Medical and Healthcare Scholarships

Before you apply to college, look for medical and healthcare scholarships that help you pay for school. If you are looking to attend medical school, you have your undergraduate education to think about, and public medical schools charge as much as $40,000 a year. At a private university, your cost can rise to more than $60,000 a year. Students usually spend four years in med school and up to seven years to complete a residency program. Taking out student loans will lead to some high bills you need to pay later. We found the best medical and healthcare scholarships. Find out how much each one offers, and the steps required to apply.

Top Medical and Healthcare Scholarships

Jimmy A. Young Memorial Education Recognition Award
Amount: $1,000 maximum
Due Date: June 15
Who Can Apply? Undergrads in a respiratory care accredited degree program
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, respiratory care

This is just one of the scholarships available from the American Respiratory Care Foundation. Applicants must show transcripts to show they have a GPA of 3.0 or higher and they’re in an accredited program as well as letters of recommendation.

Institute of Oral Health (IOH) Scholarship Program
Amount: $1,000 to $2,000
Due Date: February 1
Who Can Apply? Students at all levels
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, dental hygiene or oral care

The IOH grants scholarships to dental hygiene and similar majors at all levels. Applicants usually need a minimum GPA of 3.0 and a transcript that shows they’re in an accredited degree program. The application goes live in October.

American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Graduate Scholarships
Amount: $5,000
Due Date: March 31
Who Can Apply? Minority graduate students
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, healthcare management

ACHE offers scholarships to minority students who can demonstrate their financial need. Applicants must be in the last year of a healthcare administration or similar graduate program and be a citizen of the United States. It gives priority to student members.

Maxine Williams Scholarship Fund
Amount: $1,000
Due Date: April 15
Who Can Apply? Members of the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, health or medicine

Any member of the CAAHEP can nominate students for this scholarship as long as they are in an accredited program and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. You will then need to show you need help paying for school and plan to work in healthcare later.

American Medical Technologists (AMT) Outstanding Student Award
Amount: $250
Due Date: April 1
Who Can Apply? Nominated students
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, medical technology

When a professor or instructor nominates you for this award, you get money to pay for any of your expenses. The organization looks for students in accredited medical degree programs who go above and beyond in the classroom.

Hispanic Health Professional Student Scholarship
Amount: $2,000
Due Date: September 15
Who Can Apply? Hispanic graduate students
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, medicine, physician assisting, public health, nursing, or dentistry

Up to 20 students each year win scholarships from this program to pay for some of the costs of grad school. You need to be a permanent resident, citizen, or a DACA individual and supply a personal statement to show how you’ll help the Hispanic community.

American Society of Podiatric Medical Assistants Zelda Walling Vicha Memorial Scholarship
Amount: $2,000
Due Date: May 15
Who Can Apply? Podiatry school students
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, podiatry

Any student in the final year of podiatry school can apply for this scholarship. They need to show proof of their financial need and supply two letters of recommendation, an official transcript, and a personal statement along with the application.

NIH Undergraduate Scholarship
Amount: $20,000 maximum
Due Date: July 15
Who Can Apply? Disadvantaged students
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, biomedicine, social or behavioral health

Get up to $20,000 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). You must come from a disadvantaged background and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Students must also be in an undergraduate degree program when they apply.

Medical Education Scholarship
Amount: $500
Due Date: September 15 to October 31
Who Can Apply? Women only
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, medicine or healthcare

The American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) gives out four scholarships of $500 to female medical or healthcare majors annually. You must join the organization and apply with a letter of recommendation and multiple essays on given prompts.

Frederick J. Krause Scholarship on Health and Disability Scholarship
Amount: $1,000
Due Date: March 1
Who Can Apply? Disabled undergrad and graduate students
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, health

The American Association on Health and Disability (AAHD) awards scholarships to students who demonstrate their handicaps and need help paying for college. Applicants need to write a personal essay of two pages and submit a transcript and two letters of recommendation.

Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) Scholarships
Amount: Up to $5,000
Due Date: May 27
Who Can Apply? All students
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, healthcare or medical management

MGMA has several scholarship programs that provide students with $1,000 or more. The steps you take depend on which one you pick but usually require a transcript, a letter of recommendation, and a personal essay.

Finding A Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures (FACES) Scholarship
Amount: Varies
Due Date: Varies
Who Can Apply? Incoming freshmen and current undergrads
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, health or medicine

Langone Health at New York University designed this scholarship for current and future students. It requires applicants to write an essay or personal statement on how they plan to use their degrees to find a cure for epilepsy or help epileptic individuals.

Lynn Adamson Memorial Scholarship
Amount: $5,000
Due Date: April 15
Who Can Apply? Female graduate students
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, health fields

Women Health Care Executives (WHCE) created this scholarship in honor of one of its members. The application asks for contact information and includes three essay questions you need to answer in 500 characters or less.

Gates Millennium Scholarships
Amount: Up to the entire cost
Due Date: Varies
Who Can Apply? Undergrads and graduate students
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, public health, science, or medicine

Bill Gates offers the Millennium Scholarship through his foundation and awards it to students majoring in medicine or a related field. While you need to complete multiple steps, you may get the entire cost of your tuition covered.

American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) Scholarships
Amount: $5,000
Due Date: August 31
Who Can Apply? Undergrads
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, massage therapy

Any undergraduate and accredited massage therapy student can apply for this scholarship. You need to write a 500-word essay and show proof your program includes at least 500 credit hours of classroom and practical work.

Indian Health Service (IHS) Scholarship Program
Amount: Varies
Due Date: Varies
Who Can Apply? Indian students
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, medicine or healthcare

The IHS offers multiple scholarships designed for students who can prove their Indian heritage. Some programs cover your full tuition costs. You usually need to supply an essay, letters of recommendation, and your transcript.

Daughters of the American Revolution Medical Scholarships
Amount: $2,000
Due Date: January 31
Who Can Apply? Students who demonstrate financial need
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, medicine, physical therapy, or occupational therapy

Two worthy students win this DAR scholarship every year. You must have a 3.25 GPA when you apply and show proof you are a student enrolled in an accredited program in the United States. The DAR allows students to renew their scholarships.

TYLENOL Future Cares Scholarship
Amount: $10,000
Due Date: August 1
Who Can Apply? Students with at least one year of education left
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, pharmacy or medicine

TYLENOL wants to help the next generation of healthcare professionals prepare for the future, which is why it awards multiple $10,000 scholarships every year. You must complete an application packet that includes an essay, your academic records, and a list of any volunteer or community involvement you have.

National Merit Scholarship Program
Amount: $2,500
Due Date: October 6
Who Can Apply? High school students
Do You Need a Specific Major? No

National Merit Scholars are students who score the highest on the PSAT. It gives you money to cover some of your undergraduate costs. You will receive a letter if you qualify for the program based on your test score.

Sharps, Inc. Scholarship Program
Amount: $1,000
Due Date: May 27
Who Can Apply? Full-time undergrads
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, healthcare fields

Sharps, Inc designed its scholarship program for current undergrads studying healthcare or a similar field. Your application must include your resume, letters of recommendation, transcripts, and an essay on your career plans.

Adena Health Scholarships
Amount: Varies
Due Date: Varies
Who Can Apply? Students at all levels
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, medicine or health

Adena Health wants to help future professionals pay their educational costs with one of its scholarships. Most of the programs require a college transcript, one or more letters of recommendation, and at least one essay.

Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Foundation Scholarship
Amount: $5,000
Due Date: HIMSS members
Who Can Apply? Undergraduate and graduate students
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, healthcare information or management

When you join this professional organization, you qualify for its scholarships. HIMSS asks for a professional letter of recommendation from someone not on the decision committee and either your CV or resume.

Allied Healthcare Scholarship Program
Amount: $8,000 maximum
Due Date: October 31
Who Can Apply? California public college and university students
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, healthcare

Available from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development in California, the Allied Healthcare Scholarship Program awards financial help to students in state-funded colleges. You must agree to work in a disadvantaged area later and have a 2.0 GPA.

Foundation for SeaCoast Health Scholarships
Amount: Varies
Due Date: May 1
Who Can Apply? Undergrad, high school, and graduate students who live in specific counties
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, healthcare

The Foundation for SeaCoast Health has multiple scholarship programs for students at any level who live in certain counties in New Hampshire or Maine. It gives priority to those who plan to work in areas with a high need for medical help and applicants involved in their communities.

Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship Program
Amount: Varies
Due Date: Varies
Who Can Apply? Native Hawaiians
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, specific medical disciplines

Dental, dental hygiene, physician, and physician assisting are just some of the majors that can apply to this program. It is only open to native Hawaiians and gives priority to students who plan to work in the state when they graduate.

Alpha Mu Tau Fraternity and Education and Research Fund Scholarships
Amount: Up to $4,000
Due Date: April 1
Who Can Apply? American Society for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (ASCLS) members
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, clinical laboratory science or a related field

Open to clinical laboratory science students and similar majors, this program requires that applicants be in their final year, be a permanent resident or citizen, and plan to study at an advanced level. Undergrads and graduate students can apply.

Alice Newell Joslyn Medical Fund
Amount: $1,250
Due Date: March 30
Who Can Apply? Hispanic students in San Diego, CA
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, health or medicine

To apply for this scholarship, you need to provide an application form, letters of recommendation, a student aide report, and an official transcript. Only Hispanic students who plan to major in a medical or health field and live in San Diego can apply.

American Society of Radiologic Technologies (ASRT) Scholarships
Amount: Up to $5,000
Due Date: Varies
Who Can Apply? All students
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, health services

With one application, you can apply to all of this organization’s scholarships. While the prize size varies, you just need to submit your transcript and complete a few other steps. Some scholarships are just for future radiology technicians.

Barbara A. Cooley Master’s Scholarship
Amount: $1,000
Due Date: October 15
Who Can Apply? Graduate students
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, health education

The Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) gives recipients of this award free membership in the organization and a cash prize. Applicants must provide a PDF transcript, resume, and essay as well as show they maintained a 3.0 GPA.

AHIMA Foundation Scholarships
Amount: Varies
Due Date: May 31
Who Can Apply? All members
Do You Need a Specific Major? Yes, healthcare informatics

Joining the American Health Information Management Association allows you to apply for a variety of scholarships. Awards range from $3,000 to $5,000 for undergrads and climb up to $10,000 for graduate and doctoral students.