Biola has received two grants totaling $12.4 million to help establish significant new initiatives at its Talbot School of Theology and Rosemead School of Psychology.

The larger of the two grants — $10 million from the Lilly Endowment Inc. — will help to fund Talbot Embedded (biola.edu/talbot-embedded), a new initiative that will bring graduate degree programs to off-campus sites across the country and around the world. Through the initiative, Talbot will partner with churches, denominations and other organizations to offer theological education to cohorts of ministry leaders, who will journey together through a blend of online and in-person coursework.

The initiative launches this spring with two degree options — an M.A. in Christian Ministry and Leadership and an M.Div. — at sites in San Diego and Seattle. Plans are already underway to launch cohorts in Honolulu, Houston, Chicago, Orlando, Las Vegas, Portland and Phoenix. In addition, several denominations and networks will launch Talbot Embedded cohorts specific to their organizations.

The second grant — $2.4 million from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration — will allow Rosemead School of Psychology to expand access to mental health services in high-need areas of Greater Los Angeles. The funding is supporting the launch of Rosemead’s Culturally Competent Connections program (biola.edu/cccprogram), which equips doctoral students to offer mental health care to underserved Latino communities.

Beginning in the fall of 2025, the four-year grant will fund annual stipends of $32,500 for up to 10 “CCC Fellows” — doctoral students who will complete practicum placements in high-need communities and receive specialized training in telebehavioral health, integrated primary care and multicultural/bilingual mental health. The grant will also support student recruitment from underserved areas and lay the groundwork for new church-based counseling partnerships.