Financial Aid

MCH Program Traineeships

The MCH Program awards a limited number of traineeships each year based on an applicant's professional experience, leadership potential, academic merit, and financial need. Special consideration is given to applicants committed to working with underserved populations in the United States, including families in rural communities, children with special health care needs, and low-income Native American, Alaska Native and Hispanic families and children—populations in which profound disparities exist in health status and in access to prevention and treatment services.

Financial support from the MCH Program is determined annually based on availability of funds. In the past, program funds have been available to provide three types of support:

1. A nine-month stipend to offset the cost of tuition and other training expenses for one academic year. Stipends are awarded based on merit and opportunity for other sources of support, such as research and teaching assistantships, and staff or other University of Washington (UW) appointments.
2. Student practicum projects completed with Title V agencies or to advance the MCH Program's training mission.
3. Thesis awards to assist with research-related expenses, such as postage for a mail-out survey or subject incentives for primary data collection.

In the academic year 2009-2010, we intend to offer:

• Four stipends of $8217
• Two paid practica of $2200
• Seven thesis awards of up to $200 each

For additional information, contact Carmen Velasquez, MCH Program Administrator, at 543-0312 or carmv@u.washington.edu.

Recipients of the traineeships must maintain full-time enrollment (10 credits) in the School of Public Health.

University of Washington

The UW's Office for Student Financial Aid offers loans, grants, scholarships, and work study based on financial need. To be considered, applicants must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid by February 28th. If you anticipate that you may need financial aid, we suggest applying as soon as possible. Should you qualify for a low-interest loan, but later decide you do not need it, you do not have to accept it.

The Graduate School has information on scholarships, fellowships, and teaching and research assistantships.

The Department of Epidemiology and the Department of Health Services also have information on financial aid.

The Institute of Translational Health Sciences Tuition Support Fellows Program provides tuition support for four quarters (with the possibility of up to seven quarters) to physicians and other health-care professionals supported by fellowship programs and enrolled in the MS or MPH degree programs in either the Department of Epidemiology or the Department of Health Services.

UW Medical Center

MCH students with medical degrees may receive fellowships from the UW Medical Center or other local medical centers. Eligible applicants should contact appropriate faculty in the School of Medicine. Fellowship deadlines are usually earlier than our application deadline.

Fellowship Search Services and Listings

The Council of Graduate Schools has links to sources for fellowships.

The UW Graduate School's Office of Fellowships and Assistantships also has links to many outside funding sources.

Please note that most non-UW scholarships have deadlines a year or more in advance of the start of the academic year. The MCH Program does not maintain information on such national programs.

Research Assistantships

By the end of the first year, students acquire skills which make them competitive for working as research assistants with principal investigators on funded research. Many of our core and affiliate faculty receive grants that fund research on a wide range of topics.

The MCH Program office attempts to serve as a clearinghouse for job opportunities for its students, but is not always kept informed of the specific needs of each research project. The best method for incoming students to obtain information regarding research assistantships is to:

1. check either the Department of Health Services or Department of Epidemiology Web sites
2. review the faculty interest list and contact faculty directly
3. contact Carmen Velasquez, Program Administrator, for the names of faculty with appropriate research interests

For full-time students, a common strategy is to locate a 20-hour-per-week research assistantship that covers tuition, health insurance, and provides a small salary.

Out-of-State Applicants

If accepted into the MCH program, you can cut your tuition costs by more than 60% by applying for residency status (not applicable to international students). Becoming a resident is not automatic: students must obtain a change-in-residency form from the MCH Program office and provide all the documents required by the Residency Office.