Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students - Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), through the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences–Institute of Public Health, requests $649,760 annually for five years to reduce financial barriers for full-time students in its accredited Master of Public Health (MPH) program and strengthen the public health workforce serving primary care, rural, Tribal, and other medically vulnerable communities. FAMU’s MPH program serves students whose education may be threatened by the combined burden of tuition, living expenses, family responsibilities, and reduced employment income during graduate study and required applied-practice experiences. Full-time MPH enrollment declined from 50 students in academic year 2022–2023 to 35 in 2024–2025, a 30.0% decrease. Students report financial strain as the principal factor affecting their ability to enter the MPH program, remain enrolled full time, and progress to graduation. Across academic years 2022–2023 through 2024–2025, 72 of 126 full-time enrollment records, or 57.1%, met HRSA’s disadvantaged-background definition. After available assistance was applied, the calculated three-year average remaining financial need was $25,520.83 per student per academic year. Across the same reporting period, 96.2% of MPH enrollment records were coded as Black and 75.0% as female. Race and sex are included to describe the population served but will not determine scholarship eligibility or award amounts. FAMU will provide approximately 25 scholarships averaging $24,500 each year to eligible students enrolled full time in the traditional or online MPH format. Recipients must meet an authorized economic, educational, or geographic disadvantaged-background criterion, demonstrate financial need through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and maintain satisfactory academic standing. Awards will be based on documented remaining need, with preference given to eligible students experiencing severe financial hardship, and will support tuition, other reasonable educational expenses, and reasonable living expenses within HRSA limits. Scholarship support will be integrated with structured academic advising, mentoring, semester-based progress monitoring, early intervention, applied-practice planning, professional development, career preparation, employer engagement, and graduate follow-up. Every SDS recipient will be offered a qualifying training opportunity in a primary-care, rural, Tribal, or other medically vulnerable setting. A Rural and Medically Vulnerable Communities Career Pathway will connect students with county health departments, community health centers, rural providers, public agencies, nonprofit organizations, alumni, preceptors, and employers throughout North Florida. These relationships will help students translate graduate education into meaningful service while strengthening the capacity of communities facing persistent workforce shortages. The project will increase enrollment and retention of full-time students from disadvantaged backgrounds, increase the number of MPH graduates practicing in primary care, and increase the number working in rural, Tribal, and other medically vulnerable communities. FAMU will monitor scholarship administration, retention, degree progression, graduation, training experiences, and employment outcomes; follow graduates for at least one year; and use continuous quality improvement to strengthen implementation. By pairing substantial need-based scholarships with academic support and a direct pathway to priority practice settings, FAMU will help capable students complete the MPH degree without financial hardship becoming a loss to the public health workforce.
