Grants & Scholarships

Available to students who reside in the state of Arkansas. This scholarship provides for 30 percent of the annual NYITCOM tuition per year. 

To receive this award, students must:

• Submit the $1,500 tuition deposit by the due date indicated in their acceptance email message.
• Confirm their state of residency by submitting a copy of their 2021 state tax return. Individuals who did not file a state return may submit a copy of their lease/mortgage showing residency for 12 months.
• If chosen, follow the additional directions on the student’s acceptance.

Available to students who reside in Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, and Tennessee. This scholarship provides for 10 percent of the annual NYITCOM tuition per year. To receive this award, students must:

• Submit the $1,500 tuition deposit by the due date indicated in their acceptance email message.
• Confirm their state of residency by submitting a copy of their 2021 state tax return. Individuals who did not file a state return may submit a copy of their lease/mortgage showing residency for 12 months.
• If chosen, follow the additional directions on the student’s acceptance.

The Dr. Michael and Julie Isaacson Scholarship was founded in 2023 to financially support medical students from the Arkansas Delta who aspire to practice in the region. 

Ritter Arnold, along with his brother Paul Arnold and sister Melissa Wrenn, established the scholarship, which is funded by the Mary Ann and Sidney Arnold Foundation. 

Arnold named the scholarship after his dear friends Michael and Julie Isaacson in honor of their commitment to serving Northeast Arkansas through medicine. Michael Isaacson, M.D., a cardiologist with NEA Baptist Health System, practiced in the Jonesboro area for nearly 40 years and has cared for numerous members of the Arnold family. Julie Isaacson is a registered nurse who spent four decades practicing the profession while training aspiring healthcare workers at the collegiate level.

Arnold has been a member of the NYITCOM-Arkansas Dean’s Advisory Board since its inception in 2017 and has been an ardent supporter of NYITCOM-Arkansas and its mission.

The Isaacson Scholarship is annually awarded to one or two incoming first-year medical students. The $20,000 can be distributed either in whole to one student or as two $10,000 awards at the discretion of the Scholarship and Awards Committee. 

It is preferred that honorees show financial need. Candidates must express an interest in practicing in Arkansas and be from one of the following Arkansas counties: 

• Greene, Clay, Mississippi, Craighead, Poinsett, Crittenden, Cross, Saint Francis, Lee, Monroe, Phillips, Arkansas, Desha, Lincoln, Drew, Chicot, or Ashley.

The NYITCOM-Arkansas Scholarship and Awards Committee will review qualified candidates and select them as needed.

The Gregory William Berner Memorial Scholarship is named in honor of Detroit native Gregory William Berner, who passed away in 2018 from Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a rare brain disorder. 

Andrew Berner, the grandson of Gregory Berner, established the scholarship along with his sister to honor their beloved family member. Andrew Berner is a member of the New York Institute of Technology Board of Trustees and is a generous supporter of NYITCOM-Arkansas in particular. 

To qualify for the Berner scholarship, students must: 

• Be a fourth-year student in good academic standing 
• Demonstrate financial need 
• Demonstrate leadership qualities
• Express an interest in medical research

Candidates are asked to submit an application that includes three brief essay questions. The NYITCOM-Arkansas Scholarship and Awards Committee will review qualified candidates and select them as needed.

The Ritter Family Foundation Scholarship was established in 2024 to financially support medical students from the Arkansas Delta who aspire to practice in the region. 

The mission of the Ritter Family Foundation is to support and strengthen the communities it serves by providing resources, leadership, and necessary collaboration to meet local needs. It seeks to support projects with exceptional potential to provide value to the community and promote community vitality. The Ritter Family Foundation is committed to improving the health of the community members it serves, and the foundation is particularly interested in improving the healthcare delivery system in its communities.

The Ritter Family Foundation Scholarship is annually awarded to one third-year medical student in the amount of $30,000. It is preferred that honorees show financial need. Candidates must express an interest in practicing in Arkansas and either be from one of the following Arkansas counties OR performing clinical rotations in one of them: 

• Mississippi, Craighead, Poinsett, Crittenden, Cross, Saint Francis, Lee, Monroe, Phillips, Arkansas, Desha, Lincoln, Drew, Chicot, Ashley, Green, and Randolph

The NYITCOM-Arkansas Scholarship and Awards Committee will review qualified candidates and select them as needed. 

The Chloe Vaught Memorial Scholarship was founded in 2021 to honor the legacy of an aspiring physician who tragically died in 2020 in her third year at NYITCOM-Arkansas. Vaught was beloved by her classmates, faculty, and staff, endearing herself to everyone through her kindness and fun-loving spirit. 

The Chloe Vaught Memorial Scholarship is a $1,000 annual award given to a rising third-year NYITCOM-Arkansas student. The scholarship is intended for female students with preferential—but not mandatory—consideration given to those involved in activities that were important to Chloe and to those students who embody some of the characteristics that made her so revered by all who knew her. Those preferences include: 

• Student from Arkansas
• Student government/leadership involvement
• Student athlete (high school or college)
• Volunteer-oriented
• Of high character, kind-hearted, and with the ability to make others smile

The NYITCOM-Arkansas Scholarship and Awards Committee will review eligible candidates each summer at select a winner. 

The Sam Cooper Memorial Scholarship is a $1,000 one-time scholarship award, endowed in honor and memory of Samuel Brooks Cooper (9/8/91- 3/9/17), who lost his battle with cancer while in his third year of medical school. Sam was diagnosed with a rare form of neuroendocrine carcinoma during his freshman year of medical school. Despite surgery, chemotherapy, and total brain radiation, Sam continued his medical school education. He was in the top 10 percent of his class when he was diagnosed with recurrent cancer. 

Cooper’s passion for learning and his perseverance in the face of enormous obstacles are a tribute to the type of person he was and the type of doctor he hoped to become. Sam received a posthumous Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine in June of 2018. Through this annual award, we hope to continue his legacy. 

“I will treat every new experience as an opportunity to gain a new life lesson. I will not take for granted all the things in my life and I will make sure the people in my life will know how important they are to me” 

From “Oath” written by Sam Cooper as an assignment during the first week of medical school. 

Applicants must be current second-year students in good academic standing at NYITCOM-Arkansas. 

Students meeting the above-listed criteria must complete the application in full and submit it to Vicki Walker at vicki.walker@nyit.edu or in person at the Office of Student Affairs each August.

The St. Bernards Foundation administers the Sam Cooper Memorial Scholarship and selects the winner following a review of applications.