The Profound Scholarship, established in 2025, and funded by a generous gift from Cara Sandweiss and partner Trevis Smith, supports students enrolled in the UCLA Extension Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counseling Certificate. When it comes to the cycle of addiction, skilled and well-trained counselors can make all the difference in supporting people experiencing substance use disorders. This scholarship stems from a desire to ensure that people in recovery are getting the best care available. It was created to provide qualified individuals with the opportunity to pursue professional careers as addiction counselors.
“We wanted to find a way to encourage more people who want to do this work, and who want to do it well, to have the tools they need to get started.”–Trevis Smith
This scholarship awards 50% - 100% of course registration fees for the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counseling Certificate. Fee reduction will apply to all courses in the certificate EXCEPT the one-day Study Skills course. The Study Skills course is a prerequisite to the certificate program if the candidate has not attained a minimum of an associate degree (AA).
Scholarships are nontransferable and will expire within 2 years of the award date. Scholarships are not awarded based on financial need, applicants are not required to submit financial documentation. The scholarship supersedes any discounts available.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applications are open to new students in Fall 2025. Applicants are required to pay the certificate candidacy fee. If selected for the scholarship, must provide proof of registration with CCAPP within 3-4 months.
- Applicants must enroll in a minimum of 2 courses per quarter, for the duration of the certificate program.
- Scholarship Awardees must maintain satisfactory academic progress which is measured by achieving a minimum quarterly GPA of 2.0 and overall cumulative GPA of 2.0. All courses must be completed within the enrolled quarter (no Incompletes are allowed).
Application Period: August 1 – 15, 2025
Application Reviews: August 25 - 29, 2025
Decision Emails: Week of September 1, 2025
