Purpose
The Department of Physician Assistant is aligned with the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s (UMES) mission to provide access to a holistic learning environment that fosters academic success, diversity, as well as intellectual and social growth. To aid in this goal, this scholarship serves to increase the number of underrepresented health care providers in the field of Physician Assistant.
Eligibility
- Matriculating UMES PA Students
- Underrepresented populations: (Need 3 out of the 8 criteria)
- American-Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African-American, Hispanic/Latino, MENA, Multiracial, or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander racial/ethnic groups that are determined by PAEA By the Numbers 36 data
- First Generation Student
- HBCU Graduate
- Male Gender
- Residency in a Health Personnel Shortage Area (HPSA)
- Residency in a Medically Underserved Population/Area (MUA/P)
- Students > 35 years old
- Veteran Students
- Identification within CASPA as an underrepresented individual/group
- Decelerated students are ineligible to apply for this scholarship.
Selection Criteria
Student applicants who meet established eligibility will be considered for the scholarship. The five (5) eligible students with the highest scores will be awarded the scholarship. Selection for the scholarship is based upon the following:
- Undergraduate Science GPA
- Overall Cumulative GPA
- Combined Faculty Application and Interview Scores
- Scholarship Application Score
If, at any time, the selection criteria or eligibility are found to be contradictory to U.S and Maryland law; or UMES or Department policies and procedures, the Department of Physician Assistant will modify the criteria as deemed appropriate while keeping them as closely aligned to established criteria noted above.
Amount
$10,000 will be awarded during each academic year of matriculation, which will be disbursed as $5,000 in the Fall I, Spring I, Fall II, and Spring II semesters. The final disbursement of $10,000 will be awarded in the Fall III semester.
The award will total $30,000.
How to Apply
The Admissions Coordinator will give students the scholarship information during the July student orientation week.
Application Deadline
July 26, 2024
Notification
Selected students will receive an award letter from the PA Department’s Admissions Coordinator by email within 2 weeks of application deadline. If there is a delay for any reason, students will be notified by email.
Award recipients must maintain good academic standing in the PA program and University to continue receiving the balance of the award. Thus, scholarship money will not be released and applied to tuition or fees for semesters if an awardee is on academic or professional probation. In such situations, award disbursement will resume and applied to tuition and fees for subsequent semesters when the student is no longer on academic or professional probation.
Reference
Physician Assistant Education Association, By the Numbers: Program Report 36: Data from the 2021 Program Survey.
Washington, DC: PAEA, 2021. Doi: PAEA Research | Program Report 36 (paeaonline.org)
