The application cycle for the CVS Health / AACP Community Pharmacy Health Equity Award for Student Pharmacists program is now open. Meet the recipients of the 2023 scholarship.
Program Information
The CVS Health / AACP Community Pharmacy Health Equity Award for Student Pharmacists will be awarded to 21 outstanding student pharmacists who face financial barriers in their pursuit of education including, but not limited to those who identify as an underrepresented minority student, a student with a disability, or a student with a previous or current military service to include national guard and reserves. Students must be enrolled in their first (P1) year of the professional phase of the PharmD degree program during the 2023-2024 academic year at an American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) member institution. Selected awardees must demonstrate leadership, academic success, and a commitment to advocate and care for patients in underserved communities. Each awardee will receive a single $20,000 scholarship.
Goal of the Program
CVS Health and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) believe, jointly, that pharmacists and student pharmacists have a professional obligation to advocate on behalf of patients and the profession of pharmacy. The Oath of a Pharmacist reads in part: I will embrace and advocate changes that improve patient care. The CVS Health / AACP Community Pharmacy Health Equity Award is intended to support students from backgrounds who will advocate for the needs of patients in underserved communities, the profession, and the public, both within and outside healthcare settings. The purpose of the scholarship is to reduce financial barriers for eligible student pharmacists in pursuit of a PharmD degree who are committed to advocating for health equity and the well-being of individual patients in communities across the United States.
Eligibility Requirements
Qualified applicants must meet the following requirements:
- Students must be enrolled as a first (P1) year PharmD student for the 2023 entering class.
- NOTE: Students enrolled in a 0-6 PharmD program as a P3 (out of P6) student during the 2023-2024 (current) academic year are also eligible.
- Students must be able to demonstrate that they face financial barriers in their pursuit of education. To qualify, students must have filed or be claimed as a dependent on the most recent Federal Income Tax Return Form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ with an adjusted gross income that falls below the Low-Income Level listed below. The Low-Income Level is based on 200 percent of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services poverty guidelines U.S. Department of Health and Human Services poverty guidelines and used to determine what constitutes a low-income family. (Table 1)
Table 1: 2023 Low-Income Levels | |
Persons in Family or Household | Income Level |
1 | $29,160 |
2 | $39,440 |
3 | $49,720 |
4 | $60,000 |
5 | $70,280 |
6 | $80,560 |
7 | $90,840 |
8 | $101,120 |
*For each additional person, add $10,280 | |
- Student must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
- Students must demonstrate advocacy, leadership, academic success, and a commitment to advancing the pharmacy profession and patient care in underserved communities.
- GPA for current degree program must be 2.5 or greater on a 4.0 scale. Applicants from schools with other grading systems are still eligible to apply for the scholarship.
- Students must submit a completed application by the deadline.
- A student may only receive the CVS Health / AACP Community Pharmacy Health Equity Award once.
Scholarship Notification
- Completed applications are due by Sunday, June 16, 2024.
- Completed applications will be reviewed by Sunday, August 4, 2024.
- Scholarship recipients will be notified by Sunday, September 1, 2024.
- Funds will be forwarded to the student’s institution on or shortly after the start of class for Fall 2024.
- Additional information will be requested from awardees (e.g., media release, photo) by Sunday, September 15, 2024.
- AACP will announce the scholarship recipients on the AACP and Pharmacy Is Right for Me websites and social media in Fall 2024.
Scholarship Payments
A single scholarship in the amount of $20,000 each will be awarded to twenty-one (21) outstanding students accepted into OR currently enrolled in their first (P1) year of the professional phase of the PharmD program at the time of submission.
AACP will pay the scholarship funds for each awardee directly to the pharmacy college or school where the student has been accepted or is currently enrolled. Funds will be dispersed in fall 2024 after the 2024-2025 academic year begins. Each institution will exclusively apply the scholarship funds to the awardee’s tuition and/or fees.