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Master of Public Health

Funding Resources

Most MPH students use a combination of multiple funding sources to support their public health training. These may include:

The Vanderbilt MPH Program awards a small number of scholarships to incoming students. All admitted applicants are automatically considered for these awards. There is no separate application. Both U.S. and international applicants are eligible.

Applicants who wish to receive priority consideration for these awards should submit a completed application in SOPHAS by the Priority Round deadline, December 15.

Selection criteria are based on many of the same factors evaluated for an admissions decision: academic performance, relevant experience, leadership potential, and personal characteristics demonstrated through the personal statement, letters of recommendation, and other application components.

Scholarship decisions are communicated to awardees throughout the spring.

Scholarship amounts typically range from 25% to 50% of full-time MPH tuition for the two years of the program pending satisfactory academic performance (minimum 3.0 GPA).

The Vanderbilt Institute for Medicine and Public Health (IMPH) Graduate Award provides $20,000 in funding to one full-time incoming student from the Epidemiology track and one full-time incoming student to the Health Policy track. The funding is distributed in the first year of study.

All admitted applicants to the Epidemiology and Health Policy tracks are automatically considered for this award. There is no separate application. Both U.S. and international applicants are eligible.

Applicants who wish to receive priority consideration for these awards should submit a completed application in SOPHAS by the Priority Round deadline, December 15.

Selection criteria are based on many of the same factors evaluated for an admissions decision: academic performance, relevant experience, leadership potential, and personal characteristics demonstrated through the personal statement, letters of recommendation, and other application components.

Funding decisions are communicated to awardees throughout the spring.

Below is a selection of possible external funding sources with different eligibility criteria and application requirements.

Other lists and databases of scholarships, fellowships, and financial assistance to support your MPH-related work:

The School of Medicine Office of Student Financial Aid is responsible for providing assistance to students seeking federal loans. Federal loans are available to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and others (click here for complete eligibility criteria).

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be completed annually by all students who are applying for federal student loans. Because graduate/professional students are considered independent for the purposes of federal loans, only the student/spouse sections must be completed. The FAFSA Vanderbilt University school code number is 003535.

If you’re not ready to file a FAFSA form, you can use FAFSA4caster to estimate your federal student aid.

Those who apply will be awarded funds from the various federal loan programs (Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans and Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loans) to meet the total estimated cost of attendance. Award letters are sent by the Office of Student Financial Services in mid-May. The letters detail the terms of the loans. Students may reduce or decline any or all of the loans offered by sending an email to medfinaid@vanderbilt.edu.

Click here for more information on the types of federal student loans available to MPH students and instructions on how to apply.

For questions about federal student loans, please contact:

Office of Student Financial Aid
Eskind Biomedical Library, Suite 226
2209 Garland Avenue, Nashville, TN 37232-0740
(615) 322-2145 | (615) 343-2312 Fax
medfinaid@vanderbilt.edu

Students with doctoral or clinical degrees may also be eligible for the following opportunities:

VA Quality Scholars Program: This program provides a two-year interprofessional fellowship in healthcare quality improvement for physicians, doctoral-trained nurses, pharmacists, clinical psychologists and other clinical health professionals. Participants learn to develop and apply new knowledge for the ongoing improvement of healthcare services for VA and the nation. Applicants must hold a valid, unrestricted state medical license, and have US citizenship.

Training Grants (T32 or K12): A large number of departments and divisions at Vanderbilt University offer federally funded training grants to support the training of individuals in research. Each training grant has specific requirements with respect to level of training, time commitment to research, etc., so it is best to contact the Vanderbilt-based training program director with inquiries about your application.

Full list of Vanderbilt T-32 grants
Examples of T32 training grants:

Full list of Vanderbilt K12 grants
Examples of K12 training grants:

International students are eligible for many of the funding sources listed above, including scholarships from the Vanderbilt MPH Program. In addition, we encourage international applicants to research and apply for external scholarships related to their specific country, region, and academic/professional interests.

Full-time, benefits-eligible employees of Vanderbilt University (VU) and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) may be eligible for tuition assistance from their employer. Similar to health insurance or a retirement plan, tuition assistance is administered by the employee’s Human Resources office. For additional information and questions about eligibility and applying, students and applicants should contact their Human Resources office: