Information for Applicants

Sharp Index Health Equity Scholarship.

Investing in students building a healthier and more equitable future for healthcare.

The Sharp Index Health Equity Scholarship supports undergraduate, graduate, professional, and medical students from historically underrepresented or underserved populations and identities whose education, research, advocacy, or future careers can contribute to healthcare mental health, workforce well-being, and health equity.

Healthcare workforce mental health and health equity are connected. Building healthier healthcare systems requires ensuring that people with different backgrounds, identities, perspectives, and experiences have opportunities to enter medicine, participate in research, lead organizations, and shape the future of healthcare.

What Health Equity Scholars Receive

$5,000 Flexible-Use Educational Grant

Each selected scholar receives a $5,000 educational grant to support continued education and professional development.

Up to 10 Hours of Individualized Support

Scholars may also access up to 10 hours of professional and educational support through the Sharp Index community.

Depending on the scholar's goals, support may include mentorship, career guidance, research or writing feedback, networking and professional introductions, communications support, or educational video development.

These hours are an optional resource—not an additional work requirement.

Who Should Apply?

We welcome undergraduate, graduate, professional, and medical students pursuing pathways toward medicine, healthcare, research, public health, mental health, medical education, or related fields.

Priority consideration is given to students from populations or identities historically underrepresented, underserved, or facing structural barriers in medicine and healthcare.

Applicants should demonstrate interest, experience, research, advocacy, or future goals related to areas such as:

Healthcare workforce mental health
Physician or clinician well-being
Burnout or suicide prevention
Health equity
Medical education
Belonging and inclusion in healthcare
Healthcare workforce research
Broader health equity research with potential relevance to medicine, healthcare organizations, healthcare workers, or the communities they serve

You do not need to be a medical student or published researcher to apply.

How Applications Are Evaluated

The Health Equity Scholarship is a Board Choice Grant.

Eligible applications are reviewed using a standardized 100-point evaluation framework:

Mission Alignment — 25 points
Connection to healthcare workforce mental health, well-being, and the Sharp Index mission.

Health Equity Perspective & Contribution — 20 points
Experiences, research, advocacy, perspectives, or potential contributions to greater equity in healthcare.

Research, Writing & Knowledge Contribution — 20 points
Strength and relevance of existing or proposed research, education, writing, or knowledge sharing.

Future Potential & Career Commitment — 15 points
Potential to contribute to healthier and more equitable healthcare.

Opportunity & Potential Impact of the Grant — 15 points
How scholarship support could advance the applicant's education and professional trajectory.

Application Quality & Authenticity — 5 points
Thoughtfulness, clarity, and substance of the application.

The rubric supports a consistent review process but does not mechanically determine the award. Final recipients are selected by the Sharp Index Board.

Applicants are evaluated in the context of the opportunities and resources available to them.

Applicants are never required to disclose trauma, discrimination, a mental health diagnosis, or other sensitive personal experiences to demonstrate that they belong in this scholarship program.

[VIEW FULL ELIGIBILITY & SELECTION CRITERIA]

Share Your Voice

Each Health Equity Scholar completes one knowledge-sharing contribution during the scholar program.

You choose the format that works best for you.

Write

Create an original opinion or perspective article addressing healthcare mental health, workforce well-being, burnout, suicide prevention, medical education, health equity, or another relevant topic.

Share Your Research

Provide an accessible summary of research you have conducted or contributed to and explain its potential relevance to healthcare.

Research does not need to focus exclusively on healthcare workers. Broader health equity research may qualify when it has meaningful implications for medicine, healthcare organizations, healthcare education, the healthcare workforce, or the communities they serve.

Educate Through Video

Create a short educational video sharing research, evidence-informed ideas, or perspectives related to healthcare mental health, workforce well-being, health equity, medical education, or healthier healthcare environments.

Professional video equipment or previous media experience is not required.

[VIEW SCHOLAR COMMITMENT & CONTRIBUTION DETAILS on the Eligibility and Selection page]

How to Apply

Applicants will be asked to provide:

Basic educational information
A résumé or CV
Educational and career goals
Connection to healthcare mental health, workforce health, or health equity
Relevant research, advocacy, service, community involvement, or lived experience
Information about how scholarship support could advance their education or professional pathway
A proposed topic for an article, research contribution, or educational video

Applicants with existing research may also provide an abstract, citation, DOI, publication link, or short project description.