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Eligibility information
Are students eligible to apply for these scholarships?
The Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students program provides funding to schools, not directly to students. Students may contact the financial aid office at their schools to verify if they are part of the SDS Program and inquire whether they qualify. Check out opportunities for individuals.
Is my school in the Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students Program?
Awards are made after review of all applications for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 – 2030 project period. We publish the list of funded schools on our website. Therefore, the awarded schools remain the same for the entire five years.
Must each health professions school have at least 20% of their full-time students from a disadvantaged background?
Yes, specific health professions schools must demonstrate for the most recent 3-year period that both:
- At least 20% of the total enrollment of their degree program during Academic Years (AY) 2021 – 2024 (7/1/21 – 6/30/2024) were students from disadvantaged backgrounds
- At least 20% of the total graduates of their degree program during Academic Years 2021 – 2024 were from disadvantaged backgrounds.
In addition, newly established schools may apply:
- If students were enrolled for the academic years covering the period of 7/1/2022 – 6/30/2024.
- If they provide both:
- At least two (2) years of student enrollment in the degree program
- At least one (1) year of graduation data in the degree program that demonstrates at least 20% of the total enrollment, and graduates are from disadvantaged backgrounds.
What are the student’s eligibility requirements to determine if they are from a disadvantaged background?
A student can qualify under either of the two types of disadvantaged statuses:
- Economically Disadvantaged: Determined using parental income for dependent students and student income for independent students (please refer to the Department of Education’s website for the definition of independent). Schools must use the HHS Poverty Guidelines table for the year preceding the data submitted on the FAFSA to determine this status. For example, if the FAFSA 2024 – 2025 is using prior-prior year data from 2022 – 2023, you would use the 2023 HHS Poverty Guidelines table.
- Educationally or Environmentally Disadvantaged: Determined based on criteria such as the student graduating from a high school that has a low overall student average SAT score or being the first generation in a family to attend college. See the NOFO for additional examples.
Should eligibility calculations cover just U.S. domestic students?
Yes, a student receiving support from grant funds must be one of the following:
- A U.S. citizen or non-citizen national
- An individual lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States
- Any other person defined as a “qualified alien” under section 431(b) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-193, as amended
What disciplines are eligible for Primary Care points?
Based on data submitted via the SDS Program Specific form, primary care points are granted if at least 15% of graduates are practicing in primary care during Academic Years 2021 – 2024.
- For allopathic and osteopathic medicine, use graduate data from academic years 2017 – 2020
- For dentistry, dental hygiene, graduate nursing, certified nursing and non-nursing graduate degrees in midwifery, physician assistants, and mental and behavioral health practitioners, use graduate data from academic years 2020 – 2023
- The only disciplines eligible for primary care priority points are as follows:
- Allopathic and osteopathic medicine
- Dentistry
- Dental hygiene
- Graduate nursing
- Physician assistants
- Behavioral and mental health
Will underrepresented Asian groups be considered for Underrepresented Minority (URM) priority points?
No, please see the BHW Glossary for the definition of Underrepresented Minorities.
How do you receive funding priority?
To receive a funding priority, you must include a statement that you are eligible for a funding priority and identify the priority in Attachment 6.
Do racial minorities qualify as having disadvantaged backgrounds?
Being an underrepresented minority or coming from a medically underserved community does not alone qualify as coming from a disadvantaged background. To meet the definition, students must demonstrate they are either educationally, environmentally, or economically disadvantaged.
What disciplines are eligible to apply for the SDS program in FY25?
To apply for the SDS program, your health discipline program must lead to one of the following degrees:
- Medicine
- Doctor of Allopathic Medicine
- Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
- Dentistry
- Doctor of Dentistry
- Other Health Disciplines
- Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
- Doctor of Optometry
- Doctor of Podiatry Medicine
- Doctor of Pharmacy
- Doctor of Physical Therapy
- Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine
- Behavioral and Mental Health
- Graduate degree in Clinical Psychology
- Graduate degree in Clinical Social Work
- Graduate degree in Gerontological Counseling
- Graduate degree in Marriage and Family Therapy
- Graduate degree in Mental Health Counseling
- Graduate degree in Rehabilitation Counseling
- Public Health
- Graduate degree in Health Administration
- Graduate degree in Public Health
- Allied Health
- Bachelor’s and Graduate degrees in Dietetics
- Graduate degree in Audiology
- Graduate degree in Occupational Therapy
- Graduate degree in Speech Pathology
- Bachelor’s and graduate degrees in Dental Hygiene
- Bachelor’s and graduate degrees in Medical Laboratory Technology
- Bachelor’s degree in Radiologic Technology
- Nursing
- Associate, Bachelor’s, and Graduate degrees in nursing (pre-nursing is not eligible)
- Midwifery
- Certified nursing and non-nursing graduate degrees in midwifery (pre-nursing and pre-midwifery are not eligible)
- Physician Assistant
- Graduate degree in Physician Assistant Studies
- Medicine
What are the requirements to qualify for the program?
To qualify for the program, schools must be:
- An eligible domestic institution (see page 6 of the HRSA - 25-076 NOFO).
- Offering a health professions degree program for an eligible discipline.
- Accredited by the recognized, major accrediting body for the specific health discipline.
- Carrying out a program to recruit and retain students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including students who are members of racial and ethnic minority groups, which you can demonstrate by showing you are enrolling and graduating full-time students from disadvantaged backgrounds in your specific degree program, based on the following percentages for
- The most recent 3-year period, both:
- At least 20% of the total enrollment of the degree program during academic years 2021 – 2024 (7/1/21 – 6/30/2024) were students from disadvantaged backgrounds; and
- At least 20% of the total graduates of the degree program during Academic Years 2021 – 2024 were from disadvantaged backgrounds.
- The most recent 3-year period, both:
Can newly established schools apply?
Yes, if you meet all eligibility criteria and in addition have achieved success with enrolling and graduating full-time students from disadvantaged backgrounds in your specific degree program. You must have students enrolled for the academic years covering the period of 7/1/2022 – 6/30/2024. In addition, you must provide the following data on the SDS Program Specific form:
- At least two (2) years of student enrollment in the degree program
- At least one (1) year of graduation data in the degree program that demonstrates at least 20% of the total enrollment, and graduates are from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Can a department that offers an eligible degree within a university eligible to apply?
Yes, both schools or programs within schools are eligible for the SDS program, provided they meet all other requirements.
What are the student eligibility requirements?
Eligible students must meet all of the following requirements to receive an SDS award.
- Full-time as defined by the statute in Section 737(d)(2) of the PHS Act
- From a disadvantaged background
- Have a financial need for a scholarship per the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
- Scholarships must be at least half the cost of the student’s annual tuition
- Enrolled or accepted for enrollment at an eligible health professions or nursing school leading to a degree
- A U.S. citizen or non-citizen national, a person with legal permanent U.S. residency, or a qualified alien as defined by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996
Can multiple institutions apply to the program?
(Refer to page 9 of the HRSA-25-076 NOFO)
- We permit multiple applications from an organization sharing the same Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). However, organizations are allowed to submit only one application per health professions degree program.
- Multiple degree programs require separate applications and must not be combined into a single submission.
- While we accept multiple applications from an institution, a maximum of three applications per institution may be funded. Collaborative proposals are strictly prohibited.
- Applications must be made under one degree program, and the program must lead to the degree indicated on pages 6 – 7 of the HRSA-25-076 NOFO.
Example: If a school offers both a bachelor’s and a graduate degree in medical laboratory technology, separate applications are required for each degree program.
Should we include federal loans and state grants in our financial aid package averages as a part of their total aid provided? The NOFO does not specify what sources of financial assistance to use. It stipulates that Maintenance of Effort (MOE) is required, meaning applicants must maintain non-federal assistance to support the program’s longevity if approved.
You can use non-federal sources, such as private, state, and local funding. Financial assistance should include any grants and/or scholarships of any kind and exclude loans. The emphasis is on using diverse sources of funding to meet the requirements of the MOE and enhance the sustainability of the program without relying solely on federal funds.
Program requirements
What is the cap amount per scholarship for each student?
There is a cap of $50,000 per academic year for dental students and $40,000 per academic year for all other health and nursing professions students.
What can scholarship funds be used for?
Scholarship funds can be used for the following:
- Tuition
- Health insurance
- Books
- Software
- Laptops
- iPads
- Conferences and trainings, including any related travel (not daily commuting)
- Stipends
- Subsistence
- Housing
What if tuition increases over the award period? The maximum scholarship amount may no longer be at least half the cost of annual tuition.
We increased the maximum scholarship amount for dental students from $40,000 to $50,000 per academic year to respond to inflation and the increasing costs of dental school tuition. This change ensures that the scholarship will cover at least half the cost of tuition if tuition exceeds $100,000 per year.
For all other health and nursing professionals, the maximum scholarship award remains at $40,000 per academic year. You cannot exceed a student’s financial need, and you must award at least half the cost of the annual tuition.
A student may be from an educationally or environmentally disadvantaged background, but not economically disadvantaged. Does the student need to provide financial information? Does the student provide this on the FAFSA, or is there another way to determine income?
A student may be considered coming from a disadvantaged background in terms of education and/or environment, but not necessarily economically. However, financial information is still required to verify a student’s financial need. This information can be determined using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as directed by the FAFSA Simplification Act under Title VII, Division FF of P.L. 116-260, which simplifies the process by no longer requiring parental information for independent students.
If a student needs less than half the cost of tuition, will they still qualify for a scholarship?
You must award at least half the cost of the annual tuition and cannot exceed a student's financial need. If the scholarship amount does not meet both of those conditions, the student does not qualify.
Program definitions
How does HRSA define “Competing Continuation”?
If you are a current SDS grantee, apply as “Completing Continuation.” Otherwise, apply as “New.”
What if you don’t have a National Provider Identifier (NPI) number? Is this a requirement to apply for the program?
An NPI number is not required to apply for the grant. However, if awarded, eligible trainees who receive HRSA funds must apply for an NPI for the purpose of collecting post-completion employment data.
The SDS Program Specific form (Section F under "Primary Care") asks for the number of full-time graduates and the number of graduates serving in primary care. However, they are asking for the data for different years. Can you explain?
To account for the time it takes for graduates to secure employment, particularly in primary care, we request data from multiple years, allowing for a delay of one or more years after graduation.
Medically underserved designations change sometimes yearly on HRSA maps. How can we determine if students worked in those areas over the past three years?
We update designations of medically underserved communities periodically; the designation in place at the time of application is the designation you should use. Please refer to the website Find Shortage Areas. The area is a MUC if it has a designation of Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA), Medically Underserved Area (MUA), Medically Underserved Population (MUP), or Governor’s Certified Shortage Area for Rural Health Clinic purposes. Please refer to the BHW Glossary for more information.
Where do I find definitions for those that are not in the NOFO?
Refer to the BHW Glossary.
What is the definition of the of a full-time student?
The number of hours that qualify a student as full-time is determined by the school and is enrolled the number of hours or courses that the school considers to be full-time attendance.
Completing my application
What activities do we include in the MOE (for example, scholarships, aid, equipment, recruitment trips, etc.)?
Specify the non-federal funds that support proposed activities. These funds include cash, in-kind, or other contributions. Do not include any federal funds. See Maintenance of Effort requirements on page 13 – 14 of the NOFO.
What are the new policy changes for the FY25 SDS NOFO?
The policy changes include:
- A set aside of $5 million specifically for midwifery programs
- An increase in the maximum dental student scholarship award amounts from $40,000 to $50,000
- The ability to request direct costs for the project director’s salary and fringe benefits not to exceed 25% FTE
- Allowing up to 8% of funding to be used for indirect costs
- Updating the definition of an Independent Student to align with the U.S. Department of Education guidelines and the FAFSA Simplification Act
What will disqualify my application during the review process?
We will not consider an application that:
- Is from an organization that does not meet all eligibility criteria
- Requests funding above the award ceiling
- Is submitted after the deadline
- Is incomplete