Dog Training Scholarship for People of the Global Majority and Low Income Individuals

Next scholarship application review date: mid-January, 2025. Apply below before then!

I believe that quality dog education should be available to all, which is why we already have a low monthly membership rate of to access every single fantastic online class and event at the Grisha Stewart Academy (GSA). Click here for info on the Diamond Membership and the Library Pass.

This scholarship grants access to the Grisha Stewart Academy for professional and aspiring professional dog trainers. 1) People of the Global Majority (PGM, also called BIPOC – Black, Indigenous, People of Color), who historically have faced many barriers in the dog training industry, and 2) white people (non-PGM) who are not able to afford the membership at this time.

  1. PGM Scholarships
    Scholarships awarded to People of the Global Majority regardless of income level. PGM scholarships grant lifetime Diamond membership; i.e., those scholarships do not expire, eliminating the paywall for PGM dog trainers at the Grisha Stewart Academy (of course, you’re also welcome to sign up to pay for a membership if you prefer). We align with Shireen Amini‘s definition of who we mean when we say PGM/BIPOC: “Black, Indigenous, or Person of Color (including mixed race) who cannot hide their non-whiteness, whether through skin color, name, accent, or physical features, and who experiences a particular kind of other-ing, discrimination, and disadvantage that white or white-presenting folks do not experience.”
  2. Need-Based Scholarships
    Low income scholarships are for 6 months of access for professional and aspiring professional dog trainers. They do not grant lifetime access to GSA content, but are renewable every 6 months. PGM already get free lifetime membership with PGM scholarships, so the need-based scholarship is basically for white people. If you actually *can* afford a Diamond Membership or Library Pass, please don’t apply for the Need-Based scholarship. Thank you for your honesty in not taking advantage of my good intentions. 🙂 I’m not struggling, but I’m also not rich! 🙂 Having people only apply for low-income scholarships when they truly need it allows me to not limit the number of scholarships, so everyone who needs this help can benefit.

Scholarships are for full Diamond memberships. If you receive a scholarship, we hope you will participate in the community, learn as much as you can, discover (and share) ways to help all beings fight systemic oppression, and use the information to boost your dog training/behavior career, if that’s your professional goal. It takes everyone’s input to “dream big enough for all of us.”

Note: Separately from this scholarship, I also offer a bundle of free classes to non-profit shelters and rescues. Click here for shelter scholarship info.

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Name
It may be the same as your email above. If you don't yet have an account, please sign up for the free Dog Training Handouts Course to create an account.
Need Based Scholarship (6-months):
No need to respond here for PGM/BIPOC scholarship applications, though we always love hearing from people. 🙂

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

  1. Is there a deadline for this application?
    Applications may be submitted at any time, but  are processed in order of reception four times per year (see below). There’s no need to wait, you can apply right now.
  2. When will I hear back?
    You will get a little message immediately on the bottom of screen to confirm your application has sent (below the submit button). If that doesn’t appear, it wasn’t sent. If the message is there, it was sent. Then you just wait for a few months – you likely won’t hear back from us until it’s processing time:

    Processing Months for 2025 are     January, April, July and November.
  3. How do I determine if I can afford the membership?
    Here’s information on the Diamond Membership and also information about the Library Pass.
    I will take you on your word as to whether you can afford these options or not. I do ask you to use your best judgement so as to make this available to people who do truly need it. Also please keep in mind that the academy isn’t a mega-corporation, it’s a small woman-owned company, and we rely on the income from memberships to keep things going.

      • If you live in a country where dog trainers only earn $10 US per hour, by all means, get the scholarship!
      • If you have to choose between using this money to getting an education or buying business cards and a website, get the scholarship.
      • If you have discretionary spending that you could change without hardship to be able to afford the membership (especially money that’s going to a corporation), I’d prefer that you do a regular membership instead of a scholarship. If you take a look at your monthly expenses, you might be surprised by how much money goes out to optional items.
      • If you would use the money saved here to spend at another dog school, please get a regular Diamond membership and not the scholarship (unless it’s a PGM-owned school!) There’s so much here to learn, from so many world-class instructors, that your brain will be full, anyway.
  4. Which classes can I attend with the scholarship?
    All of of Grisha Stewart Academy classes! Scholarship recipients are regular Diamond members and can participate fully in any and all of our live or recorded classes, even the ones for the CBATI-KA program. That’s right, you could become a Certified BAT Instructor – Knowledge Assessed. The membership duration requirement is waived for scholarship recipients.
    NOTE: Diamond members, including scholarship recipients, pay an assessment fee for the CBATI-KA exam. The current full fee for Diamond members is $100 and scholarship recipients pay 50% of that, i.e., US$50.
  5. Will this scholarship grant me lifetime access to GSA content?
    It depends on the type. PGM Scholarships grant lifetime Diamond membership; i.e., those scholarships do not expire. Financial need-based scholarships do not grant lifetime access to GSA content, but are renewable every 6 months with an additional application.
  6. What if I can’t afford it right now, but having the education means I can start working as a dog trainer and earning enough to pay for a membership? 
    Awesome! That’s the best case scenario.If you no longer need the scholarship, contact us and we can either help you get set up for a regular membership, or we can get you a coupon code (upon request) to make the first few months half off and make the transition easier.
  7. I can sort of afford the membership, but some months may be too tight. What should I do?
    Thanks for your honesty! We can give you a partial scholarship, half off for 6 months. Or you can always put your membership on pause if you won’t be using it as much. Contact us for details.
  8. Can I share this page?
    Yes! Scholarships are not competitive. Please share so others may benefit.
  9. Is this only for professional dog trainers / behaviorists and aspiring professionals?
    Yes. We do limit these scholarships to professionals in the field, because that is our major focus. Both Diamond membership and Library Passes can be cancelled at any time, so you could theoretically get a month, cancel before your month is out, and use the month to binge-watch our Help My Dog category to get started. That’s a price that’s way less than hiring a professional or taking a class. We also do have some free offerings at the academy and on my YouTube channel.
  10. Who do I contact if I have questions?
    Contact our office using this form. Thanks!

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