Funding Your Education Inside BU.

The BU Women’s Council provides scholarships to qualified women graduate students enrolled in a full-time degree program in any of the schools or colleges within Boston University. Applicants must have completed one year of their graduate studies and anticipate completing their master’s degree within two years or a doctoral degree within five years. For additional information, please visit the BU Women’s Council online.

The Boston University Women’s Guild awards scholarships annually to women over 30 years of age who are already enrolled in a graduate program at Boston University. For additional information, call 617-353-9253 or visit the Women’s Guild website.

The African Studies Center at Boston University offers a program of instruction in African languages. Hausa, Xhousa, Zulu, Wolof, Swahili, Arabic, and Pulaar are regularly offered languages. Any full-time Boston University graduate student who is an American citizen or a US permanent resident is able to apply for a Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowship through the African Studies Center. Fellows must study an African language while pursuing graduate studies at Boston University in order to be eligible for the FLAS Fellowship. Awards may include full- or partial-tuition funding as well as a stipend. Applications are available on the center’s website and are due February 15 for the following academic year. For additional information on FLAS Fellowship opportunities, please contact the African Studies Center at 617-353-7311 or visit the African Studies Center website.

Nominees for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellowship must be United States citizens who are new to Boston University and beginning full-time graduate studies in any department or school of the University, and who are committed to the principles of social justice espoused by Dr. King. This award provides a stipend for living expenses, a scholarship for up-to-full-time tuition at the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences rate, BU health insurance, and student union fees. This fellowship is available to applicants who matriculate to Boston University during the fall semester only. The fellowship may be renewable for up to two additional years. Accepted applicants are nominated by their department or school. Applicants interested in this scholarship should include their commitment to social justice in their personal statement on their SOPHAS application for SPH. The nomination deadline for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellowship program is typically February 17 of each year. Applicants to SPH must have been accepted prior to this date in order to be nominated.

Scholarship is awarded based on the unique factors of an application in order to bring a diverse student body to the School.

The Activist Fellows is an opportunity for 1-2 on-campus MPH students a year to engage in advocacy-related activities on a public health topic chosen by Activist Lab (ex. gun violence). If there is 1 student in a semester, the topic will be domestic-focused; when there are 2 students, one may work on the topic from global perspective. Fellows will be granted 4 tuition credits (paid for by SPH) to be applied to their MPH coursework. Students must apply and fellows will be selected in the fall. Students will complete their work in the spring term with the option of continuing into the summer.

Fellows will be expected to work an average of at least 4 hours/week for 14 weeks. They will work under the direction of and in consultation with faculty/staff from the Activist Lab and subject matter experts from SPH faculty. Specific activities will be defined in consultation with faculty and appropriate external stakeholders. Each activity will be related to selecting and framing issue; compiling a list of stakeholders/players (toward developing coalitions/partnerships), developing a strategic plan; and/or writing/delivering testimony.

Specific final projects will depend on nature of the goals of the fellowship, and may include a whitepaper or written policy document or a presentation at a school-wide forum.

Eligibility criteria:

• matriculated prior to Fall 2021 (cannot be selected in their first semester)
• in good academic standing
• participation in Advocacy Bootcamp (in either Fall 2021 or Spring 2022—this may be completed before or after selection)
• application form includes short essay on how fellow activities relate to their academic/career goals (why they want to do it); knowledge/interest in topic; relevant experience

Students who are accepted into an approved dual degree program at BU SPH are invited to apply for Dual Degree Scholarship Awards. Eligible applicants* are in residence at SPH, or will be in residence starting Fall 2022, at the time of their application and in good academic standing. Students interested in Dual Degree Scholarship Awards must submit a one-page statement of interest describing how they will combine their dual degrees to address public health problems. Please send the statement to: asksph@bu.edu.

Application deadline: May 13

*MBA/MPH, Online MPH & MSW/MPH candidates are not eligible for this award

The Department of Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights offers a fellowship opportunity each year to a qualified Boston University on-campus MPH student, including JD/MPH dual degree students. The Health Law Fellowship provides one to two semesters of tuition for a matriculated student pursuing his or her on-campus MPH at SPH. For JD/MPH dual degree candidates, the fellowship typically begins after completing the JD portion of their studies. Applications are due in February and an interview is required for qualified applicants. Click here to read more about the fellowship.

The MCH Diversity Scholars Leadership Program (DSLP) is a unique opportunity designed to increase the number of minority health professionals who can address the longstanding gaps in the health of women and children within minority communities and work toward the elimination of health disparities. The DSLP is a competitive program offering individual alumni mentoring, leadership training, specialized coursework, and financial support for students interested in MCH who are from underrepresented minority communities. Scholars will be awarded a scholarship covering up to 14 credits of tuition. Scholarships can only be given to US citizens and permanent residents. Applications are made available during October of your first semester. Questions regarding this opportunity should be directed to Natasha Lerner (mchcoe@bu.edu), the Project Manager for the Maternal and Child Health Center of Excellence. More information is available here.

Offered through the Maternal & Child Health Center of Excellence, at least 15 fellowships are awarded each year. Research Fellows work with a faculty member on their original research and Practice Fellows are placed in local public health organizations for practice-based learning. The program is available to all students who are willing to take an introductory MCH course, MC725 or GH881, in their first semester of the fellowship (usually the second semester of the on-campus MPH program). Fellows who are US citizens or permanent residents will receive a $2,000 stipend for their fellowship. Due to funding restrictions, non-US citizens or permanent residents cannot receive the stipend, but are welcome to participate in the program. The application opens in October and Fellows are placed in December. It is expected that fellows will work at least 200 hours over 10-12 months from January-December. Fellows are required to present their work at the annual SPH Maternal & Child Health Forum in December. Fellows are encouraged to seek opportunities to present their work in regional or national conferences. Questions regarding this opportunity should be directed to Natasha Lerner (mchcoe@bu.edu), the Project Manager for the Maternal and Child Health Center of Excellence. More information is available here.

Are you interested in health communications? Apply for the Public Health Post Fellowship.

Public Health Post (PHP) informs and inflects the broader conversation on health and social justice by engaging policymakers, journalists, scholars, students, and public health professionals. PHP launched in 2016 to educate and entertain readers and to influence policy on a local, national, and global scale. PHP’s guest authors and graduate student fellows translate data and research into bite-sized, thought-provoking stories. We present health statistics, traditional journalism, research summaries, interviews with important health thinkers, and easy-to-understand data graphics to start new conversations about health.

PHP Fellows research and write powerful stories on health and social justice, profile leaders in health, publish 40+ articles in a year, drive the national dialogue on public health issues, and participate in a startup culture with a diverse team of writers and editors. Each PHP Fellow receives a $12,000 stipend (15 hours/week).

The fellowship runs for one year beginning each February 1, and applications are available the preceding September. Eligible students are BUSPH on-campus MPH candidates who will be enrolled for the entirety of the fellowship. For more information, visit the PHP website. Questions? Email Teresa Wood Kett, Managing Editor, at twkett@bu.edu

Scholarship is awarded based on the unique factors of an application in order to bring a diverse student body to the School.

PhD students in environmental health receive support from training grants, scholarship credits, and/or work as research assistants at Boston University, the Veterans Administration, and other affiliated research centers. Applicants are matched to these opportunities upon admission; there is no separate application form. Students interested in learning more about the PhD in Environmental Health and/or the Environmental Epidemiology in Community Settings training grant can find additional information here.

PhD students in epidemiology finance their education through support from training grants, scholarship credits, and work as project managers or research associates at Boston University, the Veterans Administration, and other affiliated research centers. Applicants are matched to these opportunities as they are available upon admission; there is no separate application form. Students interested in the Boston University Reproductive, Pediatric & Perinatal Epidemiology training program (BURPPE) can find information here.

The Doctor of Philosophy in Health Services Research (HSR) program actively assists students in obtaining research assistantship opportunities on various grant-funded projects with faculty in the Boston University School of Public Health, School of Medicine, or in the US Department of Veteran Affairs Center of Excellence affiliated with the Department. Doctoral students are also encouraged to seek out teaching assistantships within the SPH.

The program offers doctoral level training programs in the following areas:

Health Disparities

Our program has been awarded a T32 training grant in health disparities from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that offers full-time tuition, AHRQ-specified pre-doctoral stipend, health insurance, and travel to conferences for the first two years of doctoral study.

Addiction Sciences

The Trans-disciplinary Training in the Addictions Sciences (TTPAS) program provides training in Addiction Science that begins in the second year of doctoral training. TTPAS offers full tuition coverage, stipend, and health insurance coverage. Upon completion of the program, fellows will earn a PhD in Health Services Research and a Certificate in Addiction Sciences. The program is committed to identifying first-year funding to support any student who is eligible for TTPAS in years two and three. The details of the program can be found here.

Breast Cancer Disparities

The Boston University Mentoring and Training in Cancer Health Disparities (MATCH) program funded by Susan G. Komen Foundation offers three years of support for those with a demonstrated commitment to breast cancer disparities research.

General Funding Opportunities

The PhD program also offers a limited number of partial tuition scholarships to incoming doctoral students. All accepted PhD in HSR students are eligible to receive these scholarships and no additional application is required. In addition, some advanced students, with assistance from program faculty, have sought and obtained dissertation research grants from federal agencies and other funding sources.

For more information about funding opportunities for HSR doctoral students, please contact the Program Director, Steve Pizer.

The Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program offers tuition scholarships to incoming doctoral students. All newly matriculated DrPH students are eligible to receive these scholarships, regardless of citizenship status, and no additional financial aid application is required. DrPH students have also received funding through various doctoral training grants run by faculty, including the HRSA/MCHB-funded MCH Applied Research Fellowship Program. Many part-time DrPH students have financed their doctoral education through the tuition remission program offered to full-time employees of Boston University. For more information about financial aid opportunities for DrPH students, please contact Sebastian T. Bach, Doctoral Education Program Manager, at drph@bu.edu or by phone at 617-638-4873. Students interested in learning more about the DrPH degree can find additional information here.