POHA-Denver Diversify Nutrition Grant

• Conducting outreach to students in high schools, community colleges and in baccalaureate programs
• Providing financial support to help students navigate barriers to participating in post-baccalaureate degree programs
• Hiring diverse support staff to fuel the grant efforts and to provide advising for current and prospective students
• Offering financial-literacy training focusing on credit, budgeting and loan payback
• Development of an annual conference focused on diversity in dietetics and health care
• Promoting cultural intelligence among faculty, students, staff and practitioners in the field
• Offering a proactive approach in specialized advising when working with POHA scholars

• Must be admitted to MSU Denver as a Department of Nutrition Graduate Student (MSN or DI)
  • Dietetic Interns must wait to apply after confirmation of matching to the MSU Denver Dietetic Internship Program
• Must be enrolled in 3 graduate credit hours

1. Complete a current FAFSA application. FAFSA information is required for scholarship/stipend consideration. Any application without FAFSA information will not be reviewed.
2. Complete a general scholarship application. Students must first apply to the general scholarship application to receive access to the POHA-Denver Diversify Nutrition Scholarship application. The general scholarship application is now open and can be completed anytime after your graduate program acceptance.
3. Complete the POHA-Denver Diversify Nutrition scholarship application between March 1-April 30. You will gain access to this scholarship application only after completing the general scholarship application above. As part of the POHA-Denver Diversify Nutrition scholarship application, you must thoroughly and thoughtfully answer the following essay questions:
   • Are you currently an undergraduate student at MSU Denver?
   • Were you previously an undergraduate student at MSU Denver?
   • What languages other than English do you speak, and please describe your level of proficiency.
   • Are you a first-generation college student?
   • Why do you think diversity is needed (important) in the nutrition and dietetics profession?
   • Please describe how you could contribute to enhancing diversity within the nutrition graduate programs at MSU Denver and within the nutrition and dietetics profession.
   • Describe your cultural life experiences and how they align with the goals and objectives of the POHA-Denver grant.
   • How do you intend to use this scholarship if awarded?
   • If you were a POHA scholar previously, what would you hope to gain from another year as a POHA scholar?
   • How will attending the POHA required workshops, events, and advising sessions impact your educational experience? For reference, please see an example of a typical schedule of POHA events by clicking the link above in Step 3.

The POHA-Denver grant provides both scholarship and stipend opportunities for students. POHA-Denver Diversify Nutrition stipends are tied to graduate research assistant positions in the Department of Nutrition. Research assistants provide support for study design, data collection, data entry, report writing and other various research tasks. Research assistants must demonstrate leadership and self-starter characteristics. The Department of Nutrition also employs graduate students as teaching assistants but through another application avenue. For questions about teaching assistant opportunities, please contact [email protected]. The following application is ONLY for graduate research assistant positions. Graduate research assistants for POHA-Denver typically work 10-20 hours per week and are paid a stipend for their work ($5,000 per academic year or $2,500 per term). The following questions must be answered as part of the stipend application:

• • Would you like to fill out an additional application to be considered for a graduate research assistant stipend position through POHA-Denver? (Please note that this application is only for POHA-Denver graduate research assistant positions. There is a separate application process for graduate teaching assistant positions. Current dietetic interns are not eligible for graduate assistant positions.)
  • Why do you want to be a research assistant for the POHA program?
  • Please describe your research interests as they relate to the topic of diversity in the field of nutrition and dietetics.
  • Please describe your other areas of research interest.
  • What skills or experience do you have related to research that will help you excel at this position? Please provide at least one specific example demonstrating your skills or experience.

POHA-Scholars are diverse graduate students within the Department of Nutrition who have been awarded the POHA Scholarship/Stipend and have an interest in serving diverse populations. POHA-Scholars are part of the POHA-Scholar’s Program that provides specialized advising, financial education, tutoring opportunities, mentorship, financial assistance, research assistance opportunities and access to specialized workshops.

The POHA Scholar Program begins in late-August and ends in mid-May; the program is the length of the full academic year.

Yes! Applications open in March for the following academic year.

POHA-Scholars will be expected to:

• Abide by the policies in the POHA-Scholars Handbook
• Promote the POHA-Denver program purpose, events and activities
• Build community within the MSU Denver Graduate Programs
• Be a leader in your MSU Denver Graduate program and within the community
• Actively and professionally engage with fellow POHA-Scholars, faculty, staff, MSU Denver graduate students and the greater community
• Attend 5 POHA meetings each semester
• Meet with our Advising Specialist twice each year
• Additional requirement may be added