California Area Office - Scholarship FAQs

Scholarship FAQs

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What is the Indian Health Service Scholarship Program?

The Health Care Improvement Act ("The Act"), Public Law 94-437, and its subsequent amendments of 1980, 1988 and 1996 authorize the Indian Health Service (IHS) to conduct three interrelated, competitive scholarship programs to train the health professional personnel necessary to staff IHS health programs and other health programs serving the Indian people.

What are the three scholarships offered?

Health Professions Preparatory Scholarship (section 103)
Health Professions Pregraduate Scholarship Program (section 103b)
Health Professions Scholarship Program (section 104)

What are the eligibility requirements for an applicant to participate?

be American Indian or Alaska Native;
have the capacity to complete a health professions course of study;
be enrolled, or accepted for enrollment in a compensatory preprofessional general education course or curriculum; or be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in a program leading to a degree in a health related professions school within the United States;
intend to serve Indian people upon completion of professions health care education as a health care provider in the discipline for which the student is funded.

What do the scholarships include?

The Health Professions Prepatory (103) and the Health Professions Pregraduate (103b) scholarships include financial aid for tuition and required fees. The Health Professions (104) also includes financial aid for tuition and required fees. Visit the IHS Scholarship website at: www.scholarship.ihs.gov for a list of educational and living expenses covered under this scholarship.

How many awards are made each year?

The number of awards will vary from year to year. The IHS awards a scholarship to a student for the duration of their course work in the degree for which they are being funded, provided they comply with the requirements of the scholarship contract. That can be one to four years full-time and up to eight years part-time. Continuation students receive priority consideration for funding. Once those awards have been made for the year, we will begin making awards to new applicants until the money runs out.

Is there a payback requirement?

If you are applying under the Health Professions Preparatory or Health Professions Pregraduate programs, there is no payback requirement. If you apply under the Health Professions program, there is a payback requirement of one year of service for each year of funding received, with a minimum of two years of service.

How do I apply?

You can apply online at www.scholarship.ihs.gov. This is the preferred method of applying for our scholarship. However, if submitting an online application is not possible, you may contact the Area Scholarship Coordinator that serves your state. You can find the list of coordinators on the IHS Scholarship website. The California Area Office serves the states of California and Hawaii. For further information, please contact

Mona Celli, Area Scholarship Coordinator
California Area Indian Health Service
650 Capitol Mall, Suite 7-100
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 930-3981, extension 311
(916) 930-3981, extension 724 - Information Line
mona.celli@ihs.gov

Are there any websites you recommend for other scholarship options?

We only support the Indian Health Service scholarships, however, we offer the following links to assist you in your search for other scholarship options.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institutes of Health

Resources for Indigenous Cultures around the World: Native Web

Guide to All U. S. Government Grants and Loans Benefiting Students

Health Professions Education Foundation

www.grants.gov

Behavioral Health: The goal of the IHS Division of Behavioral Health is to promote, provide, and manage a comprehensive system of mental health and substance abuse services which offer American Indians and Alaska Natives a diverse range of culturally sensitive services at all levels of behavioral health needs. The Behavior Health section contains Substance Abuse and Mental Health information, Resources and FAQs to support behavior health professionals.

California Area Office Newsletters: Newsletters are published quarterly and copies are distributed to all California Area tribal and urban Indian healthcare programs for placement in patient waiting rooms.

Dental: The Behavior Health section contains Substance Abuse and Mental Health information, Resources and FAQs to support behavior health professionals. The Dental section contains FAQs and Resources to support health professionals.

Diabetes: The Diabetes section is a forum for American Indian healthcare professionals working with diabetes in the California area. The section contains FAQs and Resources to support healthcare professionals.

Disaster Preparedness: The California Area Indian Health Service (CAIHS) endeavors to help the tribal and urban Indian health programs in California to prepare for possible disasters in their communities.

Electronic Health Record (EHR) - RPMS: The Resource Patient Management System (RPMS) Electronic Health Record (EHR) can manage all aspects of patient care via an intuitive and customizable Graphical User Interface (GUI) that is integrated with all RPMS software applications. The EHR section contains FAQs and Resources to support health professionals.

Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA): The Indian Health Service (IHS) has developed a set of GPRA performance indicators with annual and long-term goals to measure the progress of the agency in improving the health status of American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN). Visit this section for more information including Resources and FAQs.

An Introduction to GPRA for Providers and Clinic Staff - Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) (PDF 1MB)

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA): The following areas will provide you with information on the specifics of HIPAA and how your facility can comply with the requirements of this law.

Health Promotion Disease Prevention Program: Working with Tribal and Urban healthcare programs, the Health Promotion Disease Prevention Program coordinates services that enhance preventive health approaches. Find Resources and FAQs about the program.

Immunization: This site has been developed for tribal and urban program health professionals to provide information about vaccine preventable diseases, the benefits of immunizations, the risk of disease verses the benefit of immunizations, and other educational resources and materials.

Improving Patient Care: This site has been developed for tribal and urban program health professionals to provide information about vaccine preventable diseases, the benefits of immunizations, the risk of disease verses the benefit of immunizations, and other educational resources and materials.

Information Resource Management: This site was developed to provide our target audience (California Area RPMS Site Managers & Health Program IT technical staff) information on RPMS support, security and miscellaneous IT resources available for use at each of our California health programs.

Nursing: This nursing section of the website is for advancing and strengthening the role, function and development of the nursing service administration within the California tribal and urban health care delivery settings.

Resources for Health Care Professionals: Miscellaneous links and PowerPoint presentations to various medical professional topics.

Scholarship Program: The Indian Health Service conducts three interrelated, competitive scholarship programs including: Health Professions Preparatory Scholarship, Health Professions Pre-graduate Scholarship Program, and Health Professions Scholarship Program.

YRTC Network: The Youth Regional Treatment Center (YRTC) Network provides inpatient substance abuse and alcohol treatment to eligible American Indian and Alaska Native youth.