Faculty Loan Repayment and Grant Programs

Faculty Loan Repayment and Grant Programs

HRSA Health Professions Faculty Loan Repayment Program (FLRP)

Dentistry is among the health professions eligible for up to $20,000 per year in the FLRP program. Dental graduates must enter into a contract with an accredited health professions school to serve as a full-time or part-time faculty member for at least two years. The federal government agrees to repay a portion of the principal and interest of a participant's educational loans for each year of eligible faculty service. The school is required to repay an amount equal to what the federal government pays in loan repayment towards the principal and interest, in addition to the faculty salary the participant otherwise receives, or request a waiver of its share of loan payment cost because of undue financial hardship. Learn more.

HRSA Minority Faculty Fellowship Program (MFFP)

Minority Faculty Fellowship grants enable dental schools and other health professions training programs to increase the number of faculty who are racial and ethnic minorities under-represented in the health professions. Grantees provide a stipend to under-represented minority faculty in an amount not exceeding 50 percent of the regular salary of a similar faculty member for no more than three years of training and an allowance for other expenses, such as travel to professional meetings and costs related to specialized training. Learn More.

NIH Loan Repayment Programs

In each case applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, hold an appropriate doctoral degree (D.D.S., D.M.D., Ph.D., M.D., D.O., D.V.M., Pharm. D., A.D.N./B.S.N., or equivalent degree), and have educational debt in excess of 20 percent of their annual NIH basic pay or stipend upon entering the program. The program pays a maximum of $35,000 per year directly to the participants' lenders for the repayment of educational debt during the initial two-year service period. The program also reimburses participants automatically for the increase in federal tax liability as a result of loan repayment in an amount equal to 39 percent of the loan repayments made. Learn more.

NIH Intramural LRP

• The NIH AIDS Research Loan Repayment Program. Recipients engage in biomedical research related to HIV/AIDS at the NIH for a minimum of two years. To date, one dentist has received loan repayment in this program.
• The NIH Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program. This program is designed to recruit individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to serve as clinical researchers.
• The NIH General Research Loan Repayment Program. Recipients engage in molecular biology and biochemistry, genetics, neurobiology, immunology, and structural biology research for a minimum of three years.
• NIH Loan Repayment Program for Health Disparities Research The NIH seeks to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals in research careers that focus on minority health disparities research or research related to the medically underserved.

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NIH Extramural LRP

• The NIH Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program. Recipients conduct patient-oriented clinical research with human subjects, or research on the causes and consequences of disease in human populations involving material of human origin (such as tissue specimens and cognitive phenomena) for which an investigator or colleague directly interacts with human subjects in an outpatient or inpatient setting to clarify a problem in human physiology, pathophysiology or disease, or epidemiologic or behavioral studies, outcomes research or health services research, or developing new technologies, therapeutic interventions, or clinical trials.
• The NIH Extramural Pediatric Research Loan Repayment Program. Recipients conduct pediatric research directly related to diseases, disorders, and other conditions in children.
• NIH Extramural Loan Repayment Program For Minority Health Disparities Research. Recipients conduct biomedical research with respect to minority health disparities. Not fewer than 50 percent of the contracts in this program are for qualified health professionals who are members of a health disparity population.

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NIDCR Training and Career Development Programs

Offers opportunities for dental researchers including a faculty transition program. Learn more.

Awards from Dental Specialty Organizations

American Association of Endodontists

The American Association of Endodontists Foundation supports the Endodontic Educator Fellowship Award to encourage endodontic students to go into dental education. The Foundation covers educational costs in return for service in endodontic dental education following graduation. Learn more.

The American Association of Endodontists also supports endodontic research, including research in endodontic education. More information on the research areas supported by the AAE through grants can be found here.

American Academy of Periodontology Foundation Educational Awards

Offers several awards for dental educators as well as for periodontal students who have expressed an interest in dental education. These awards include the Abram and Sylvia Chasens Teaching and Research Fellowship, the Bud and Linda Tarrson Fellowship, and Charles W. Finley Visiting Scholar Education Grants. Learn more.

American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

Sponsors multiple awards for faculty within the oral and maxillofacial surgery specialty. These awards include the William J. Gies Foundation Award in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, the Donald B. Osbon Award for Outstanding Educator, the Daniel M. Laskin Award for Outstanding Predoctoral Educator, and the Faculty Educator Development Award. Learn more.

American College of Prosthodontists Education Foundation

The ACP Education Foundation supports education and research by providing over $20,000 annually in scholarships. One of the five key issues identified by the foundation is need for dental schools to remain competitive in order to recruit and retain quality faculty members. Current opportunities can be found on the foundations website. Learn more.

Omicron Kappa Upsilon National Dental Honor Society Charles Craig Teaching Award

The Omicron Kappa Upsilon National Dental Honor Society recognizes outstanding young dental educators who have been in dental education for no more than seven years. More information can be obtained from their website. Learn more.