IHS Health Professions Pre-Graduate Scholarship

Award Amount
Application deadline
Awarded By:

Indian Health Services

Number of Awards & Eligibility: The number of awards offered varies annually. It is anticipated that approximately 80 awards will be given for this program and the IHS Preparatory Scholarship.
In order to qualify, students must meet the following criteria:
  1. This award is for U.S. students.
  2. Must be a U.S. citizen or national.
  3. Must be: a member or descendant of a federally recognized American Indian tribe or Alaskan Native village; OR a member or descendent of a state-recognized or terminated tribe. The student should review the Application Handbook for more information.
  4. Must be enrolled full time (12 or more credit hours per semester) or part time (6 to 11 credit hours).
  5. Must be enrolled or be accepted for enrollment in a bachelor's degree program for pre-medicine, pre-dentistry, pre-optometry, or pre-podiatry.
  6. Must be a high school graduate (or the equivalent) or a currently enrolled college student to apply for this undergraduate award.
  7. Must have a grade point average of 2.0 or higher.

In order to qualify, students must meet the following criteria:

Description: This scholarship is available for American Indian and Alaskan Native undergraduate students who are studying pre-medicine, pre-dentistry, pre-optometry, or pre-podiatry. Students must have a grade point average of 2.0 or higher.

Application requirements for the IHS Health Professions Pre-Graduate Scholarship are:

  • Application form
  • Recommendation letter
  • Official Transcript
  • Letter of acceptance
  • Tribal documentation
Additional Information: All applicants must intend to serve Indian people as a health professional in their chosen specialties. They must also be willing to sign an IHS Scholarship Program Agreement documenting their commitment to continuing their education in their identified health profession degree program. The IHS Scholarship Program awards scholarships based on a 100-point ranking system divided among three categories: academic performance, based on official transcripts (40 points); faculty/employer evaluations (30 points); and applicant essays (30 points). A committee of volunteers from Native communities review the application packets. The results of these reviews provide the data to rank applicants within each scholarship option according to their average review scores, selected degree program, and projected graduation date. When applicants receive the same ranking, those closest to graduation will be ranked higher than those just beginning their education. All applicants scoring 70 points or higher will be considered for a scholarship.

Award Amount: The award includes the following: all tuition and required fees at the institution; a stipend of no less than $1,500 per month for the 10-month period of Aug. 1-May 31 (pro-rated for part-time students); and an annual lump sum to cover books, travel, tutorial services, parking permit, and other educational expenses. This scholarship provides financial support for up to four years of full-time (eight years part-time) academic work. To maintain eligibility as a scholarship recipient, the student must: be in good academic standing with a grade point average of 2.0 or higher; fulfill all program reporting requirements; and maintain his/her enrollment status. The student must apply annually to request continued scholarship support until he/she has earned his/her degree or qualifies to apply for a Health Professions Scholarship.  The total dollars awarded for this scholarship is $127,678.

Deadline Information:

Deadline for this scholarship is Thursday, March 28

Deadline Information:

Deadline for this scholarship is Thursday, March 28

Applications are available online on the Indian Health Services (IHS) website. Instructions for filling out the application are located in the application handbook for new applicants, which is available online on the IHS website. The applicant should follow these instructions carefully, as failure to do so could result in a delay or failure in processing his/her application. A complete application packet consists of the following items (all forms are available on the IHS website): a printed copy of the online application; a printed, signed application checklist; documentation of American Indian Tribal or Alaska Native Village membership (Form BIA-4432 preferred); a signed hard copy of the Delinquent Federal Debt (IHS-856-5) form (also submitted in online application); a Course Curriculum Verification (IHS-856-6) form; a copy of the course curriculum for the student's major; a letter of acceptance or proof of application; official transcripts from all colleges/universities attended; an official transcript from graduating high school or verification of completion of high school equivalency; and a Faculty/Employer Evaluation Form (IHS-856-3), if the evalutor does not complete the online form. The student must submit one original and one copy of all application materials, with the exception of official transcripts. Only one official transcript per school is required. Application materials must be submitted online by the deadline date.
About Indian Health Services:
Contact Information: Robert Pittman, Scholarship Branch Chief
Address: 5600 Fishers Lane OHR (11E53A) Rockville, Maryland 20857

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