Pennsylvania Nursing Program Scholarships & Grants

University of Pennsylvania Nursing Scholarships

The University of Pennsylvania offers several scholarships to undergraduate and accelerated nursing students. The George H. and Estelle M. Sands Nursing Scholarship awards $30,000; recipients must maintain a GPA of at least 2.75 and agree to work at the Medical Center of Princeton in Princeton, N.J., for two years after graduation. The Melissa Sengbusch Inspirational Scholarship Fund is a renewable, four-year scholarship that totals $10,000 and recipients must maintain a 3.0 GPA. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Careers in Nursing program will award 15 $10,000 scholarships for the 2011-2012 school year to encourage students to enter the nursing field via accelerated programs.

CampusRN, an online education and employment resource for nursing students, offers a scholarship for students enrolled in nursing schools in Pennsylvania. The scholarship program is part of a nationwide initiative; six students from six regions nationwide will be awarded a $2,500 scholarship. Pennsylvania is part of the program's Northeast region. Interested students can submit applications online and must provide contact information for an academic advisor.

The Nightingale Awards of Pennsylvania, or NAP, is a nonprofit designed to retain nurses in the Commonwealth. NAP awards scholarships each spring for students pursuing nursing degrees. Funds can be used to pay for tuition, books, or fees. Applicants must be Pennsylvania residents enrolled in LPN, RN or advanced nursing programs. They must have a "B" average or better, and need to have completed or be enrolled in at least one nursing course at the time of application. Recipients are selected based on grades, leadership potential and commitment to nursing.

The Pennsylvania Nursing Assistance Fund was established by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Foundation to assist students currently in nursing school and attract prospective nurses to the field. The foundation's website notes that the number of new nurses entering the profession is not keeping pace with the number of retiring nurses. The fund makes donations to various institutions and health-based organizations. For example, the Independence Blue Cross Scholars Program awards scholarships to graduate students in training to become nurse educators at schools in several Pennsylvania counties.