Advanced Practice Healthcare Scholarship Program

The Advanced Practice Healthcare Scholarship Program (APHSP) increases the number of appropriately trained healthcare professionals providing direct patient care in a qualified facility in California.

The Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) works to increase and diversify California’s healthcare workforce by providing scholarships and loan repayments to health professional students and graduates who provide direct client care in those communities.

APHSP is funded through grants, donations, and special funds. Eligible applicants who commit to a one-year service obligation practicing and providing direct client care in an underserved community, may receive up to $25,000. The purpose of this program is to increase the number of appropriately trained advanced practice healthcare professionals providing direct client care in an underserved area or qualified facility throughout California.

The County Medical Services Program Governing Board (CMSP) is funding this program to support students who either reside in/or graduated high school from a CMSP-designated county.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for an APHSP award, applicants must meet all of the following criteria:

Begin class or training program by October 1, 2025
Be enrolled in a minimum of six semester units (or equivalent) until program completion
Have a GPA of 2.0 or higher for most recent academic performance (or equivalent)
Maintain a GPA of 2.0 or higher until program completion
Must graduate after March 31, 2026
Have no existing service obligations with other entities, including other HCAI programs
Not be in breach of any other HCAI service obligation
Commit to a one-year service obligation providing at least 32 hours per week of direct patient care in an underserved area or qualifying facility in a CMSP county, starting within six months of graduation
Be a California resident
Must live in a County Medical Services Program (CMSP) County or have graduated from a high school located in a CMSP County (if you were homeschooled or earned your GED - the county that you lived in during this time must be a CMSP County - see CMSP County chart in Section 3)
Complete and submit an application through https://funding.hcai.ca.gov/ by October 3, 2025, at 3:00 p.m.

Eligible Disciplines

APHSP applicants must be currently accepted into or enrolled in an accredited graduate or postgraduate degree program leading them to become one of the following professionals: