Federal grant programs / Department of Health and Human Services

Health Professions Student Loans, Including Primary Care Loans and Loans for Disadvantaged Students (93.342)

Also known as HPSL , PCL, LDS

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$80.4 million
• Grant awards126
• Typical award$365,696
• Awarded in FY 2025$19.3 million
• Size rank869 of 1824
• Type of assistanceProject grants (to capitalize loan funds)

Key findings

• It is the 869th largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 88% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 32 states and territories.

What the program funds

To increase educational opportunities by providing long-term, low-interest loans to students in need of financial assistance and in pursuit of a course of study in an approved health discipline.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

Any accredited public or other nonprofit private school of medicine, dentistry, osteopathic medicine, optometry, podiatry, pharmacy, or veterinary medicine which provides a course of study leading to a degree of Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine for PCL and LDS borrowers, Doctor of Dentistry (or an equivalent degree), Doctor of Optometry (or an equivalent degree), Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (or an equivalent degree), Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy (or an equivalent degree), Doctor of Pharmacy (or an equivalent degree), or Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (or an equivalent degree) for HPSL and LDS borrowers. Additionally, the school must be located in the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the Federated States of Micronesia. Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Government and Native American Organizations may apply if they are otherwise eligible.

What the money can and cannot pay for

Funds on deposit can only be used for loans to eligible students pursuing a full-time course of study. The maximum amount a student may borrow is the cost of attendance (including tuition, other reasonable educational expenses and reasonable living expenses). Third and fourth year medical and osteopathic medicine students may be eligible for additional funding to repay earlier higher-interest educational loans. The interest rate is five percent. To be eligible for a Primary Care Loan (PCL), students of allopathic medicine and osteopathic medicine must meet financial need criteria and agree to enter and complete a residency training program in primary health care not later than four years after the date on which the student graduates from such school. The PCL borrower must also practice primary health care for 10 years (including the years spent in residency training) or through the date in which the loan is repaid in full, whichever occurs first. To be eligible for the Loans for Disadvantaged Students (LDS) program, students must meet the Health Professions Student Loans (HPSL) criteria and also be from an economically or environmentally disadvantaged background as defined by the Secretary.

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Under the Federal Capital Contribution method, a school must match the Federal Capital Contribution with an amount equal to one-ninth of the funds drawn down.MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Deadlines

Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines

Award range and average, in the agency's words

PCL FY23 Range: $10,000 - $1,000,000; Average per institution $500,000 FY24 Range: $28,799-1,887,407; Average: $958,103 F25 est. Range: $25,000 - $1,000,000; Average per institution $512,500 HPSL FY23 est. Range: $1,113 - $2,418,428; Average per institution $1,209,770 FY 24 Range: $124,625 - $1,413,286; Average per institution $768,955 FY25 est. Range: $100,000 - $1,000,000; Average per institution $550,000 LDS FY 23 Range: $10,093 - $3,609,787; Average per institution $1,809,940 FY 24 Range: $15,119 - $3,230,403; Average per institution $1,622,761 FY25 est. Range: $15,000 - $2,000,000; Average per institution $1,015,000

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

Almost all of the money went to colleges and universities.

By state

17 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.