IHS Scholarship Program

On behalf of the Education Department - 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Indian Health Services offers scholarships for several health profession undergraduate and graduate programs for students beginning as early as their sophomore year of Pre-Nursing, enrolled in a bachelors degree granting program or above.  Students do not need to be admitted to a program in order to apply/be awarded the scholarship. However, by the beginning of the Fall semester, students will need to be admitted to a program in order to begin receiving IHS funding.
The IHS Scholarship Program pays for tuition and required fees (calculated by the educational institution) directly applicable to a students approved curriculum and scholarship requirements. Required fees include lab, health unit, and parking permit fees. Additionally, IHS supports all scholarship recipients with a monthly stipend covering reasonable living expenses. Health Professions scholarship recipients will receive the stipend for a 12-month period, while Preparatory and Pre-Graduate scholarship recipients will receive the stipend for 10 months.
IHS will also pay for required books, laboratory expenses, dental/medical/optometric/etc. equipment and other miscellaneous educational expenses. Scholarship recipients receive a one-time payment for tutorial services or licensure/board certification preparatory classes, travel expenses to assist with travel to and from school for the year, and the rental of a Post office box.
A 2021 - 2022 list of IHS fundable degree tracks can be found at: https://link.zixcentral.com/u/0a9b865a/vruApsg-6xGQLVzvR15mZw?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ihs.gov%2Fsites%2Fscholarship%2Fthemes%2Fresponsive2017%2Fdisplay_objects%2Fdocuments%2FComparison_Chart.pdf. Please be aware that the scholarships have been limited to Juniors and Seniors in undergraduate school with the exception of Sophomores going into a Pre-Nursing degree track and above.
To qualify for a Health Professions scholarship, applicants must also meet specific eligibility requirements by the start of the academic year for which the scholarship is awarded:
» Have a minimum GPA of 2.0.
» Capable of completing a health profession degree program.
»Committed to serving Indian people as a health professional in your chosen specialty.
» Be willing to sign an Indian Health Service Scholarship Program Contract (IHS-818) agreeing to a minimum two-year service commitment to practice at an Indian health facility upon completion of your academic and/or post-graduate training.
I would recommend interested students read the handbook to familiarize themselves with the application process for the future. The 2021 – 2022 scholarship application is currently open and must be submitted as well as any required supporting documents, submitted electronically to the application, no later than February 28, 2021 by 7 pm EDT.   Once a student is ready to apply, they should visit https://link.zixcentral.com/u/3341ce3d/NjSBpsg-6xGQLVzvR15mZw?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ihs.gov%2Fscholarship%2Fapply%2F and select the big green "Apply Now" button. This will take the applicant to the online application portal.