Applications invited for veterinary student scholarships

​Applications for the Merck Animal Health Veterinary Student Scholarship Program will be available starting Nov. 15.

Merck is partnering with the American Veterinary Medical Foundation to offer 20 $5,000 scholarships to second- and third-year veterinary students in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean.

Half the scholarships will be awarded to students focusing on companion animal or equine medicine, the other half to students working toward a career in food animal or aquatic animal medicine.

Another 14 scholarships will be awarded to students at select international schools in Latin America and Southeast Asia. The list of international schools can be found on the AVMF’s website.

Applications are due by Dec. 31, and the form can also be found at the Foundation’s website.

In addition, the AVMA and AVMF are announcing the application period for the Second Opportunity Summer Research Scholarship. These scholarships are given to students who participated in the 2016 Merial–National Institutes of Health National Veterinary Scholars Symposium and would like another opportunity to participate.

Five students will receive $6,000 each: a $5,000 stipend to perform a second research project and $1,000 to cover travel expenses to the symposium, which will take place Aug. 3-6, 2017, at the NIH campus in Washington, D.C.

Students should complete the application form, available here, and submit it to their veterinary college. Officials at each college will select one applicant to nominate. The AVMA Council on Research will then select the five recipients from among the colleges’ nominees.

Merck scholarship applicants will be notified in March; research applicants will be notified by Feb. 28.