The WVU Institute for Community and Rural Health and the West Virginia Area Health Education Centers are pleased to announce that applications are open for the WV AHEC Rural Community Health Scholars program.
Two-thirds of the inaugural cohort were WVU students and we are eager to welcome our next group of WVU health professionals.
This two-year program is available to 75 of West Virginia’s top health professions students interested in rural health care across the state.
RCH Scholars focuses on interprofessional education through clinical, didactic and community-based lenses, and emphasizes how each scholar can create change and reshape the status quo for health care in their community.
As a scholar, students will:
• Become leaders in their professions and communities,
• Receive supplemental training and education from experts in rural health care,
• Develop an astute understanding of how to best implement health services in rural or underserved areas,
• Learn how to work as part of an interprofessional team,
• Provide meaningful patient care in the field and gain hands-on experience,
• Receive a participation award of $1,300 upon program completion.
Applicants should be interested in rural health, have a minimum 3.0 GPA and have at least two years remaining in their degree program. The new class of accepted scholars will begin this two-year program Sept. 1 and complete it in May 2026.
Health professions students in certain areas are eligible to apply.
Contact us if you do not see your discipline listed; you may still be eligible to participate.
Find more information on the RCH Scholars Program or contact us at RCH_Scholars@hsc.wvu.edu.