Graduate Scholarships & Financial Aid

For more information on funding your graduate studies, please start with the program-specific information below.  Further opportunities for both DNP and PhD students are located below the program-specific information.

DNP Students

The School of Nursing annually awards scholarships to students in the DNP programs. Scholarship amounts are limited and vary depending on the source of funding and student’s attendance status (full-time or part-time). See below for more DNP scholarship opportunities.

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Who should apply?

Continuing students currently in the DNP program and applicants to the DNP programs  may apply for scholarships.

How to apply

The application process for DNP scholarships takes place once a year in the late fall/early winter. To apply, students must complete the online DNP Scholarship Application form through the Campus Scholarship Application webpage.

Scholarships are awarded for one academic year(fall/spring), therefore students must submit a scholarship application each year. Students who wish to have financial need considered as part of their criteria must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is available online at: www.fafsa.ed.gov.

The online application for current DNP, Psych Mental Health Certificate students, and current applicants to these programs is typically available in early-December.  To begin applying for scholarships, please click here. Sign in with your NetID and complete the brief General Application.  Following that, you will fill out the School of Nursing Application.  The School of Nursing Application will only show up during the application cycle.  All questions must be answered in order to submit the application. Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.

Completed applications should be received on or before the stated deadline in order to be considered for support.

When are awards offered?

Scholarship awards will be made late summer. Awards are made through the WISH System.

Other Information

Many other agencies and organizations offer resources to help fund your doctoral education. This may particularly be true within your specialty area of practice/research.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing maintains a list of funding sources for nursing education.

Nurse Faculty Loan Program

The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing has been awarded funding from the Nurse Reinvestment Act to provide special loans to graduate students who intend to become nursing faculty.  For more details and the application, click here.

PhD Students

The School of Nursing is committed to funding full-time students admitted into the PhD program. Several forms of financial aid are available for graduate students: traineeships, fellowships, research and teaching assistantships, and other sources. Graduate students that have a project assistantship (PA), a teaching assistantship (TA), or a research assistantship (RA) of at least a 33.33% appointment for Fall or Spring term are eligible to receive remission of full tuition. Some fellowships that are at least 33.33% also qualify for remission of non-resident tuition. Funding decisions are made once a year in the spring semester for the following academic year. Continuing and newly admitted students are encouraged to apply for funding.  See below for more PhD funding information.

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University Assistantships

Doctoral students have priority for project, teaching and research assistantships administered by the School of Nursing. Project and research assistantships are funded by faculty research grants and by School of Nursing gift funds. Application for project, research and teaching assistantships is made through the School of Nursing every spring.

University Fellowships

Graduate Research Scholars (formerly known as Advanced Opportunity Fellowships) are awarded for qualified minority or economically disadvantaged nonminority students. To be considered, eligible applicants should contact scholarships@nursing.wisc.edu.

The Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship is given to a student (WI residents given priority) who shows excellence in their area of research. Application is made through the School of Nursing in the spring, with other assistantship applications.

National Research Service Awards

Students in the PhD program are strongly encouraged to apply for a federal pre-doctoral fellowship through the National Research Service Award (NRSA) program. These NIH awards are quite prestigious and strengthen applications for future funding from the agency. The Office of Nursing Research & Sponsored Programs has detailed information about NRSA submission and will help you and your faculty mentor with the submission process.

Student Research Funding

Scholarships are available to fund expenses related to research work while in the program. A call for applications is put out through the School of Nursing each fall. Various amounts and criteria are used for these scholarship awards. Generous endowments from the Eckburg, Shapiro, Heideman and Johnson funds support awards ranging from $1,000.00 up to $5,000.00 each year.

Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP)

The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing has been awarded funding from the Nurse Reinvestment Act to provide special loans to graduate students who intend to become nursing faculty.  For more details and the application, click here.

Other Information

Many other agencies and organizations offer resources to help fund your doctoral education. This may particularly be true within your specialty area of practice / research. For example, the American Cancer Society offers Doctoral Degree Nurse Scholarships that provide $15,000 year toward PhD training expenses.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing maintains a list of funding sources for nursing education.

Students in the PhD program have been successful in competing for federal National Research Service Awards (NRSA) which are individual predoctoral fellowships. More information can be found here, at the NIH website.

(For more information contact the particular organizations web site)

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)
AACN has an extensive list of funding resources for graduate students. This includes grants and scholarships from Johnson & Johnson, International Education Financial Aid, Nurses Educational fund and many, many more. The site also offers information on loan forgiveness programs.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Research Dissertation Program
The mission of AHRQ is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans in the United States. The overall goal of the AHRQ Health Services Research Dissertation Grant Program is to help ensure that a diverse pool of highly trained health services researchers is available in adequate numbers and appropriate research areas to address the research mission and priorities of AHRQ. The direct costs awarded to a grant under this FOA will not exceed $40,000 for the entire project period, which must be a minimum of nine months and may not to exceed 17 months from the time of award.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP)
Post-doc research fellowships, career training fellowships and current student fellowships covering a wide variety of areas including public health, global health, health economics, prevention, minority health

F.A. Davis Scholarships
F.A. Davis is proud to offer annual scholarships to support those aspiring to work in healthcare. Award Amount: 3 scholarships of $1,000

National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) / National Research Service Award (NRSA)
The purpose of the Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA for Individual Predoctoral Fellows in Nursing Research (F31) program is to train future generations of outstanding nurse scientists who are committed to research careers in scientific health-related fields relevant to the programmatic interests of the NINR. By the time of award, the individual must be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence. The applicant fellow must be at the dissertation research stage of their training and must show evidence of both high academic performance in the sciences and substantial interest in a research area of high priority to the participating Institutes.

National Institutes of Health (NIH)/Graduate Traineeships at NIH
The NIH Graduate Partnerships Program (GPP) allows participants to take advantage of the best of two worlds – the academic environment of a university and the breadth and depth of research at the NIH. At the NIH, graduate students work in a highly collaborative research environment with leading scientists and clinicians. They share the NIH campus with the largest translational research hospital in the nation. They explore areas such as bioinformatics, biophysics, epidemiology, immunology, cell and molecular biology, neuroscience, health sciences, structural biology, sensory and communication neuroscience, molecular pathology, biobehavioral research. There are many NIH-University partnerships available to USA citizens / permanent residents or international graduate students. Use the GPP Eligibility Wizard to determine which pathway, partnership, and online application form is most appropriate for your admission consideration. The stipends for graduate students at the NIH are adjusted yearly; the level depends on prior experience. Current rate is approximately $22,000 per year.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
The Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) continues to be a leader in providing fellowship opportunities for eligible nurses who are interested in a career that focuses on the prevention and treatment of mental illness and substance abuse. The SAMHSA MFP of ANA is designed to support PhD, DNP, and BS to PhD candidates. Funded by SAMHSA, applications must be submitted by March 1. Fellowships are renewed on an annual basis; appointments can range from one to five years.

Genevieve Gorst Herfurth Award
The Genevieve Gorst Herfurth committee awards $600 to a doctoral student who has demonstrated outstanding research and scholarly writing accomplishments in the social studies while a graduate student at UW-Madison. Only students who are currently enrolled are eligible. The requirement for the award is that the work be excellent and demonstrate “outstanding research in the social studies.” The student’s work may be a book, manuscript, seminar paper, course paper, or paper submitted for presentation at a professional conference or to a scholarly journal.

Sigma Theta Tau Graduate Nursing Scholarship Award
Multiple scholarships will be awarded based on academic performance, personal, community, and professional goals and accomplishments. Contact scholarships@nursing.wisc.edu for the application.

Sigma Theta Tau Graduate Student Research Award
Awarded to Sigma Theta Tau member to support applicant’s research training and scholarship in nursing science. The recipient must be currently enrolled in either a Master’s or Doctoral program. Contact scholarships@nursing.wisc.edu for the application.

UW Continuing Studies Scholarships and Grants
UW Madison Continuing Studies’ Adult Career and Special Student Services offers continuing education grants and scholarships to assist adult and nontraditional students. Contact UW-Madison Adult Career and Special Student Services at 608-263-6960 or advising@dcs.wisc.edu – Annual Deadlines: May 1, July 1, and November 1 for continuing education grants; March 1 for nontraditional student scholarships

Research Funding
The School of Nursing offers several awards to support student research, including the development of research ideas, research activities and presentations while in the program. A call for applications is put out through the School of Nursing each fall. . Various amounts and criteria are used for these scholarship awards. Generous endowments from the Eckburg, Shapiro, Heideman and Johnson funds support awards ranging from $1,000.00 up to $5,000.00 each year.

Nursing Scholarships This is a searchable scholarship database created specifically for nursing students. The scholarships listed here are provided by various nursing associations, educational institutions, foundations, for-profit/non-profit organizations, etc.


AfterCollege/AACN Scholarship
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and AfterCollege, an employment website for nursing students, have partnered to offer a new scholarship program for students pursuing professional nursing education programs. Multiple scholarships are offered to baccalaureate, master’s, or doctoral degree students with a minimum 3.25 GPA. Scholarships are awarded four (4) times a year.

AHEC Scholars Program
Wisconsin AHEC’s program, AHEC Scholars, is a two-year program for students entering the last two years of their health professions program. This program is designed to enhance and broaden health training with a combination of didactic education and community-based field placement in a Wisconsin rural or underserved community. Further information about eligibility requirements and program benefits can be found on the linked website.
Application: typically open August – October for the same year’s Fall cohort (e.g. open August 2022 – October 2022 for Fall 2022 cohort)
Number of spots: 5  Stipend: $1,500

Air Force Health Professions Scholarships
The US Air Force awards graduate student scholarships through the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program. It pays for tuition, books and most fees and also gives students a monthly stipend for living expenses.

American Cancer Society (ACS)
Doctoral Degree Scholarships in Cancer Nursing are awarded to graduate students pursuing doctoral study in the field of cancer nursing research, and preparing for careers as nurse scientists. Initial awards are made for up to two years with the possibility of a two-year renewal. There is a stipend of $15,000 per year.

Army Nurse Corps Association Scholarship
Financial assistance is offered to nursing students enrolled in an accredited baccalaureate and graduate nursing/nurse anesthesia program. Recipients must plan to enter the Army, Army National Guard or Army Reserve.

Deborah E. Trrautman Future Nurse Leader Scholarship
This scholarship is designed to recognize graduate nursing students who aspire to leadership positions in academic nursing. In addition to the monetary scholarship sent directly to students, scholarship recipients will participate in a one-on-one leadership development experience with Dr. Trautman at AACN’s headquarters in Washington, DC. Up to $1,500 of the scholarship award will be used to cover travel expenses for the three-day leadership development program.  Award Amount: $2,000 + $1,500 for the leadership development program = $3,500 total Application Deadline: October 30

EDUMED Scholarships & Resources for Black Students
Scholarships and grants from nonprofits, professional associations, schools, and other sources play a critical role in making higher education more accessible and ensuring all students have the opportunity to achieve their higher education and career goals. This guide provides a list of scholarship award programs for the Black community, gives tips on how to make your scholarship application shine, and offers additional resources that provide support to Black students from enrollment through graduation and beyond.

Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin (GHC-SCW) Pre-Professional Medical Diversity Scholarship
The GHC-SCW Pre-Professional Medical Diversity Scholarship seeks to award financial grants to underrepresented students; specifically, for students who identify as Black,
Indigenous, and/or Hispanic/Latinx who are currently enrolled in medical school (including residency), physician assistant, and nurse practitioner programs in Wisconsin. The scholarship awards $5,000 grants to each of three selected scholars. The funds will be distributed in September. Scholars will be selected through an online application process due by June 15. In addition to the monetary scholarship, each scholar chosen will be awarded the opportunity for an on-site shadowing experience at GHC during the fall semester. Click the scholarship name above for the 2022 flier and application form.

HIE Help Center Scholarship
An annual scholarship to undergraduate and graduate students who are directly involved with helping individuals impacted by birth injuries such as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. This scholarship is merit based and requires an essay or a creative project in lieu of the essay about first-hand experience with birth injuries. The winning applicant will be awarded with $1,000 dollars to be applied towards their costs of education.

Holy Family Memorial Healthcare Scholarships
Holy Family Memorial, located in Manitowoc, WI, is offering scholarships to students attending school for a variety of careers in healthcare, including Nursing, Physical Therapy, PA, NP, Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science, Pharmacy, Speech/Language Pathology, and Ultrasound/Sonography. The scholarship is a great way to help pay for school, and a great plan for a future career with HFM! Students interested in the scholarship need to have and maintain at least a 3.0 GPA, and be working towards a degree in one of these programs. For more information, students are invited to contact Human Resources at (920) 320-4031 or e-mail recruiter@hfmhealth.org.

Laura Bassi Scholarship
The Laura Bassi Scholarship, which awards a total of $8,000 thrice per annum, was established by Editing Press in 2018 with the aim of providing editorial assistance to postgraduates and junior academics whose research focuses on neglected topics of study, broadly construed. The scholarships are open to every discipline. All currently enrolled master’s and doctoral candidates are eligible to apply, as are academics in the first five years of their employment. Applicants are required to submit a completed application form along with their CV through the application portal by the relevant deadline.

March of Dimes
Every year the March of Dimes provides millions of dollars in grants and scholarships. We support community programs and education for professionals. Our aim is to prevent birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.
Program grants – The March of Dimes funds maternal-child health community grants in collaboration with our local chapters. External organizations can apply for funding to support programs working to improve the health of mothers and babies. For more information, contact your local March of Dimes chapter.
Graduate Nursing Scholarship – To recognize and promote excellence in nursing care of mothers and babies, the March of Dimes offers several $5,000 scholarships annually to registered nurses enrolled in graduate programs of maternal-child nursing. Visit marchofdimes.org/ in the Fall to apply. The March of Dimes Nurse Advisory Council, a group of distinguished perinatal nurses, chooses the recipients.

Mary Barker Advanced Practice Nursing Scholarship
The WNA Nurse Practitioner Forum and the Nurses Foundation of Wisconsin are seeking applicants for the Mary Barker APRN Scholarship. Up to four scholarships are awarded annually (at a maximum of $2,000). This opportunity is available to WNA members only. The successful candidate is pursuing a graduate degree with preparation as an Advance Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) in one of the four APRN practice roles: Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), or Nurse Practitioner (NP), or currently is an APRN in one of the four APRN practice roles, and is pursuing an advanced degree.

Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies Scholarships
A number of awards, grants, and scholarships to UW-Madison undergraduate and graduate students are awarded annually. These funding opportunities include research grants, study abroad scholarships, funding for conference travel, grants for “domestic study” (such as intensive summer language courses in the United States), and awards for general excellence in Jewish Studies coursework. Application forms and instructions are available on the Center’s website.

National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Scholarship Program
Please refer to the Application and Program Guidance for all of the program requirements. Eligibility is open to all students who are U.S. citizens or nationals and are enrolled in a fully accredited training program for Physicians (MD or DO), Dentists, Nurse Practitioners, Certified Nurse-Midwives or Physician Assistants at a U.S. accredited school. Applicants are encouraged to begin the application process early. On average, it takes approximately 3 weeks to complete the application process. Please encourage applicants to locate loan and supplemental documentation as well as begin requesting letters of recommendation and official school transcripts.

NURSE Corps Loan Repayment Program
Will pay for 60% of your unpaid nursing education debt over two years, with an option to extend to a third year for an additional 25% of the original balance. In exchange, you work for a minimum of two years in one of the thousands of Critical Shortage Facilities across the country.

Nurse Practitioner Scholarships and Grants
Earning an advanced nursing education requires a significant investment of time and money. To help, NursePractitionerSchools.com created a list of 25 nurse practitioner scholarships available to qualifying students, organized by eligibility conditions, such as region, demographic group, and NP specialization.

NurseJournal
The idea of financing a nursing education can be intimidating for students, and lack of access to helpful resources often deters them from pursuing their dream careers. Scholarships and grants can make the world of a difference in a future nurse’s path. Because of this, the team at NurseJournal.org gathered a list of more than 50 incredible scholarships and grants for nursing students.

NurseThink
The NurseThink-AACN Scholarship supports students enrolled in master’s and doctoral nursing programs at AACN member institutions who have a desire to become future nurse faculty. The scholarship is open to all students who are members of the Graduate Nursing Student Academy.  To apply, students must complete an online application, provide demographic information and details on their academic achievement, and submit a short essay outlining their plans to teach after graduation.

Nurses Educational Funds, Inc (NEF) Scholarhsip
Offering more than 1,000 scholarships for advanced degrees in nursing, NEF scholarships are offered to doctoral students enrolled full or part time in an accredited nursing program who have completed at least 12 credit hours of the program and maintain a minimum GPA of 3.6. Information on the application process can be found at: http://www.n-e-f.org/index.php/apply.html.

Nurses Foundation of Racine Scholarship – The Nurses Foundation of Racine is offering scholarships for nursing students who reside in Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth Counties. Applicants must be enrolled in a nursing program with at least one semester of the nursing curriculum completed.

Nurses Foundation of Wisconsin (NFW) Research Grants

Nurses Foundation of Wisconsin(NFW) Scholarship
The Nurses Foundation of Wisconsin, Inc. (NFW) awards scholarship money annually to Registered Nurses in Wisconsin who are continuing their education to obtain a baccalaureate or advanced degree in nursing.

Nursing Economic$ Foundation Scholarship
The Nursing Economic$ Foundation is accepting applications for four $5,000 scholarships to registered nurses in Masters or Doctoral nursing programs. For more information, contact nefound@ajj.com

Oncology Nursing Society (ONS)
ONS provides scholarships to registered nurses who are interested in and committed to oncology nursing to continue their education by pursuing a master’s degree in nursing. Masters degree scholarships are awarded annually at $3,000 each. Doctoral scholarships awarded at $3,000 and $5,000 annually. Please note that applications for the ONCC awards are available after May of each year. Applications for ONS Foundation scholarships, cancer public-education projects, career development awards, after June of each year.

Ruth Dickie Research Scholarships
Beta Chapter of Graduate Women in Sciences (GWIS) members are eligible to receive up to $3,000.  Both domestic and international students are welcome to apply.

ScrubinUniforms-AACN Scholarship
The Scrubin Uniforms/AACN Scholarship supports nursing students in baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral programs who are enrolled at AACN member schools with a formal affiliation agreement with Scrubin Uniforms. See eligible schools listed in the blue left column. To apply, students must complete an online application, provide demographic information and details on their academic achievement, and submit a short essay.
Deadline: September 1, December 30, & March 1 (Deadline extended to March 30, 2023)  Number of Awards: 3/year Award Amount: $2,500

ThedaCare Scholarships
Multiple scholarships are offered through the ThedaCare Foundation.

Tylenol Future Care Scholarship
The makers of Tylenol offer a total of $250,000 in scholarships to 40 future health care professionals. Ten applicants will receive $10,000 each and 30 will receive $5,000 each.

US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Financial Assistance Program
This highly competitive program is available to full-time students about to begin their final year of academic study or professional training. Those selected for the program will become Commissioned officers in the US Public Health Service (USPHS) and receive full pay and benefits of an active duty officer for up to 12 months just for finishing their education and training.

Contact Us

Judy Christensen

Position title: Scholarships Officer

Email: judy.christensen@wisc.edu

Phone: 608-262-9611