Veterinary student scholarships available

Applications are now being accepted for the Zoetis/American Veterinary Medical Foundation Veterinary Student Scholarship Program. 

Now in its fifth year, the program annually provides $2,000 scholarships to up to 300 second- and third-year veterinary students. Zoetis funds the scholarships, and the AVMF administers the program.

Dr. Christine Jenkins, U.S. chief veterinary medical officer for Zoetis, said the program is one way the company shows its commitment to the future of the veterinary profession.

Recipients will be selected on the basis of traditional scholarship selection criteria, such as academic excellence and financial need. In addition, the scholarship will focus on meeting the ongoing needs of the veterinary profession: increasing diversity among practitioners in ethnic heritage, gender, socioeconomic background, professional aspirations; and improving the availability of veterinarians to serve in areas of the profession that have increased demand.

Applications will be reviewed by the Foundation initially with consideration to those criteria. The final decisions will be made by the AVMF on the basis of the total amount of scholarship dollars available for disbursement to each college, based on second- and third-year enrollment.

Scholarship applications form may be downloaded at the AVMF or Zoetis website. Completed forms are due by Dec. 1.

The scholarship winners will be announced in March during the 2014 Student AVMA Educational Symposium at Colorado State University.