UNMC to offer new nursing scholarships at Scottsbluff, Kearney, Norfolk
The UNMC College of Nursing has secured funding to award 30 full cost-of-education scholarships over the next two years at its West Nebraska, Kearney and Northern divisions. To qualify for the scholarships, students must meet competitive qualifications and commit to at least two years working in nursing in either long-term care or acute care in rural settings upon graduation.
The scholarships will fund the Rural Nebraska Nursing Fellowship, covering all tuition, fees and books for a two-year Bachelor of Science degree in nursing at UNMC’s Scottsbluff, Kearney and Norfolk campuses, plus a $5,000 living-expenses stipend each semester. The first 15 rural fellows – five at each campus – will enroll in UNMC’s August 2026 cohort of BSN students. The second 15 will enroll the following academic year.
Lepaine Sharp-McHenry, DNP, dean of the UNMC College of Nursing, cited recent statistics which show nine Nebraska counties without nurses. The Nebraska Center for Nursing 2025 biennial report found the Panhandle Economic Region is hardest hit, with more than one in four crucially needed nursing positions left unfilled.
“These data points and others are what drive us to seek ways in which we can address the state’s nursing workforce needs,” Dr. Sharp-McHenry said. “This grant will allow us to specifically prepare nurses for our rural communities. It is our hope that this grant will create a model that can be supported and sustained to continue bolstering the nursing workforce in rural Nebraska.”
The project is supported by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), with no state funding used to create these fellowships.
“This is a major opportunity to strengthen the rural BSN workforce, collaborate with rural long term and acute care institutions in Nebraska and provide debt-free education,” said Joachim Voss, PhD, associate dean and Peck Lienemann and Alumni Distinguished Chair in Nursing.
Award winners must apply and be accepted to the UNMC College of Nursing, follow all program procedures and guidelines, remain in good standing (including a 3.0 grade point average), pass the NCLEX licensing exam and commit to two years working in the rural health-care facility with which they are assigned upon graduation. Applicants must have completed their two years of undergraduate general education requirements and nursing prerequisites.
The rural fellowship program includes peer and professional mentoring, access to a graduate assistant tutor and more than 80 hours of rural specific long-term and acute care supplemental learning.
For more information on the Rural Nebraska Nursing Fellowship, please visit the UNMC College of Nursing’s website, which includes a link to apply for one of the full scholarships. Applications for 2026 cannot be accepted after April 1.