The U.S. Department of Education awarded the University's Nursing School a $500,000 "Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need" grant to help establish a new fellowship program for the school's future doctoral candidates.
GAANN seeks to provide financial assistance to doctoral candidates through the creation of fellowship programs in areas that are facing national shortages, such as biology, chemistry, engineering and nursing, according to the GAANN grant program's Web site.
Nursing School Ph.D. Director Barbara Parker said the Nursing School was selected as a recipient of the grant money because of the school's high standards.
"We were able to document a high success rate in student attrition [and] we have high standards of [admission]," she said, adding that the Nursing School also graduates its doctoral students in a more timely manner compared to other schools. "The [Nursing] Ph.D. program at U.Va. is very highly respected nationally and internationally."
The Nursing School will use the $500,000 grant to create three new scholarships during the next three years, Parker said. The need-based fellowships will provide students with funds for tuition, a stipend and money needed for other educational purposes, such as a computer and travel expenses.
Nursing School Communications Director Dory Hulse said faculty members will award the fellowship to students who have already been accepted in the Ph.D. program based on their academic qualifications, whether they come from an underrepresented background in the nursing field, documented financial need and their commitment to teaching.
Nursing School faculty also hope the fellowship program will help lessen the shortage in nursing faculty that currently plagues many schools across the country.
"We have a nursing faculty shortage and it's going to be hard [to train new nurses] if we don't have the folks to teach them," Hulse said.
The fellowships may also help fill the shortage in nursing faculty at a quicker pace, Hulse said. Because the students that receive the fellowship will not have to worry about the financial burdens of school, they may be able to graduate from the program faster than those who must worry about financing their education.
"These students will hopefully finish the program sooner and enter faculty positions," Parker said.
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