Scholarships

At Drake, we offer financial aid that is designed to reward your academic achievement and also to help meet your family’s level of financial need. You may find that you qualify for both merit-based and financial need-based awards. We make every effort to provide the most complete financial aid package to you in your first award notice.

Please visit our Financial Aid Office for all your general scholarship inquiries. The Financial Aid Office also provides a summary of tuition and fees for all Drake programs.

Occupational Therapy Scholarship Opportunities

Students who begin at Drake directly from high school, in the pre-occupational therapy track of the Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences degree, and matriculate into the Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) program in their fourth year, will receive a one-time $5,000 scholarship to be used toward their first year of Doctorate tuition. This one-time $5,000 scholarship is in lieu of any undergraduate scholarships the student may have received in their first three years in the Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences program.

A number of scholarships are available for students in the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program from a variety of state, federal and non-profit agencies. The following is a list of scholarships that students are encouraged to look into.

Scholarships through the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)
Types of Student Aid from the Federal Student Aid Office, U.S. Department of Education
American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF)
AMBUCS Scholarships for Therapists at CollegeScholarships.com and AMBUCS.org
MediCareSupplementalInsurance.com Therapy Professionals Scholarship
The University Nework - Occupational Therapy Scholarships

Scholarship Name	Description	Deadline
Dorothy Main Memorial IOTA Scholarship	The Iowa Occupational Therapy Association provides one scholarship to an OT student and one scholarship to an OTA student. https://www.iowaot.org/	Aug 15
AOTF	Over 50 scholarships (ranging from $150 to $5,000) are available this year from AOTF and its collaboration with state occupational therapy associations. Applicants must be currently enrolled full-time in either a professional occupational therapy educational program or an occupational therapy assistant program and must meet all eligibility requirements. Application Link	Oct 25
AAHD Frederick J. Krause Scholarship On Health & Disability	The AAHD Frederick J. Krause Scholarship on Health and Disability is awarded annually to a deserving student with a disability who is pursuing undergraduate/graduate studies (must be at least enrolled as a Junior in college) in an accredited university who is pursuing studies related to the health and disability, to include, but not limited to public health, health promotion, disability studies, disability research, rehabilitation engineering, audiology, disability policy, special education and majors that will impact quality of life of persons with disabilities. Visit their website for more information on this scholarship: http://www.aahd.us/initiatives/scholarship-program/	Mid Nov
Des Moines Social Club	$1,000 scholarship to a female student who is currently enrolled as a full-time student in a college or university pursuing a degree in a health-related field. https://www.desmoineswomensclub.com/	January
AOTA E.K. Wise Scholarship	The focus of the scholarship will be to support students from diverse backgrounds who can meet E.K. Wise’s and the Association’s objectives of developing a workforce to meet society’s diverse occupational needs in underserved areas or communities. The scholarship supports students pursuing an entry-level occupational therapy (OT) or occupational therapy assistant (OTA) degree. Yearly, three awards will be granted in the amount of $2,500. Students may apply for a second year. https://www.aota.org/Education-Careers/Find-School/Aid/EKWise_1.aspx	March
F.A. Davis Scholarship Program	F.A. Davis is delighted to offer the annual nursing & health science scholarship opportunity (OT students are eligible). 3 awards of $1,000. https://www.fadavis.com/scholarship	April 1
IHA -Iowa Hospital Education and Research Foundation (IHERF)	The Iowa Hospital Education and Research Foundation (IHERF), an Iowa Hospital Association (IHA) subsidiary, offers scholarships of up to $7,000 ($3,500 per year for a maximum of two years). In 2018, they expanded those scholarship awards to 50 recipients and will continue to award 50 scholarship awards.	March 30