Applying for – and being awarded – scholarships and grants are one way in which a nursing student can obtain a little extra cash with which to pay tuition fees, textbook fees and general studying expenses.

General Scholarship and Grant Information Relevant to Nevada Nursing Students

Scholarship and grant programs are available to students country-wide but some are available only to students who live in specific states. Each state will have its own group of state-specific programs that are funded and administered through a diverse group of institutions including, for Nevada, the University of Nevada, the Nevada Organization of Nurse Leaders and several memorial trusts.

Each of the grant and scholarship programs – where grants fund research projects and scholarships fund general studying expenses – will also have their own eligibility requirements. For the Nevada-based programs, one of the requirements will obviously be living and studying in Nevada and another could be undertaking to work in an area of the state that has been designated in need of primary care health services. Further factors that will be taken into consideration when determining award recipients include general academic record, community involvement and financial need.

There are many more scholarship and grant opportunities in Nevada than those that are mentioned on this list and students who are interested in applying for these programs should review such resources as the financial aid pages of websites belonging to universities, colleges and nursing schools. Hospitals, nursing associations and community-based philanthropic societies are also potential sources of grant and scholarship programs.

Specific Scholarships and Grants in Nevada

Nevada Health Service Corps

This program is administered through the University of Nevada and its overall objective is to provide financial assistance to students studying nursing and other medical disciplines in the state of Nevada so as to encourage them to work in medically deserving areas of the state. The total amount awarded in terms of this program is $20,000, which covers a two year period, and several awards are made every year. Applications can be submitted throughout the year and eligibility requirements include:

  1. Applicants should be either Nurse Practitioners (NP) or Certified Nurse Midwives who hold current licenses to practice in Nevada or will shortly be eligible to be awarded Nevada licenses to practice;
  2. Applicants must be enrolled in an accredited NP or related training program;
  3. Applicants must have verifiable student loans and expenses relating to their training (including undergraduate training); and
  4. Applicants must have no objection to practicing in an area of Nevada that has been designated as being in great need of primary health care services.

Further information concerning this program can be obtained from the Office of Rural Health at the University of Nevada’s School of Medicine at 1500 College Parkway, Elko, NV 89801 (tel: 775-738-3828 and website: http://www.medicine.nevada.edu/dept/asa/prospective_applicants/campuses_elko.htm).

CampusRN Nevada Nursing Scholarship

The CampusRN scholarship program has been developed to commemorate the launch of their state-edition websites and networks. In terms of this program, six different scholarships worth $2,500 each are awarded to students from each of the six areas across the USA where the CampusRN networks have been launched. Nevada falls into the Mountain Region, along with states such as Utah, New Mexico and Idaho, and eligibility requirements for this program include:

  1. The student’s school must be registered with CampusRN (students can register their own schools through the CampusRN website); and
  2. The student’s application must be accompanied by an essay of between 200 and 500 words detailing their career goals and their plans for achieving these goals. Students must also agree to have this essay published as a blog on the CampusRN website.

Further factors that will be taken into account when selecting the successful candidates include academic history and current academic level. CampusRN will, however, only award the scholarships in each region should 100 or more applications be received. Further information concerning this program can be found on the CampusRN website.

The Dan Mordecai Educational Scholarship Awards

This program is administered through the University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Nursing and the Nevada Organization of Nurse Leaders and consists of three award packages funded through the Dan Mordecai Educational Fund. Open to both undergraduate and graduate students, each award amounts to $1,000 and the deadline for the submission of applications is September 14th of each year. Eligibility criteria include:

  1. Students must be currently enrolled in either an undergraduate or a graduate nursing program; and
  2. Students must submit a 100-word essay on their career goals, as well as at least one letter of recommendation, together with their application forms.

Applications must be submitted to, and queries can be addressed to, the Nevada Organization of Nurse Leaders at 1878 Lemon Grove Street, Henderson, NV 89052 (tel: 702-617-3899 and website: http://nonl.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=0&club_id=22755).

Harry and Rebecca Lahr Foundation Scholarship

This program is also administered through UNLV and involves the payment of at least one award to any undergraduate or graduate level nursing student. This scholarship can also be renewed and whether or not it will be renewed depends on the student’s continuing level of academic achievement and the monies available in the scholarship endowment fund. Eligibility requirements include:

  1. Students must be admitted as full-time students to a UNLV nursing program on either an undergraduate or a graduate level at least during the semester in which the award is granted;
  2. Students who are on the undergraduate level must maintain a Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 3.00 and must be enrolled for at least 12 undergraduate credits; and
  3. Students who are on the graduate level (MSN or PhD) must maintain a GPA of 3.20 (MSN) or 3.50 (PhD) and must be enrolled for either 9 (MSN) or 6 (PhD) credit hours.

Applications can be submitted up until August 1st of any given year and further information can be requested from the The Lahr Foundation Scholarship Committee care of UNLV at Box 453018, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154 (tel: 702-895-3360 and website: http://www.unlv.edu/).