite you to apply to become a CoAccess Scholar.

If selected to participate in the program, students will:

Engage in a field placement in a mental or behavioral health setting;
Receive a financial stipend of $5,000 for undergraduate students or $8,000 for graduate students;
Participate in supplemental academic and professional development activities following a cohort model to encourage shared learning, community building, and networking. This will include required participation in the following:
- Undergraduate students:
  - Department sponsored conferences;
  - A senior-year capstone project;
  - Monthly seminars for the upcoming academic year;
  - Meeting with their CoAccess Faculty Advisor and participate in learning opportunities
- Graduate students:
  - Department sponsored conferences
  - Attend monthly seminars for the upcoming academic year

For each year of funding received, participants are obligated to work for one year (12 months) in a medically underserved community in Colorado, with a focus on serving individuals on Health First Colorado/Medicaid.

Program Eligibility

BSSW Student Eligibility

For undergraduate student to be eligible to apply, they must:

Be entering their final year of the Bachelor of Science in Social Work (BSSW) Program at MSU Denver;
Have a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher;
Have financial need as determined by FAFSA/CASFA and the University’s Office Financial Aid and Scholarships;
Have a field placement in a mental or behavioral health setting;
Commit to applying for and attending (if accepted) the MSU Denver Advanced Standing Master of Social Work (MSW) Program;
For each year of funding received, commit to 1 year of clinical work in a medically underserved community in Colorado following MSW completion, with a focus on serving individuals on Health First Colorado/Medicaid.

If you are an applicant who is from any of the following underrepresented communities, we encourage you to indicate this on your application as this project is focused on building diversity in the healthcare workforce:

Bilingual;
Bicultural;
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC);
First-Generation College Student;
Veteran;
Member of the LGBTQIA+ community;
Any other underrepresented community not explicitly listed above

MSW Student Eligibility

For a graduate student to eligible to apply, they must:

Be entering the MSW Advanced Standing Program as a full-time student;
Have a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher;
Have financial need as determined by FAFSA/CASFA and the University’s Office Financial Aid and Scholarships;
Have a field placement in a mental or behavioral health setting;
For each year of funding received, commit to 1 year of clinical work in a medically underserved community in Colorado following MSW completion, with a focus on serving individuals on Health First Colorado/Medicaid.

If you are an applicant who is from any of the following underrepresented communities, we encourage you to indicate this on your application as this project is focused on building diversity in the healthcare workforce:

Bilingual;
Bicultural;
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC);
First-Generation College Student;
Veteran;
Member of the LGBTQIA+ community;
Any other underrepresented community not explicitly listed above