While you can survive physical therapy graduate school by receiving a combination of federal and private loans, it is always to your benefit to get the most advantageous physical therapy school scholarships to lessen the burden of debt. Free money is nice, but how do you find scholarship opportunities that work for you or your family? In this article we will outline some of the various choices in front of you.
Professional and Performance Scholarships
Do you have excellent academics, professional research, or some other impressive portfolio achievements? Make sure to check into professional/performance scholarship opportunities.
National AMBUCS Scholarships for Therapists “Since 1955, National AMBUCS™, Inc. has been awarding scholarships to therapy students in their junior/senior year in a bachelor’s degree program, or a graduate program leading to a master’s or doctoral degree. To date, more than $7.7 million in scholarships have been awarded to over 14,000 students pursuing degrees in physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology and audiology.”
The Doctor of Physical Therapy Visionary Foundation, Inc. “is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1996. The DPT Visionary Foundation was founded by three DPT Students from the first professional level DPT Program in the country.”
Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions “…sponsors a scholarship program for allied health students enrolled in its member schools. The purpose of the scholarship program is to recognize outstanding students in the allied health professions who are achieving excellence in their academic programs and have significant potential to assume future leadership roles in the allied health professions.”
DAR National Society “The NSDAR awards multiple scholarships to students showing dedication to the pursuit of degrees in diverse disciplines including history, law, nursing, and education.”
Mary McMillan Scholarship Award “..The intent of the award is to recognize those students who exhibit superior scholastic ability and potential for future professional contribution.”
Outstanding PT Student and PTA Student Awards Identifies students with “…exceptional overall accomplishments and contributions to APTA, the Student Assembly, and the physical therapy profession.”
Minority Scholarships
Do you have excellent academics, an impressive portfolio, and a matching minority status? Check out the variety and amount of scholarships available to you.
American Academy of Physical Therapy is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide relief of poor and disadvantaged African Americans and other minorities.
Indian Health Service Scholarship The IHS offers three scholarships to qualified American Indian and Alaska Native candidates. Candidates must be members of federally recognized Tribes/Villages. Students must be in preparation for or enrolled in an eligible health profession degree program.
Minority Scholarship “These scholarships are awarded annually to physical therapy students in their final year of physical therapy education and faculty members pursuing their post-professional doctoral degree.”
Minority Scholarship Websites A list of scholarship organizations provided by the APTA.
SPT Minority Scholarship Award for Academic Excellence “This is an annual award offered to minority physical therapist students by the Physical Therapy Fund.”
Specific School Scholarships
If you are interested or already committed to a Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, it is important to research their own scholarship and grant opportunities. They often have historical connections to individuals and foundations that provide scholarships to current students.
This means there is a drastically smaller competition pool as compared to the national scholarships. Each program has links to scholarships on their website, typically on the financial aid page. Here are three examples among the over 225 DPT programs.
UNC School of Medicine Physical Therapy Scholarships and Awards
Creighton University Scholarships
Des Moines University Scholarships
Future Employer / Underserved Area Scholarships
Are you willing to be committed to a certain employer or under served area for the beginning of your career?
If you think that you can agree to being locked in for a pre-determined period of time, it is a wise choice to search for underserved areas and participating employers. It is best to use the search engines (see below) to find places across the country. Here are three examples to familiarize yourself with how they are advertised.
Health Professional Recruitment Program (HPRP) A national program used in Iowa. “Health Professional Recruitment Program (HPRP) is an innovative loan repayment program for graduates of Des Moines University’s D.O., D.P.M., D.P.T. and PA programs.”
Southern Illinois Healthcare “…Qualified applicants are eligible for money to cover tuition, lab fees, books and educational supplies…”
NYC Department of Education “Since 1990, the New York City Department of Education has offered a scholarship program in Occupational and Physical Therapy…”
Scholarship Search Engines and Resource Links
School Soup “School Soup’s research team has identified Physical Therapy Scholarships. SchoolSoup.com is considered the authority on college/university scholarships and we have listed over $40 Billion in available scholarships.”
CollegeXpress A college search engine that allows its members to search over 4,000 colleges and 7 billion worth of scholarships.
Education Resources Organizations Directory This website is designed by ED.gov. This link provides ” information on the state’s education programs, colleges and universities, financial aid assistance programs, grants, scholarships, continuing education programs, and career opportunities.”
AfterCollege Rehabilitative Therapies Student Scholarship “Open to currently enrolled students studying to be a PT, PTA, OT, OTA, SLP or Audiologist”
FastWeb.com “Fastweb members are matched to relevant scholarship opportunities completely free of charge. With roughly 1.5 million scholarships worth more than $3.4 billion, there are scholarships forevery student’s educational goals, activities and interests.”
Foundation Center “Established in 1956 and today supported by close to 550 foundations, the Foundation Center is the leading source of information about philanthropy worldwide. Through data, analysis, and training, it connects people who want to change the world to the resources they need to succeed…”
Written By:
Stephen Carnazzo
