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U.S. Army Health Professions Scholarship Program

Fund Your DVM with the U.S. Army Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP)

The U.S. Army offers one of the most comprehensive scholarships in veterinary medicine through the F. Edward Hébert Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP). HPSP provides full tuition coverage, a monthly living stipend, and a structured pathway into military veterinary service for first-year veterinary students. Participants are commissioned as Army Veterinary Corps Officers and commit to a four-year active-duty service obligation following graduation. 

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The program offers a path to graduation with significantly reduced educational debt, provides formal leadership training and clinical rotations at military veterinary facilities, and enables service in a specialized role within military veterinary medicine and public health. 

What Do Army Vets Do?

Army veterinarians serve in diverse, high-impact roles that go far beyond traditional clinical practice:

  1. Clinical Care for Military Working Animals

    1. Provide comprehensive medical care for 2,000+ Military Working Dogs, 100+ Military Working Equines, and classified numbers of Marine Mammals (like seals and dolphins). These animals perform critical missions in explosives detection, narcotics interdiction, and criminal apprehension—often in combat zones.

    2. Army veterinarians deploy alongside these animals to ensure their health and readiness wherever they serve.

  2. Food Safety & Public Health

    1. Oversee food safety and defense operations for all installations, ensuring safe meals for Soldiers and their families.

    2. Conduct Veterinary Audits of commercial food establishments (factories, restaurants, caterers) that supply military bases.

    3. Lead Food Inspection Soldiers in evaluating dining facilities, commissaries, and field rations (MREs).

  3. Zoonotic Disease & Public Health Expertise

    1. Act as subject matter experts in zoonotic disease prevention and outbreak response.

    2. Advise on public health risks and mitigation strategies to protect service members globally.

  4. Biomedical Research & Global Missions

    1. Contribute to cutting-edge biomedical research in military and civilian labs.
    2. Participate in humanitarian missions worldwide, offering veterinary care and public health support in underserved regions.

Program Benefit

The U.S. Army Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) is available to first-year veterinary students and offers:

  1. Full tuition scholarship for up to four years
  2. Funding for books, equipment, and other school fees
  3. A $2,870 monthly living stipend
  4. Commissioned as a Captain upon graduation
  5. 4-Year Active-Duty commitment after graduation
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Qualification

  • Be a U.S. Citizen
  • Have a 3.2 GPA
  • MCAT/DAT scores received
  • Able to acquire security clearance
  • Medically fit to serve as a commissioned officer
  • Maintain a full-time student status during the length of the program

HPSP Application Timeline

  • Start in August of your first year in the DVM vet program
  • Submit a paper application and complete medical screening
  • Decisions are typically made by the winter of your first year

Apply

Contact the Syracuse Medical Recruiting Station Commander, SFC Travis R. Soaft
Email: travis.r.soaft.mil@army.mil
Phone: (315) 281-6962