Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts in the United States of America.
Students come from all over the globe to study at HMS and benefit from close, collaborative relationships with peers and faculty members as they expand their knowledge base and learn to apply their skills in real-world settings.
Given the considerable costs associated with obtaining a medical education, Harvard Medical School strives to ensure that all applicants accepted to the institution are able to afford to attend.
If you're considering the decision to pursue medicine at this institution or have already been accepted, but don't have the funds to cover your studies, here are a few bursary and scholarship options for you to consider, offered by the University itself or from external sources partnered with the institution:
Scholarships
Institutional
Financial need is the only criterion used to determine the amount of HMS scholarship a student receives. This program is funded from endowed funds, current fundraising, and unrestricted income.
For a full-need student, the HMS scholarship funding covers both tuition and mandatory fees.
Scholarship eligibility is determined by subtracting the institutional expected family contribution from tuition and mandatory fees. Eligibility for institutional scholarship funding is limited to eight semesters of full tuition charges.
Recipients of these funds may also be requested to provide information consisting of premedical background, residency preferences, personal and professional interests, and academic progress. Failure to comply with these requests may result in forfeiture of HMS scholarship support.
Dean's REACH Scholarship Award Program
The Dean’s REACH Scholarship is a need-based four-year scholarship that has been established to provide funding to a select group of incoming MD students who demonstrate Resilience, Excellence, Achievement, Compassion and commitment to Helping the underserved.
Potential recipients are nominated for this award by the Committee on Admissions, and are notified of their nomination at the time admissions decisions are released in early March. The Dean’s REACH Scholarships are contingent upon financial need. In order to determine eligibility for this scholarship, nominees must apply for financial aid.
Continuation of this program is contingent upon the availability of funds.
General Restricted Scholarships
HMS shares certain endowed scholarship funds with other units of the University. The Harvard University Committee on General Scholarships administers these multi-school funds.
The HMS Financial Aid Office will nominate eligible HMS Scholarship recipients for these funds on the basis of the information provided on the Restricted Fund Survey submitted in the Autumn of each year.
If an HMS scholarship recipient is selected to receive a general scholarship, the general scholarship funds ordinarily will be used to fund a portion of the student’s regular HMS scholarship award.
Thus being selected for a general scholarship changes only the source of funds for the student’s scholarship award; the total amount awarded ordinarily remains unchanged.
Resident Tutor Policy
Students who serve as a Resident Tutor for Harvard College receive free housing and a free meal plan as part of their compensation for service.
This in-kind compensation will be treated as a resource for financial aid purposes and will be reflected in a student’s financial aid package. Generally, the resident tutor resource will equal one-half of the annual HMS housing components of the cost of attendance budget.
MD-PhD Funding
MD-PhD funding generally provides support that covers most, if not all, of the expenses in the standard budget.
Students receiving this funding generally do not apply for additional financial aid. Students who determine that they have a shortfall between their MD-PhD funding and the standard budget may apply for student loans to meet this gap. Funds from the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan Program are generally used for this purpose.
External
External scholarships provide a way for students to subsidize their Harvard Medical School (HMS) education by helping to minimize educational loan debt.
They can replace the calculated expected parent contribution or replace loans, beginning with the least favorable loan in the student’s financial aid award package. Institutional scholarship is the last source of funding to get replaced by outside awards.
HSM offers resource guides that provide information on scholarship opportunities offered by outside organizations and agencies, for local and international students.
Domestic Students
International Students
- Finaid - The Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid
- International Student Loan Scholarship
- Mobility International USA: Financial Resources for Non-U.S. Residents
- eduPass
- IIE
- International Scholarship Search
Check out Harvard Medical School's website for more information.
