Frequently asked questions about the LEND Program | UC Davis MIND Institute

Q: Who can join LEND?

A: As an interdisciplinary program, LEND welcomes advocates with a disability, family members, graduate and post-graduate professionals, and professionals who want to develop leadership skills to support people with autism and developmental disabilities. 

• Graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and/or professionals
• Advocates with autism and/or other disabilities and their family members
• People who work in community care or education with people with autism and developmental disabilities and their families
• Note: You do not need a higher education degree (beyond high school) to participate in the LEND program if you are participating as a self-advocate or family member trainee
• You must be at least 22 years of age

Q: How much does it cost to be in the LEND program?

A: There is no cost to be in the LEND program and some trainees may be able to receive a stipend. See here for LEND Training Level Chart that specifies who can qualify for a stipend.

Q: What makes a strong applicant?

A: Strong LEND applicants would be people who want to be leaders in their communities. This may include people who would be able to widely share the knowledge and implement what they learn from LEND to support people with developmental disabilities. Other qualities we look for in a LEND applicant include clearly knowing your goals (as they relate to developmental disabilities) and being strong community collaborators, and communicators. We also look for applicants who have many different types of life experiences and/or are interest in serving the diverse demographic of people with disabilities in California.

Q: Does the LEND Program require in-person participation?

A: Most LEND activities are offered in a hybrid (in person and online) format. However, depending on the trainee positions, we may require in-person participation.

Trainees required to be in-person:

• Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Fellow and Interns
• LEND Speech Language Trainees
• Psychology-Research / LEND Postdoctoral Fellow

Trainees encouraged to be in-person:

• Long-term trainees
• Advanced Medium/Medium-term trainees

Important: All trainees must be in person for Orientation Day 1, the Tuesday after Labor Day.

Other Notes

Community Building: all trainees are encouraged to be in-person as much as possible to promote community building with their fellow trainees. One of the many benefits of LEND is the opportunity for networking in this field full of incredible people.

Clinical and Community Site Placement: Although some Clinical and Community Site placements have online access, placement options may be more limited for trainees who can only attend remotely.

Q: When is the LEND program?

A: The LEND Program starts the day after Labor Day (early September) and continues through May.

• Applications typically open in early February and close mid-March
• Applicants are typically notified of their acceptance into the program in May
• If admitted as a LEND trainee, you will be asked to complete paperwork and requirements of the UC Davis Health. These “onboarding” requirements starts in June

Q: Can international students, non-citizens, TN visa, or green card holders participate in LEND?

A: No, due to HRSA federal funding, we can only accept individuals who have permanent resident or US citizenship.

Q: What does a typical schedule look like?

A: The short answer: There is no single schedule for everyone because one of the great things about LEND is the flexibility of the program and many learning opportunities.

A: The long answer: At the beginning of the LEND program, trainees work with a mentor to create a personal schedule that will align activities that best fit with their goals and time restrictions. Here is a Sample Schedule of typical activities that our trainees participate in.

Note: The LEND program offers flexibility to adapt to your personal schedule needs. However, be aware that the more schedule restrictions and limitations you have outside of the LEND program, the more challenging it will be to fully participate and fit in all the LEND activities that you would like to engage in.

Q: Can graduate students receive course credit for the LEND Program?

A: Currently, we do not offer course credits for our LEND program.

Q: What does the application process look like?

A: See below for the steps of the applications process:

Application

• Applicants with a complete application will be contacted if they will be invited for an interview.
• Applications must have all required fields filled in and all applicable attachments included or emailed to hs-lend@ucdavis.edu by the due date.
• For Medium-term and Long-term trainee positions, the deadline for a complete application is typically mid-March and Speech Language Clinical Fellowship is due late May.

Interview

• If you are applying as a Medium-term trainee, you may be invited to a group interview (with other applicants) including two interviewers
• If you are applying as a Long-term trainee, you may be invited to an individual interview (with you as the only applicant) and one or two interviewers

Acceptance Status

• You will hear back whether you are accepted to the program (or not) in May

Onboarding

• Onboarding for the program starts in June (more details will come after your acceptance)

Q: What attachments are required for the application?

A: All LEND applicants must include:

• Letter of Interest
• Resume or CV
• Two Letters of Recommendation
• Communication Sample
• The exception is if you are an individual without a bachelor’s degree or higher (including self-advocates)- then you are not required to submit a communication sample

More info: please see question, “What should I include in my Letter of Interest?” or the LEND application for more information about the attachments.

Note: If you are an applicant who is enrolled in another program at the MIND Institute that requires you to be a part of the LEND program, then you only need to submit an application and resume/CV.