In 2016, Hampton University School of Pharmacy (HUSOP) received a $2.6 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to provide scholarships to students from disadvantaged financial backgrounds in order to increase diversity in the health workforce. HUSOP is the only school of pharmacy to have received the grant. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recently announced more than $149 million in new awards through 12 workforce programs to prepare the next generation of skilled and diverse primary care providers to serve communities in need across the country. HRSA’s education and training grants support the development of a workforce that can meet 21st century needs through an emphasis on diversity, distribution of clinicians, and quality services that encourage innovative team-based and inter-professional approaches.

Awardees under this scholarship must be economically or environmentally disadvantaged full-time pharmacy students who also meet established academic requirements. The funds will be awarded over a four-year project period, subject to availability. The Scholarship for Disadvantaged Students has been influential in allowing diverse, talented, and determined students to pursue their goal of becoming a Pharmacist. With this scholarship, as well as our focus on community outreach and volunteer work, 90% of HUSOP graduates work in medically disadvantaged areas thus giving the scholarship a new component.