Scholarships and Financial Aid | UNC School of Nursing (2024)

There are four qualifying factors to determine whichgrantyou would receive:

• yourfinancial need,
• your cost of attendance,
• your status as a full-time or part-time student, and
• your plans to attend school for a fullacademic yearor less.

If you’re taking less than 12 hours, thegrantamount is determined by the number of hours enrolled, with 3 credit hours being the smallest grant and awarded to the neediest of students.

Full-time students in the School of Nursing’s Master’s Program may be eligible for both merit-based and need-based financial aid. The University’sOffice of Scholarships and Student Aidadminister need-based aid. Nursing students are eligible for scholarships and loans on the same basis as all other graduate students at the University.

Students also are encouraged to seek financial aid through their local communities and through scholarships available from sources outside the University, for example, employers, fraternal, civic and professional organizations, and military services, such as:

The North Carolina Nurse Scholars Program(NSP) provides scholarships to outstanding nurses wishing to pursue a master’s degree in nursing in order to teach in nurse education programs or provide advanced nursing service to citizens of North Carolina. For further information and an application, visit the NC Nurse Scholars Programwebsite.

The National Health Service Corps Scholarship Programmay pay tuition for current students or repay student loans for graduates in exchange for commitments to work in an urban or rural under-served area. The program is designed to encourage nurse practitioners to go to areas where their expertise is needed. For further information, visittheNational Health Service Corps website.

North Carolina residents may find additional sources of financial aid by referring to theNorth Carolina State Education Assistance Authority website.

The following scholarships are awarded by the School of Nursing to outstanding master’s students. A call for applications is posted each spring for financial awards made the following fall; both new and continuing students are eligible for consideration.

• UNC-CH Graduate School Merit Assistantship
• James M. Johnston Scholarships
• Lettie Pate Whitehead Scholarship
• Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Fellowship/Traineeship
• Jimmie Butts Family Nurse Practitioner Scholarship

Advanced Education Nursing Traineeshipawards are funded by a federal grant to the School of Nursing and pay tuition and fees plus a monthly stipend; the amount of the stipend varies from year-to-year based on the amount of funding awarded to the school.

The following scholarships were established by donors to assist students in the master’s program at Carolina Nursing:

• Carol Ann Beerstecher Graduate Scholarship
• The Melinda K. Brock Public Health Nursing Scholarship
• The Kay Burwell Graduate Student Fund
• The Jimmie Butts Family Nurse Practitioner Scholarship
• Elizabeth Scott Carrington Award
• Mona Louise Currie RN to MSN Scholarship
• Kellett Long Term Care Nursing Scholarship Fund
• Linda Matthews Endowed Scholarship
• Thomas L. Norris, Jr. and Jane S. Norris Scholarship
• The Dr. Bobby and Mrs. Margaret Ferguson Raynor Scholarship for Psychiatric-Mental Health Graduate Nursing Education
• Wachovia Scholarship to Build and Reinvest in Communities
• The John and Lucy Wagoner Graduate Nursing Scholarship Fund
• Pamela McClure Wichmann, MSN ’99, Memorial Scholarship

The following funds were established by donors to assist students in the School of Nursing across degree tracks.

• Alexandra Beebe, BSN ’74 Student Emergency Fund
• Ruth Cullis Lynn Short Term Student Loan Fund
• Kindred Spirit Award

For more information about how to qualify for scholarships and student support in the School of Nursing, please contact the SON Office of Student Affairs at919,966.4260.

The UNC-CH School of Nursing Alumni Association awards up to four $500 scholarships annually to students in the UNC-CH School of Nursing. The following criteria will be used in evaluating applicants.

• Must be enrolled in at least 9 credit hours per semester.
• A grade of P or better in all classes for graduate students. Must have completed one semester in nursing school.
• Documented evidence of involvement in nursing, campus and/or community activities (please attach resume).
• Description of financial need (including recent scholarship awards)

To apply, download the application and submit the application electronically to Lauren Hipp Hundley atlmhipp@email.unc.edu, or return, in a sealed envelope addressed to Lauren Hipp Hundley, to the box outside Suite 301, Carrington Hall. You can also mail the form to Lauren Hipp Hundley, SON Advancement, CB #7460, UNC, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7460 or fax to (919) 843-8241.

Scholarship notification will be made in March.If the Adobe form doesn’t save properly on your machine, please download and save the Microsoft Word version of the application.

Note: Scholarship applications will be reviewed by members of the Board of Directors of the UNC School of Nursing Alumni Association. Selection of recipients will be by majority vote. (Students receiving no other forms of financial aid will be given higher priority.)

There are external fellowship opportunities available to nurses interested in furthering their education. Some of those fellowships are listed below.

American Association of Colleges of Nursing Fellowship(Posted 1/21/16)
The American Association of College of Nursing (AACN) is pleased to announce new DCD fellowship opportunities focused on cardiovascular disease prevention/health promotion and public health informatics. These fellowships are wonderful opportunities for both Masters and Doctoral-Level Nurses interested in public and population health, especially recent graduates looking for a job position or DNP students searching for a capstone project. For more information, please contact Allison Jacobs, MPH, ICPS, at ajacobs@aacn.nche.edu or 202-463-6930 ext. 278.

SAMSHA Minority Fellowship Program(Posted 2/8/16)
The SAMSHA Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) provides opportunities for minority psychiatric nurses to attain masters and doctoral degrees in mental health and substance abuse disorders prevention, treatment, and recovery across the life span. For more information, please see flyer in heading.

The Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) is a federal program designed to increase the number of nursing students who pursue careers as full-time faculty teaching in schools of nursing. Full-time or part-time graduate students who plan careers as nurse faculty are eligible to apply and may be eligible for up to 5 years of financial support (contingent upon ongoing federal funding and therefore subject to change).

To learn more about the Nurse Faculty Loan Program, please click here.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing has partnered withWell Care Home Health, a leading home health provider to establish the Well Care Home Health Leadership Scholars Program—a program funded specifically to prepare nurse leaders for the home health industry.

Funded through charitable contributions from Well Care Home Health, the Scholars Program seeks to attract highly qualified master of science in nursing students to the home health industry through focused coursework and clinical experiences in the home health field. Well Care Home Health Leadership Scholars will be enrolled in the UNC School of Nursing’s Health Care Systems (HCS) graduate program, which ranks 4th nationally.

Learn more about theWell Care Home Health Leadership Scholars Program here.

Employment opportunities are available to graduate students in the School of Nursing as teaching or research assistants. Both types of assistantships provide valuable learning experiences. Once admitted, students are notified of employment opportunities as they become available.

More information and policies on student employment is available in the student handbook.

Full-time students in the School of Nursing’s Doctoral Program may be eligible for both merit-based and need-based financial aid. The University’s Office of Scholarships and Student Aid administer need-based aid. Nursing students are eligible for scholarships and loans on the same basis as all other graduate students at the University.

Students also are encouraged to seek financial aid through their local communities and through scholarships available from sources outside the University, for example, employers, fraternal, civic and professional organizations, and military services.

Full-time students are supported for the first three years of study. This funding may include scholarships, traineeships and/or assistantships.

Upon application to the doctoral program, students are considered (without further application needed) for merit-based awards. Scholarship funds for these awards are provided in part by the following funds: Elizabeth Scott Carrington Scholarship, Glaxo Fellowship, Kellett Scholarship, Lunsford Richardson Scholarship, Joanne A. Sandergaard Scholarship, The Mary P. Speight Scholarship, and UNC Graduate School Merit Assistantship.

Employment opportunities are available to graduate students in the School of Nursing as teaching or research assistants. Both types of assistantships provide valuable learning experiences. Once admitted, students are notified of employment opportunities as they become available.

More information and policies on student employment is available in the current student handbook.

The Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) is a federal program designed to increase the number of nursing students who pursue careers as full-time faculty teaching in schools of nursing. Full-time or part-time graduate students who plan careers as nurse faculty are eligible to apply and may be eligible for up to 5 years of financial support (contingent upon ongoing federal funding and therefore subject to change).

For more information on the Nurse Faculty Loan Program, please click here.