News Releases

University of Maryland School of Nursing Receives RWJF Scholarship Funds for Third Consecutive Year

June 24, 2010

Baltimore, Md. – The University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) was recently awarded funding for scholarships—for the third consecutive year—from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) through the RWJF New Careers in Nursing (NCIN) Scholarship Program. Ten $10,000 scholarships will be awarded for the 2010-2011 academic year to newly admitted students in UMSON’s Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) program. Award preference is given to students from groups underrepresented in nursing or from disadvantaged backgrounds.

UMSON is one of only 12 master’s programs in the nation to receive funding for the upcoming academic year. “We are pleased that UMSON has once again received these scholarship funds, which help minimize some of the financial burden for our students,” says Gail Schoen Lemaire, PhD, PMH/CNS, BC, associate professor and co-director of the CNL program. “Students are discouraged from working while enrolled in this rigorous program, so they are very grateful for the scholarship funds that can be used for tuition, books, living expenses, and child care.”

Grants provided through this competitive program will build upon UMSON’s previous efforts to increase the number of students enrolled in its CNL program and to diversify its student base. This national initiative, launched in 2008 by RWJF and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, aims to help alleviate the nation’s nurse shortage by expanding the pipeline of students in accelerated nursing programs.

This latest round of funding brings the total number of RWJF scholarship awards for CNL students to 38. Plans are to award five scholarships in the fall 2010 semester and five in spring 2011 semester.

For more information about the RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program, visitwww.newcareersinnursing.org. To learn more about UMSON’s CNL program, visitwww.nursing.umaryland.edu