American indians into psychology - oklahoma is home to 39 american indian sovereign nations, and our american indian population is the second largest in the united states (over 500,000)

OSU hosts students from 40+ tribes, and american indian students comprise 15% of our undergraduate psychology majors. American indian students face a host of unique social and structural barriers to both entry and success in professional psychology programs (cultural marginalization, unfamiliarity with academic culture, limited/negative interactions with faculty), and national estimates indicate that the total number of doctoral-level american indian psychologists in the united states is less than two hundred. The psychology department at oklahoma state university (OSU) proposes an american indians into psychology (AIIP) project to address these educational and mental health disparities and increase the number of american indian students entering the field of professional psychology. This proposed program will provide scholarship support for graduate and undergraduate american indian students during the academic year. Additional undergraduate programs will provide mentoring and research opportunities designed to facilitate student success. A summer enrichment program will be conducted each year in which american indian undergraduate students from across the nation will be brought to the OSU campus for a 2-week immersive mentoring experience designed to assist students in preparing a competitive application for graduate admission, providing mentored research and clinical experiences, and building students' awareness of and appreciation for the richness and diversity of american indian cultures. Outreach with school-aged and high school-aged american indian youth will also be conducted. Since the inception of the OSU AIIP program in 1997, american indian students have comprised 20-25% of every incoming class admitted into the clinical psychology doctoral program. During this time, 33 american indian students have graduated from OSU with PH.D.'S in psychology. In addition, of the former AIIP summer enrichment participants, a little over half have been admitted to PH.D. And master's graduate programs nationwide. OSU's american indian PH.D. Graduates and summer enrichment undergraduate students have gone on to serve indian people in a variety of important tribal, IHS, and federal programs across the country. These american indian psychology students and graduates will provide a great service to the mental health needs of indian people.