Scholarships
Financial Aid
Research and Other Significant Outside Scholarship Policies
Need-based financial aid is available during the third year basic science elective and fourth year clinical elective years. A student receiving a research scholarship may also qualify for need-based financial aid funds.

Your award will incorporate the scholarship along with your financial aid award in accordance with NIH, Duke SOM policies and federal financial aid regulations. Duke University School of Medicine policy dictates that all external scholarships replace need-based loans first. At such time that these loans are replaced, then the grant portion of your aid award will be reduced. This includes any merit scholarships as well. Total aid from all sources cannot exceed the established and Board approved cost of education. Whenever aid exceeds cost, there is an over award situation which is a violation of federal regulations (HEA section 673.5 (b) (2), 673.5 (D)). All effort has been made to ensure that you have all the financial aid you are entitled.

Need-based financial aid funds are not available for any added monthly cost at study away sites where living expense is greater than if the student studies at Duke. Unsubsidized loans can be obtained for these additional expenses.
 
Scholarship awards are typically disbursed by term enrollment: however you will want to verify with your scholarship source the actual disbursement calendar and make financial arrangements accordingly. The funds credited to your student account first go to pay any outstanding tuition or fees on your account. Any remaining balance will be refunded to you. In the case of the Howard Hughes award, the research allowance is allocated to the individual lab and mentors through the Duke University Accounting system. They have a fiscal responsibility for these funds, not the Financial Aid Office.
If you need additional information, please feel free to contact the Office of Financial Aid at 919-684-6649 or email at  financial_aid@mc.duke.edu.
 
 

Third Year Scholarships

There are many foundations and scholarship resources to support student research and are approved for Duke University School of Medicine credit. All have their own methods of evaluation and selection. Because of the unique nature of the Duke University School of Medicine's curriculum, we have been highly successful in having our students selected for these various programs.
 
Additional information is available on the Student Affairs Web site and from The Third Year Scholarship Committee liaison, Renee Mahaffey, at 919-684-5901 or email at renee.mahaffey@duke.edu.

Outside Scholarships

Financial Assistance Outside the School of Medicine

There are a number of sources external to the school that provide grants and scholarships based on specific eligibility criteria.
Federal Scholarships and Loans

Armed Forces Scholarship Programs

Available for accepted (four-year) or enrolled (three-year) students.
 
The recipient receives full tuition, fees, books and supplies and a monthly stipend for a commitment of service as a physician for each year of funding.
 
The special application is made directly to the program in which the student is interested. Please note the following addresses:
 
  • US Army Health Professions Scholarship Recuriter
    3000 Highwoods Blvd. Leatherwoods Bldg., Suite 316
    Raleigh, NC 27604
    Office: 919-875-1530  Cellular: 877-637-7496
    Contact: Anthony Ward
    Email: Anthony.Ward@usarec.army.mil

  • USN Medical Officer Recruiter
    Navy Recruiting District
    801 Oberlin Road, Suite 120
    Raleigh, NC 27605-1130
    Phone (800) 662-7568
  • United States Air Force
    Health Professions Recruiter
    4030 Wake Forest Road, Suite 205
    Raleigh, NC 27609-6262
    Phone (919) 850-0451 or 850-9549  

National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Scholarship Program

NHSC scholarships provide payments of tuition and fees; payment toward books, supplies and equipment and a 12 month stipend.

Selected applicants may receive up to four years of funding.

Applicants must be a U.S. citizen attending a U.S. school of allopathic (M.D.) or osteopathic (D.O.) medicine, dentistry, advanced nursing (master's degree or post-baccalaureate certificate program for nurse practitioners or nurse midwives), and baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate programs for primary care physician assistants.

Preference is given to applicants with specialty goals of primary health care services (family medicine, general pediatrics, general internal medicine, obstetrics-gynecology, general psychiatry).

Applicants who score high enough on their applications will be interviewed.

Participants incur one year of obligated service for each full or partial year of support.

The minimum service obligation is two years. Participants are obligated to provide full-time clinical health care services to populations in federally designated, high- priority health professions shortage areas to which the NHSC will assign them.

Deadline for application is late March for the upcoming academic year. Contact:

NHSC Scholarship Program,
2070 Chain Bridge Rd.,Suite 450,
Vienna, VA 22182-2536.

Indian Health Service Scholarship Program

This scholarship is similar to NHSC described above except that service commitment is fulfilled at an Indian Health Service site.

Preference for medical and physical therapy graduates.

Primary Care Loan (PCL)

Formerly known as U. S. Health Professions Student Loan (HPSL).

Recipients must agree to enter and complete a residency training program in primary health care no later than four years after the date on which the student graduates from the school and must practice in such care through the date on which the loan is repaid in full.

If the borrower fails to complete a primary health care residency and to practice in a primary health care field, the loan balance will be recomputed from the date of issuance at an interest rate of 12% per year, compounded annually, instead of 5%.

Scholarship Links

These are several links to scholarship search engines. Be aware however that may of these scholarships are typically geared to undergraduate students but it never hurts to search or apply.
 
Also the Office of Financial Aid maintains two notebooks of scholarship listings that may be helpful to you. These are restricted to current medical school students.
 

Funding for Combined Degree Programs

The Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) is designed for highly qualified students strongly motivated toward a career in both medical sciences and academic medicine. It provides an opportunity to integrate graduate education in one of the sciences basic to medicine with the full clinical curriculum of the School of Medicine.
 
The program requires, on the average, six to seven years of study and leads to both the M.D. and Ph.D. degrees. Although the special emphasis of this program is on basic medical science, the trainees, because of their education in clinical medicine, have a remarkable range of career opportunities open to them.
 
Graduates of this program follow one of two broad paths. Some embark directly on careers in teaching and research in one of the basic medical sciences, while maintaining strong ties with clinical science as a result of their combined training. Others enter residency programs before pursuing investigative and teaching careers in clinical medicine, carrying with them strong academic backgrounds which allow them to conduct fundamental research with a foundation of superior training and experience in basic sciences.
 
Students admitted to the first year of the program will receive a traineeship award, consisting of a stipend and full tuition allowance, provided by a National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Currently, the annual stipend is $12,500. Financial support from that award can be furnished for up to six years, assuming normal progress.
 
These six years need not be consecutive; this permits flexibility in funding in case more than six years are required for completion of the curriculum. Funding by the NIH is limited to citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

 
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