Scholarship To Support Students of Color from Historically Underrepresented Groups (HUG)
“There are many cultures in our country that have a well-founded mistrust of our medical system. We have had a history of experimenting on them to their detriment (Tuskegee) and of not offering all therapies to all individuals, but rather providing certain treatments only to those with “good” insurance or who can afford them. In light of this, having a physician one can trust often means having a physician who looks like you. If you do not trust your physician, you will not seek preventative care, will not follow instructions, and will not have the best health outcomes.” Lisa Watts, DO, Supporter of Foundation HUG Scholarships
Beginning in 2022, the Foundation has provided a $10,000 tuition scholarship to an osteopathic medical school student from a historically underrepresented group in medicine. It is our goal to increase both the number of scholarships and the size of these scholarships with additional financial support from the community.
In general, our scholarship is intended to support osteopathic medical school students identifying themselves as African American and/or Black, Hispanic/Latino, Native American (American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians), Pacific Islander, and/or mainland Puerto Rican.
The benefits for individual patients and across the BIPOC community of having a culturally and racially diverse physician pool have been documented for decades. We applaud the efforts of osteopathic medical schools to recruit and support students from groups that are underrepresented on their campuses.
Minority medical students have the opportunity to impact health care inequities and outcomes, both as mentors and role models in school and as practicing physicians later in life. To support this extra commitment to HUG students in medical school, the Foundation is committed to this additional support through tuition scholarships.
Application Process
First, applicants MUST complete the General Scholarship Application. Scores on this standard application will be 50% of their score for the HUG scholarship.
The General Application will be released on or about March 1st, 2024, and will focus on these areas:
- Applicants must be osteopathic medical school students in their second, third, or fourth year when they receive the scholarship.
- Student applicants must demonstrate commitment to practicing medicine in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and/or Washington State; or the Northwest in general.
- Student applicants must demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to the principles and practices of osteopathic medicine.
- Student applicants must demonstrate a commitment to volunteer leadership and community service.
- One letter of recommendation.
Applications for the 2024-25 academic year are no longer being accepted.