Nursing Scholarships and Grants in Arkansas

All students find it hard to pay their tuition fees in these troubling economic times but there are scholarships and grants available that provide financial assistance.

Grants and Scholarships for Arkansas Students

Should a student wish to study nursing in Arkansas, they should be aware that there are scholarships and grants available that are either:

• exclusively available for residents of Arkansas; or
• available for residents of several states including Arkansas (and some of these actually give preference to Arkansas residents).

Arkansas scholarships and grants are offered by several types of entities including universities, memorial trusts, student associations and The American Legion Auxiliary. Each grant or scholarship will have its own specific eligibility requirements and, although some requirements are summarized below, interested students should contact the grantor concerned for more information.

Specific Scholarships and Grants

America Legion Auxiliary Department of Arkansas Nurses Scholarship

This scholarship’s specific aim is to provide financial assistance to those sons and daughters of American veterans who wish to study nursing on a post-secondary level.

One amount of $500 is awarded every year and the deadline for the submission of the scholarship application is in March of any given academic year.

In order to be eligible to apply for this scholarship:

• The student and the veteran parent must both be residents of Arkansas;
• The veteran parent must have served during the American Legion’s membership eligibility dates; and
• The student must be a high school senior or a high school graduate who has not yet commenced their undergraduate studies.

Other factors that will be taken into account to determine eligibility will be Americanism, character, financial need and character. Further information about this scholarship can be obtained from The American Legion Auxiliary, Department of Arkansas, 1415 West 7th Street, Little Rock, AR 72201 (tel: 501-374-5836 and website: auxiliary.arlegion.org).

Arkansas Nurses Foundation Scholarships

The foundation offers two scholarships to student nurses, the Dorothea Funk Scholarship and the Mary Gray Scholarship and applications for these programs must be postmarked June 1st of the application year. Each scholarship is awarded every year and their objectives are to provide financial help to current members of the Arkansas Nurses Association.

General eligibility requirements relevant to both scholarships include:

• Applicants must have graduated from an NLN-accredited program and must be a current member of the ANS; and
• Applicants must require the funding to assist with payment for an advanced degree in another NLN-accredited program.

Applicants also need to submit various documents in order to be considered for these scholarships including two letters of recommendation, the completed application form and a letter describing their short- and long-term goals regarding their careers and how the new qualification would help them achieve these goals.

Students who wish to inquire about these scholarships can contact the Arkansas Nursing Foundation c/o Arkansas Nurses Association, 1123 South University, Suite 1015, Little Rock, AR 72204 (tel: 1-501-244-2363 and website: www.arna.org).

Rosemary Berkel Crisp Research Award

This is a postgraduate grant and, although it is not exclusively available for Arkansas residents, they are given preference when it comes to awarding the grant. This grant consists of a once-off annual award of $5,000 and applications must be filed by December of any given academic year.

There are several eligibility requirements that have to be complied with and these include:

• The applicant has to be a member of the Sigma Theta Tau International organization;
• The applicant must be a licensed RN and must already hold a master’s degree or higher qualification; and
• The applicant must want to pursue further study in one of the following areas: oncology, infant/child care or women’s health.

This is one of the several STTI small grants that are available and anyone who requires further information should contact The Research Service Specialist, STTI Honor Society of Nursing, Program Department, 550 West North Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202 (tel: 888-634-7575 and website: www.nursingsociety.org.)

University of Arkansas College of Education and Healthcare Scholarship

Scholarships are offered by the university to students pursuing a major in, among other departments, the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing. The eligibility of each applicant will be determined according to several factors, which include:

• Whether the applicants are residents of specific Arkansas counties;
• The discipline and program that the applicants are enrolling for; and
• The applicants’ specified GPA (Grade Point Average) and demonstrated leadership ability.

Further information concerning this scholarship can be obtained from the university at The Office of Academic Scholarships, 319 Graduate Education Building, 101 Old Main, Fayetteville, AR 72701 (tel: 479-575-4464 and website: www.uark.edu).

CampusRN Arkansas Nursing Scholarship

CampusRN has set up a scholarship program in which an amount of $2,500 will be made available to a different needy nursing student every year on the anniversary of the launching of the CampusRN regional/state edition of the website in that state. A $2,500 scholarship therefore becomes available to Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas resident nursing students when the CampusRN South Central Region edition website was launched and will become available every year on that date from then on.

Requirements that have to be fulfilled for the scholarship to be awarded include the following:

• The student’s school must be registered with CampusRN (if a school is not registered, the student can register it on the CampusRN website); and
• At least 100 applications for the South Central Region scholarship must be received by CampusRN before the grant will be awarded.

The deadline to apply is April 1st of any given academic year and more information can be obtained through CampusRN’s website at arkansas.campusrn.com.