HRSA NURSE Corps Scholarship: Tuition, $1,642 Monthly Stipend, and Service Commitment

HRSA NURSE Corps Scholarship: Tuition, $1,642 Monthly Stipend, and Service Commitment

The HRSA NURSE Corps Scholarship Program is a federal scholarship for nursing students who are willing to serve after graduation at an eligible health care facility with a critical shortage of nurses. The program is administered by the Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW) within the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

This page is a historical reference for the 2026-2027 academic-year cycle. HRSA’s official application page says that the 2026 application is closed and asks visitors to sign up for email updates about the next cycle. The official materials reviewed do not announce a later application round, so there is no current future deadline to publish here. The closed cycle’s actual submission date remains in the metadata: applications and supporting documents were due by April 9, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

At a glance

The stipend amount is specific to the 2026-2027 academic year. It should not be treated as a permanent program amount for a later round. HRSA’s guidance also says that all components of the award are taxable. Federal income and Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes are withheld, while state and local taxes are not withheld by Nurse Corps.

What the 2026-2027 award covered

The scholarship was not a single unrestricted cash payment. HRSA’s guidance described several funding categories with different rules.

First, the program paid tuition and required fees for required coursework after receiving an itemized invoice from the nursing school or its authorized financial-aid office. The guidance excluded repeated coursework, additional classes beyond those required for graduation, unrelated fees, penalty fees, and late fees. Tuition increases were not guaranteed and remained subject to available funds.

Second, each full-time student was scheduled to receive a $1,642 monthly stipend during the 2026-2027 academic year. The guidance says stipend payments can be delayed or placed on hold when required invoices, enrollment verification forms, in-school verification forms, or transcripts have not been received. Payments stop after the program end date, the last date of class, or contract termination, whichever comes first. They can also stop when a participant is not enrolled or repeats coursework in a way that changes registration status.

Third, other reasonable educational costs were provided as one annual payment directly to the participant. HRSA identified books, clinical supplies or instruments, and uniforms as examples. This amount is based on information from the institution and varies with the student’s discipline and program end date. The guidance says it is set before disbursement and is not adjusted simply because additional expenses later arise.

The full award is taxable, including payments sent to the school for tuition and required fees. HRSA’s guidance says the federal tax and FICA treatment can reduce the amount applied to a school invoice. Anyone considering this program should ask the school’s financial-aid office or a qualified tax professional how the withholding affects their own budget. A scholarship that covers a large invoice on paper can still leave a tax-related cash-flow issue.

Who the 2026-2027 cycle was for

The official guidance required applicants to be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as full-time students in an accredited clinical nursing program. The school had to be in a U.S. state, the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory, and the program had to be accredited by a national nursing accrediting agency or a state agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education.

Eligible program categories included:

• A diploma program at an eligible school of nursing.
• An associate degree program leading to nursing preparation, including ADN, ASN, or AASN pathways that lead to RN licensure.
• Collegiate nursing degrees such as a bachelor’s degree, graduate nursing degree, or post-graduate nursing certificate.
• Graduate-level RN and APRN programs, including qualifying nurse practitioner programs.
• Bridge and direct-entry programs when they met the applicable accreditation and nursing requirements.

The degree listed in the application was the only degree Nurse Corps would support during the student’s matriculation. This matters for applicants considering a school change or a change from one nursing track to another. The 2026-2027 guidance warned that a transfer after submitting the application and before signing a scholarship contract could make the application ineligible.

Awarded applicants also had to begin full-time classes on or before September 30, 2026, in the nursing degree program identified in the application. Three-quarter-time attendance did not count as full-time for the award. A person who could not start by that date, including someone on a leave of absence through that date, had to decline an offer.

Applicants needed to be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or lawful permanent resident and provide acceptable, valid documentation. HRSA listed a U.S. birth certificate, certificate of citizenship or naturalization, an unexpired U.S. passport or passport card, or an unexpired permanent resident card. A driver’s license, REAL ID, enhanced driver’s license, Social Security card, or marriage certificate was not accepted as proof of the required status.

The official application page also lists no federal judgment liens, no overdue federal debt, and no existing service commitment among its eligibility conditions. The detailed guidance adds important nuance: an existing service obligation can sometimes be addressed with documentation from the organization holding that obligation, showing that there is no conflict and that the Nurse Corps commitment will be served first. Applicants could also be ineligible if they were excluded, debarred, suspended, or disqualified by a federal agency from federal assistance.

HRSA gave funding preference to applicants with the greatest financial need, using the Student Aid Index from the official FAFSA Submission Summary. Preference is not the same as a guaranteed award. Awards remained competitive and subject to available funds. The 2026 guidance also reserved up to 25% of available funding for qualifying two-year nursing degree programs leading to entry-level RN positions and up to 25% for students preparing as Certified Nurse Midwives or Women’s Health Nurse Practitioners.

What the service commitment means

The scholarship trades education support for a defined nursing service obligation. Every participant owes at least two years of full-time service, or a part-time equivalent, after completing the supported education and obtaining the required license or credential. A participant who receives support for more than two years can owe additional service, with the checklist describing one year of service for each year of scholarship support and a minimum of two years and maximum of four years in that cycle’s framework.

Service must be performed in the nursing discipline for which HRSA awarded funds. The site must be an approved Critical Shortage Facility (CSF). HRSA defines a CSF as a public or private health care facility located in, designated as, or serving a Health Professional Shortage Area with a primary-care or mental-health HPSA score of 14 or higher. Examples in the official materials include federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, public or private hospitals, critical access and rural hospitals, outpatient facilities, home health agencies, hospices, nursing homes, school-based clinics, tribal and American Indian health facilities, state or local health departments, and urgent care centers.

The facility list is not a promise that every employer in one of those categories qualifies. The site must have the appropriate active status and shortage designation. HRSA directs Nurse Corps participants to the Health Workforce Connector to search for approved sites and recommends contacting potential employers directly. Applicants should investigate possible service locations before applying because the obligation affects geography, work setting, schedule, and the kind of patient care they will provide.

The official fact sheet says part-time service is measured in hours and extends the length of service. It also states that at least 80% of work hours must be dedicated to direct patient care for at least 45 weeks per year. The final contract and the guidance for the participant’s program year control, so readers should not use a general summary to resolve a personal service question.

How the 2026 application worked

The 2026 application window is closed, but the process is useful preparation for a later round. HRSA’s checklist and guidance described this sequence:

1. Read the current Application and Program Guidance (APG), including the service commitment and the financial consequences of failing to perform it.
2. Create or access an account in the Nurse Corps Scholarship section of My BHW and complete the eligibility screening.
3. Confirm full-time student status, then enter personal, background, emergency-contact, school, and degree information for the one program the applicant wants supported.
4. Request two online letters of recommendation through My BHW: one academic letter and one non-academic letter. The two recommenders must be different people, and the non-academic recommender cannot be a relative. Both signed letters had to be uploaded through the recommender portal before the application could be submitted.
5. Complete the self-certification and upload all required documents. The package included the signed Authorization to Release Information form, acceptable proof of citizenship or immigration status, a school-completed Verification Acceptance/Enrollment Verification Form, the official FAFSA Submission Summary for the relevant school year, and an academic transcript. An APRN applicant could also need an unencumbered RN license. Documentation about an existing service obligation or a legal name change was required when applicable.
6. Review every section for consistency, certify the statements, and submit the online application and supporting documents through My BHW. The application was not complete merely because the form was started; the documents and recommendation letters had to be present by the deadline.

For the 2026-2027 cycle, HRSA specifically said that personal essays and cost-of-attendance documentation were no longer required. Older guides or third-party summaries may still mention an essay or a detailed cost-of-attendance worksheet, so applicants should not carry those requirements into a future round without checking the new APG. Other requirements can also change.

The checklist required files in PDF format and said some forms needed a handwritten or electronic signature. Applicants should keep readable copies of everything they submit, confirm that names and application numbers appear as requested, and make sure a recommender has actually uploaded a signed letter. HRSA stated that it would not accept incomplete, illegible, password-protected, or late material for the 2026 cycle, and it would not fill in missing information after submission.

Timeline and current status

The 2026-2027 APG recorded three key dates: the application opened on March 10, 2026; the submission deadline was April 9, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. ET; and applicants were to receive award-status notification no later than September 30, 2026. The application page now identifies the 2026 round as closed. It tells visitors to sign up for HRSA email updates so they can learn when the next cycle opens.

Because no next cycle is announced on the verified official pages, readers should not submit materials against the archived deadline or assume that the $1,642 stipend will carry forward. When HRSA publishes a new round, compare the new APG and checklist line by line. Check the opening and closing dates, stipend amount, eligible disciplines, required FAFSA year, document list, service-site rules, and start-of-classes requirement before relying on this page for an application.

Questions to ask before a future application

• Can you remain a full-time student in one eligible nursing program and start by the required date?
• Do you understand that tuition and other award components are taxable, including amounts paid directly to the school?
• Are you willing to serve at an eligible CSF in the funded nursing discipline for at least two years or the applicable part-time equivalent?
• Can you identify likely employers and locations through the Health Workforce Connector before accepting the obligation?
• Can your school official complete enrollment verification and can your recommenders meet the portal requirements on time?
• Do you have acceptable status documentation, a current FAFSA Submission Summary, and a transcript that meets the cycle’s rules?

If the answer to the service question is uncertain, investigate the obligation before treating the scholarship as ordinary financial aid. Nurse Corps is valuable for students who want both substantial nursing-school support and a defined role in an underserved community. It is a poor fit for someone seeking funds without a willingness to complete the required service.

Official resources

• HRSA application page
• HRSA Nurse Corps Scholarship Program hub
• 2026-2027 Application and Program Guidance
• 2026 application checklist
• HRSA service requirements
• HRSA transition-to-service information

The application page is the authoritative place to check whether a later cycle has opened. Until HRSA announces one, this entry should be read as an archive of the closed 2026-2027 opportunity, not as an active application listing.