The College of Public Health annually provides scholarships and a global health travel award to its students of all backgrounds and interests. Every public health student is encouraged to apply. These funds are here for you — created and sustained by generous alumni and friends who give back to ensure our current and future students have access to the world-class education our college offers.
The college has more than 20 funds for scholarships and a global health travel award available for current public health graduate and undergraduate students. Students only need to complete one scholarship application to be considered for multiple scholarships.
Both scholarships and the global health travel award are granted based on a number of criteria including merit, financial need, research interests, first-generation status and other statuses.
Eligibility
Academic scholarships
You must be an undergraduate or graduate student in a College of Public Health degree program during the 2024-25 academic year and have to be enrolled as a student for 2025-2026 to apply for a 2025-2026 academic scholarship. Students who have their education fully funded are not eligible. Public Health pre-majors are not eligible.
Global Health Travel award
The global health travel award is available to College of Public Health undergraduate and graduate students traveling to conduct research, participate in field practice placement and/or partaking in service-learning opportunities, all focused on global public health. To be eligible to apply for this one-time award, students must have the equivalent of one full-time year of study prior to travel date; and travel must directly align with degree program academics, research and/or service.
Previously funded experiences include:
- travel to professional conferences (international and national conferences with a global health interest)
- international applied practice experiences (APEs)
- participation in programs with international research, service, or coursework.
Scholarship and travel award deadlines
Academic scholarships
- Application opens: January 10
- Deadline to apply: March 15
Global Health travel award
- The Committee reviews applications three times a year for global health travel opportunities proposed for the subsequent 12 months. Deadlines for this award are March 1, July 1 and October 1.
Apply for the Global Health travel award
The Global Health travel award is available for travel anytime in the upcoming year, but applications are reviewed three times a year.
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Scholarship details
Application Process
To apply for College of Public Health scholarships or a global health travel award, access the application through ScholarshipUniverse. Students must submit the appropriate application and all required documentation online by stated deadlines.
Apply for a CPH academic scholarship
The following responsibilities apply to all CPH academic and Global Health travel award recipients:
- Recipients will be informed via their Ohio State email account if they have received an award. In the email notification, recipients will be given award acceptance instructions and a deadline to accept the award. The process involves accepting the award.
- If recipients do not formally accept their awards by the deadline specified in their offer letters, the funds may be reallocated to other applicants.
- Recipients may be asked to attend a scholarship event honoring them and the relevant donors.
Additionally, for CPH Global Health travel award recipients:
- All CPH students traveling internationally are responsible for checking with the Office of International Affairs to ensure that the destination is approved by The Ohio State University.
- Ohio State students traveling to international locations for the purpose of education abroad, undergraduate or graduate/dissertation research, internships or independent study are required to enroll in the university’s supplemental international insurance plan, which is $1.50 per day and is provided through GeoBlue. The insurance includes coverage for medical, evacuation, repatriation, emergency assistance, and political security and natural disaster.
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Question Will applications be reviewed by divisions or programs before reaching the Student Scholarship and Awards Committee?
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Answer No. The Student Scholarship and Awards Committee reviews and decides on all applications.
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Question What happens if students apply for other funding for travel after they have been awarded by CPH?
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Answer If a student secures additional funds from another source after receiving an award from the College of Public Health, the committee has the ability to reduce a student’s CPH global health travel award so as not to exceed the total cost of travel.
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Question For travel awards, what information should I include when describing my budget?
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Answer In addition to providing a total dollar amount requested, please itemize your expected costs. The travel award is meant to cover the cost of transportation, food, lodging, and conference registrations.
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Question Question What does the committee consider when selecting scholarship or global health travel award recipients?
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Answer The committee considers each applicant’s academic record; personal background information; public health experiences, community service, and leadership; description of current financial assistance; how the award will help the applicant achieve academic goals; and overall presentation and writing skills.
For scholarships, general scoring is based on the extent to which the application (1) clearly articulates the student’s own public health career goals, (2) demonstrates how the student will act to advance diversity and inclusive excellence in the college and/or university, (3) demonstrates the student’s ability to overcome obstacles and persevere with goals and (4) demonstrates a high level of financial need.
For the global health travel award, scoring is based on the extent to which the application (1) clearly articulates the student’s own public health career goals, (2) clearly articulates how the travel experience will advance the student’s career goals, and (3) demonstrates a high level of financial need. Priority is given to projects aligned with Ohio State’s Global Gateways, currently in China, India, Brazil and emerging regions in Africa. -
Question Question How are the funds disbursed?
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Answer Scholarship funds are disbursed into the student’s Ohio State account by the Bursar at the beginning of each term covered. For the global health travel award, half of the funds are disbursed into the student’s account prior to travel and the other half are disbursed after travel is completed.
