Health Professions Advising Office Resources and Scholarships
We are committed to student success by providing a variety of support and resources to achieve your goals.
The Tools for Success
Find out about the generous scholarship opportunities for political science students and student success resources available at the department, college, and university levels.
HPAO Resources
HPAO is particularly focused on student academic success, including
- Healthcare focused sections of Edhe 105
- Free tutoring for certain science and math courses
- Creating a supportive community of peers through related student organizations
- Year-round, personalized advising
College of Liberal Arts
Allied Health Studies majors are in the College of Liberal Arts at UM. Therefore, they also receive support from the CLA Office of Student Services, located in George Hall.
University-wide Resources
Our university supports students and encourages them to be involved on campus and beyond.
- Arts and culture experiences
- Get involved on campus and grow your leadership
- Opportunities to learn beyond the classroom
- Health and wellness resources
- Registration and Financial Aid assistance
- Student advocacy and support
- Technology and learning resources
Health Related Registered Student Organizations
HPAO staff are advisors to many registered student organizations on campus for students interested in the health professions. For a full list of registered student organizations, visit the ForUM.
HPAO Scholarships
Incoming Freshmen. We have scholarships for incoming freshmen interested in pursuing the fields of medicine, dentistry, and nursing. After admission to UM, complete the university’s scholarship application to be considered for these scholarships by January 10.
Current Students. Students registered with our office will receive an invitation each spring semester to apply for scholarships that will be awarded for the following academic year. The application deadline is March 24. In addition to the application, please submit your personal statement and resume the Health Professions Advising Office or email to hpao@olemiss.edu.
Scholarship Details
The following scholarships are awarded annually from the Health Professions Advising Office.
Eligibility:
- UM graduate
- Mississippi resident
- Must attend the University of Mississippi School of Dentistry
- Students with other tuition-based scholarships cannot receive the Bynum Memorial scholarship.
Application process:
- For current students who are attending the UMMC for medical or dental school, there is a separate application for the Culley and Bynum Scholarship.
- The application deadline is March 24. In addition to the application, please submit your personal statement and resume to the Health Professions Advising Office or email to hpao@olemiss.edu.
About Dr. Joseph Medicus Bynum:
This scholarship was established to assist students pursuing a career in dentistry. Dr. Joseph Medicus Bynum, Jr. (1876- 1955), a native of Booneville, MS, received his BA from UM in 1898 from the School of Science, Literature and Arts, and was granted his license to practice medicine in 1901.
Eligibility:
- Full-time student
- rising sophomore, junior, or senior
- Preference is given to Mississippi residents
- plans to pursue a career in medicine
Application process:
- The application deadline is March 24. In addition to the application, please submit your personal statement and resume the Health Professions Advising Office or email to hpao@olemiss.edu.
About B.H. Richardson Jr.:
This scholarship was established in 1999 to honor B.H. Richardson Jr. (1922-2007), a native of rural Kemper County, who was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army after being wounded during the World War II invasion of Normandy. Mr. Richardson lost his life to Alzheimer’s disease in April 1998. To honor their brother and the humble life he chose to live, Bobby E. Richardson of Vicksburg and Bernice Goldman of Philadelphia established the B.H. Richardson Jr. Memorial Scholarship Endowment. None of the Richardson family has ties to UM, but B.H. Richardson’s brother and sister chose to memorialize their late brother by giving to a state institution with a medical school whose students might one day find the key that unlocks the mystery behind Alzheimer’s.
Eligibility:
- Full-time student
- entering freshmen
- Graduates of Tupelo High School, Tupelo Christian Preparatory School, and home schooled students from Tupelo, MS
- plans to pursue a career in medicine
Application process:
- The application deadline is March 24. In addition to the application, please submit your personal statement and resume the Health Professions Advising Office or email to hpao@olemiss.edu.
About Dr. Bob Bennett:
This scholarship was established in 2004 by Dr. Bob Bennett, who earned his BA in Biological Science from UM in 1984 and MD from UM Medical School in 1988. He is a retired anesthesiologist from the East Texas Anesthesiology Associates.
Eligibility:
- Full-time student
- natural sciences major within the College of Liberal Arts
- Financial Need (FAFSA required)
Application process:
The application deadline is March 24. In addition to the application, please submit your personal statement and resume to the Health Professions Advising Office or email to hpao@olemiss.edu.
About Charles R. McMurchy:
This scholarship was established in 2007 by Dr. Charles R. McMurchy, Jr. He was originally from Fayette, MS, and graduated with a BA in biological science degree from UM in 1970 and a MD from UM Medical School in 1974. Dr. McMurchy has been in private practice specializing in gastroenterology in Winston-Salem, NC, for more than 40 years.
Eligibility
- Full-time student
- Mississippi resident
- graduate of UM
- attend UM School of Medicine
Application process:
- The application deadline is March 24. In addition to the application, please submit your personal statement and resume the Health Professions Advising Office or email to hpao@olemiss.edu
- For current students who are attending the UMMC for medical or dental school, there is a separate application for the Culley and Bynum Scholarship
- Students with other tuition-based scholarships cannot receive the Culley Memorial scholarship.
About Dr. John C. Culley
This scholarship was established in 1968 to assist students attending medical school. Dr. John C. Culley (1886- 1966) was a distinguished physician and surgeon who was born in Madison, MS, and received his medical degree at Vanderbilt in 1909. He served for 10 years as Professor of Medicine at UM (1914-1924), was superintendent & owner of the first hospital in Oxford, and also served as President of the MS Medical Association (1931-1932). He was also part-time University of Mississippi physician until 1945. His wife, Nina Somerville Culley (1897-1965), a native Oxonian and daughter of the Dean of the UM School of Law, received her BS from UM in 1915.
Eligibility:
- Full-time student
- rising sophomore, junior, or senior
- plans to pursue a career in medicine
Application process:
- The application deadline is March 24. In addition to the application, please submit your personal statement and resume the Health Professions Advising Office or email to hpao@olemiss.edu.
About Dr. Hugh Bateman:
This scholarship was established in 2014 to honor Dr. Hugh Bateman (1937-2015), a native of Franklinton, Louisiana, who received his MS and PhD from the University of Southern Mississippi. In 1970, Dr. Bateman became coordinator of clinical services in the Department of Speech and Hearing (now Communicative Sciences and Disorders) at the University of Mississippi, then chair of the department and then assistant dean of liberal arts for health related professions advisement He later was a research advocate for the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation.
Eligibility:
- Full-time student
- rising sophomore, junior, or senior
- Preference is given to Mississippi residents
- plans to pursue a career in medicine
- attend the University of Mississippi School of Medicine
Application process:
- The application deadline is March 24. In addition to the application, please submit your personal statement and resume to the Health Professions Advising Office or email to hpao@olemiss.edu.
About Dr. and Mrs. James C. Hays:
This scholarship was established in 1987 by Dr. and Mrs. James C. Hays. Dr. Hays earned his MD at UMC in 1962, completed his residency at the Mayo Clinic, and served a tour of duty with the Air Force. He returned to Jackson, MS, and had a long career in private practice with specialization in internal medicine & cardiovascular disease. Mrs. Preston Myers Hays (1940-2012) was born in Indianola, MS, raised in Jackson and earned her BA in Math from UM in 1961. She received many outstanding volunteer awards, was involved in the cultural and civic life of Jackson, MS, for many years, and was a driving force in the inception of the Mississippi Children’s Museum.
Eligibility:
- Full-time student
- Rising sophomore, junior, or senior
- Preference is given to Mississippi resident
- Plans to pursue a career in medicine
Application process:
- The application deadline is March 24. In addition to the application, please submit your personal statement and resume to the Health Professions Advising Office or email to hpao@olemiss.edu.
About Dr. And Mrs. James A. Lauderdale:
This scholarship was established in 2000 by Mrs. Lauderdale to honor Dr. James Abner Lauderdale (1914- 1996). After graduating from Tulane University and serving in the Navy in the South Pacific, he began medical practice in Meridian in 1948, retiring in 1988. He was chairman of the ‘Knock Out Polio’ immunization campaign in 1964 sponsored by the East Mississippi Medical Society.
Eligibility:
- Full-time student
- Plans to pursue a career in medicine
Application process:
- The application deadline is March 24. In addition to the application, please submit your personal statement and resume to the Health Professions Advising Office or email to hpao@olemiss.edu.
About Dr. Sidney H. Warren:
This scholarship was established by Warren Ball to honor Dr. Sidney H. Warren Jr. (1938-1985), who earned his chemistry degree from UM in 1960. He was born in Natchez, MS, and lived in Houma, Louisiana.
Eligibility:
- Full-time student
- Rising sophomore, junior, or senior
- Preference is given to Mississippi residents
- Plans to pursue a career in medicine
- Attend the University of Mississippi School of Medicine
Application process:
- The application deadline is March 24. In addition to the application, please submit your personal statement and resume the Health Professions Advising Office or email to hpao@olemiss.edu.
About Dr. Jefferson F. Hollingsworth
This scholarship was established in 1987 to honor Dr. Jefferson F. Hollingsworth (1943-1986), a native of Meridian, MS, who received a BS from UM (1965) and MD from Tulane University (1968). He was a cardiovascular surgeon in Jackson, MS, and was instrumental in getting the cardiac catheterization program started in Meridian.
Eligibility:
- Full-time student
- Major in biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, or psychology
- Plans to pursue a career in medicine
Application process:
- The application deadline is March 24. In addition to the application, please submit your personal statement and resume the Health Professions Advising Office or email to hpao@olemiss.edu.
About Dr. John E. Ray:
This scholarship was established in 1999 by Dr. John E. Ray (1922-2006), a native of Hinkle Creek, MS, who lived in New Orleans for 43 years. He was a graduate of UM & Northwestern Univ. Med School & served in the US Army in the Korean War. Dr. Ray was a former Department Head of Colon and Rectal Surgery at Ochsner Medical Institutions and Professor of Surgery at Tulane University.
Eligibility:
- Full-time student
- Rising sophomore, junior, or senior
- Plans to pursue a career in medicine
Application process:
- The application deadline is March 24. In addition to the application, please submit your personal statement and resume to the Health Professions Advising Office or email to hpao@olemiss.edu.
About Marie Dees and C. Walter Mattingly:
This scholarship was established in 1994 to honor Marie Dees and C. Walter Mattingly. Dr. Walter Mattingly (1900-1981), a New Orleans surgeon and horse breeder, grew up in White Castle, Louisiana and graduated from Tulane University of Louisiana School of Medicine in 1926. He was appointed house surgeon at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. Dr. Marie Dees Mattingly (1896-1993), native of Copiah County, MS, received her BS from UM in 1917 and MD from Tulane University School of Medicine in 1921. She was an Associate Professor of Anatomy at Tulane for a number of years.
Eligibility:
- Full-time student
- Rising sophomore, junior, or senior
- Plans to pursue a career in medicine
Application process:
- The application deadline is March 24. In addition to the application, please submit your personal statement and resume to the Health Professions Advising Office or email to hpao@olemiss.edu.
About Mary Eugenia Miller and Bradford (J.B.) Pittman:
This scholarship was established in 2003 to honor Mary Eugenia Miller (1908-2002) who received a degree in landscape design from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in English from Columbia University. She was a schoolteacher, a world traveler, and a resident of Crenshaw for more than 90 years. The scholarship also honors Miller’s Uncle “Doc” Pittman, a country doctor. Dr. Judge Bradford (J.B.) Pittman, M.D. (1867- 1940) was born in Webster County, MS and practiced medicine in Crenshaw, MS.
Eligibility:
- Full-time student
- Entering freshman
- Mississippi resident
- Plans to pursue a career in medicine
- Active with community service, excels academically
- Financial Need (FAFSA required)
Application process:
- The application deadline is March 24. In addition to the application, please submit your personal statement and resume to the Health Professions Advising Office or email to hpao@olemiss.edu.
About Pearl Linda Walters and Otis W. Walters:
This scholarship was established in 1994 to honor Pearl Linda Walters (1909 -1995) and Otis W. Walters (1922-1993). The Walters were business owners on the Gulf Coast and real estate developers in the Biloxi, MS area.
Eligibility:
- Full-time student
- Entering freshman
- Majoring in biological science
- Plans to pursue a career in medicine
- Financial Need (FAFSA required)
Application process:
- The application deadline is March 24. In addition to the application, please submit your personal statement and resume to the Health Professions Advising Office or email to hpao@olemiss.edu.
About Sydney Kelli Smith:
The scholarship was established in 2016 to honor Sydney Kelli Smith by family and friends. Ms. Smith (1997-2015) passed away on her eighteenth birthday, March 12, 2015, in a tragic car accident. She grew up in Texas and was just a few months from graduation from high school, having decided to attend the University of Mississippi in the fall. Sydney planned to major in biological science and pursue a career in trauma surgery. From her obituary:”Trauma surgery would have been the perfect career for her as she lived her life with passion and emotion.”
Eligibility:
- Full-time student
- Majoring in Allied Health Studies
- Plans to pursue a career in nursing
- Shows leadership potential and excels academically
- Financial Need (FAFSA required)
Application process:
- The application deadline is March 24. In addition to the application, please submit your personal statement and resume to the Health Professions Advising Office or email to hpao@olemiss.edu.
About Wallace and Elizabeth Hope:
This scholarship was established in 2009 by Wallace and Elizabeth G. Hope. From a small community in southeast Louisiana, Wallace E. Hope (1919- 2005), a product of the Great Depression, began working when he was 10 and persevered to become a gas company executive. The legacy he created with his wife, Elizabeth, will be continued through this endowment. They selected the nursing program because of the constant shortage of nurses and also because Elizabeth would have pursued a career in the medical field if she had had the opportunity to go to college.
Their son, William, a UM alumnus said: “Neither of my parents had the opportunity to go to college. They were not unlike others in their generation. They worked very hard from a young age, but they were fortunate to do extremely well. Being caring people, they planned this gift to provide educational opportunities for others.”
Eligibility:
- Full-time student
- Incoming freshman
- High School GPA of at least 3.5
- Majoring in Allied Health Studies
- Plans to pursue a career in nursing
- First preference for students from Lincoln County; second preference to Mississippi students
Application process:
- The application deadline is March 24. In addition to the application, please submit your personal statement and resume to the Health Professions Advising Office or email to hpao@olemiss.edu.
About Hazel Brister O'Flaherty:
Hazel Brister O’Flaherty (1918-2014), a native of Lincoln County, Mississippi, made a life for herself by working her way through the Mather School of Nursing in New Orleans, finishing in 1941. She then trained at Southern Baptist Hospital before taking her new skills to the Office of Civilian Defense, Emergency Medical Protection Service. There, O’Flaherty was assigned to work aboard a U.S. Army transport ship as chief nurse with the International Refugee Organization, which helped resettle displaced refugees from Europe and Asia following World War II. Also aboard was Staff Sergeant John O’Flaherty, who would become her husband in New York City in 1958. Upon returning to the states she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Columbia University in New York in 1959 and 1960 respectively while working at Memorial Hospital Cancer Center. The couple later moved to California, where Hazel O’Flaherty began teaching at Contra Costa College, educating young men and women in the same path she followed. As her niece said “even though she spent most of her life elsewhere, Aunt Hazel loved her home state.”
Eligibility:
- Full-time student
- Majoring in degree program within the College of Liberal Arts
- Plans to pursue a career in veterinary school
- Active in rescue and protection of dogs and cats
Application process:
- The application deadline is March 24. In addition to the application, please submit your personal statement and resume to the Health Professions Advising Office or email to hpao@olemiss.edu.
About Miriam W. Weems:
Mrs. Weems (1941-2011) earned her BFA in Art in 1963, where she was a member of Chi Omega sorority, a Campus Favorite, Commander of Angel Flight, President of Mortar Board, and VP of the Associated Women Students among many other honors. She was a tireless volunteer or board member in Jackson, MS, from garden club and park committees to Junior League, arts events, church, and Ole Miss Alumni Association groups. But above all she loved animals. She worked tirelessly for the Animal Rescue League in Jackson and founded the Oxford Animal Rescue League. She said, “I wanted to create a scholarship for someone who is kind to those who can’t take up for themselves.”
External Scholarship Opportunities
The following scholarships are offered by organizations off campus and support students interested in health professions.
Irene and Daisy MacGregor Memorial Scholarship
The Irene and Daisy MacGregor Memorial Scholarship is awarded to two students of high scholastic standing and character who have been accepted into or are pursuing an approved course of study to become a medical doctor (no pre-med, veterinarian or physician assistant) at an approved, accredited medical school. Renewal is conditional upon maintenance of a GPA of 3.25. This scholarship is also available to students who have been accepted into or who are pursuing an approved course of study in the field of psychiatric nursing at the graduate level at accredited medical schools, colleges, or universities.
Leslie Andree Hanna Medical Scholarship
A one-time preferred amount of $5,000 to a deserving female student who is a US citizen attending medical school. The selection process is based on academic merit with a minimum GPA of 3.25 on a 4.0 scale or the equivalent GPA on the scale used by the applicable educational institution. The recipient may reapply for the scholarship each year but is not guaranteed the award.
Alice W. Rooke Scholarship
A $5,000 scholarship awarded to one student who has been accepted into or who are pursuing an approved course of study to become a medical doctor (no pre–med, veterinarian, or physician assistant) at approved, accredited medical schools, colleges, and universities. The scholarship is not automatically renewable; however, applicant may reapply for up to four years.
Caroline E. Holt Nursing Scholarship
A one-time $2,500 award is given to three students who are in financial need and who have been accepted or is currently enrolled in an accredited school of nursing. A letter of acceptance into a nursing program or a transcript stating the applicant is in a nursing program must be included with the application.
District of Columbia Nursing Scholarship
A one-time $2,500 award given annually to two students in financial need who are residents in the District of Columbia who have been accepted or are currently enrolled in a Nursing program at the University of the District of Columbia. A minimum GPA of 3.25 on a 4.0 scale or the equivalent GPA on the scale used by the institution is required. This scholarship is strictly administered by the University of the District of Columbia.
Madeline Pickett (Halbert) Cogswell Nursing Scholarship
The Madeline Pickett (Halbert) Cogswell Nursing Scholarship, in the amount of $2,500, is awarded to two students who are accepted or enrolled in an accredited school of nursing. Applicants must be members, descendant of members or be eligible for membership in NSDAR. The DAR member number of the mother, grandmother or step-mother, who is a current dues paying member, must be on the Application.
Mildred Nutting Nursing Scholarship
A one-time $2,000 scholarship for two students who are in financial need and who have been accepted or are currently enrolled in an accredited school of nursing. A letter of acceptance into the Nursing Program or the transcript stating that the applicant is in the Nursing Program must be enclosed with the application. Preference will be given to candidates from the Lowell, MA area.
Occupational/Physical Therapy Scholarship
The Occupational/Physical Therapy Scholarship, in the amount of $2,000, is awarded to two students who are in financial need and have been accepted or are attending an accredited school of occupational therapy (including art, music, or physical therapy).