Community Health Initiative (CHI) Undergraduate Scholarship

SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION

The CHI Undergraduate Scholarship, sponsored by the Office for Business & Community Economic Development (BCED) with funding from Medica, supports full-time undergraduate students who are pursuing a health related career and who show academic promise and financial need. Students must be currently enrolled at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus and must demonstrate maturity, adaptability, and respect for diversity and other cultures. The CHI Undergraduate Scholarship is administered by the Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence (MCAE).

ELIGIBILITY

Scholarship recipients must also meet the following requirements:

• Must be enrolled, degree-seeking undergraduate students at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus pursuing (or on track to pursue) a health-related career (i.e., medicine, nursing, dentistry, public health, and others.)
• Must have second-year status (30 credits or more) or higher
• Must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents from a population that is underrepresented or underserved in the health professions and/or have past work/community experiences that demonstrate a commitment to addressing health disparities in underrepresented or underserved populations
• Must be full-time students (13 credits minimum)
• Must submit all requested application documents (see below) including an essay of no more than 500 words about the applicant’s motivations for pursuing a health care career and plans for utilizing their health-related degree to positively impact underrepresented or underserved populations
• Must have a completed FAFSA on file and show financial need

      Preference will be given for applicants with a cumulative GPA of 2.8 or higher

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applications will be available online and accepted starting April 13, 2016. There are a few steps to the application process so please review the instructions below to ensure your application is complete. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. All parts of your application (including recommendation letters) must be received by Monday, May 16, 2016 at 11:59PM (Central Time).

Step 1: Apply online here. This is also the form you will use to submit your personal essay. Faxed or emailed copies of this form will not be accepted. You must be logged into your UMN email account in the same browser in order to access this form.

Step 2: Submit your current *Student Aid Report (SAR) via email to pedwards@umn.edu. Please label your document: “CHI–First and last name–SAR” and put the same in the email subject line.

Step 3: You will need two (2) letters of recommendation. Please ask your letter writers to send completed recommendations directly to pedwards@umn.edu. The email should include the subject line “CHI Undergraduate Recommendation for (your name)” and they should address the letter to “CHI Undergraduate Selection Committee”. Recommendation letter writers should address the following:

• How long has the writer known the applicant and in what capacity?
• What has the applicant done to learn more about or address health disparities in underrepresented or underserved communities?
• What are strengths and areas of improvement for the applicant?
• For students who have received the CHI Undergraduate Scholarship in the past: What progress has the applicant made towards working on health disparities for underrepresented or underserved populations?

SELECTION PROCESS

The CHI Undergraduate Scholarship Selection Committee will select recipients based on factors including the eligibility criteria (above), application and quality of the personal statement, letters of recommendation, financial need, and GPA. If needed, finalist interviews will be scheduled for May. Final decisions will be available by early August 2016.

SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS**

• Anticipated funding for up to 15 awards @ $2,650 each
• Recipients will be expected to participate in CHI programming and events

QUESTIONS?

Questions about the CHI Undergraduate Scholarship should be directed to Paul Edwards, Coordinator of Instructional Support, MCAE, phone:  612.626.7152, email: pedwards@umn.edu.