Verified scholarship shortlist
| Program and provider | Award | Key fit | Cycle information checked October 13, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoetis Foundation/AVMF Veterinary Student Scholarship | $25,000 | Second- or third-year student in good standing at an AVMA-accredited veterinary school in the U.S., Canada, or Caribbean | Provider lists October 1–31, 2026 |
| Merck Animal Health Scholarship through AVMF | $10,000 | Second- or third-year veterinary student; academic excellence, leadership, and financial need | November 1–30, 2026 listed, alongside a closed-cycle message; confirm access with AVMF |
| Zoetis Foundation/AVMF Veterinary Technician Student Scholarship | $10,000 in AVMF’s 2026 index | Specified year in an accredited technology, nursing, or animal-health technology program | Official pages disagree: October 31 vs. November 15, 2026; ask AVMF and plan for the earlier date |
| Chewy Veterinary Leaders Program through AAVMC | $20,000 | Second-year veterinary students from backgrounds with limited career access; institutional nomination | Fall 2027 award; nomination deadline not verified |
The AVMF index is a starting point, not a substitute for each program’s current form. No award here is guaranteed or assumed renewable.
DVM students: start with training year and leadership evidence
Source: Zoetis veterinary student scholarship
The Zoetis/AVMF DVM scholarship lists 70 awards and explicitly dated October 2026 applications. It considers academic performance and leadership, with financial need potentially considered. Follow its application link to the official portal and verify the form’s submission time zone before the closing day.
Prepare a short evidence sheet: your current veterinary-school year, school accreditation, academic record, leadership responsibilities, and one specific result from your work. An illustrative example is coordinating clinic volunteers and documenting how the scheduling change reduced uncovered shifts. Use actual records; do not invent animal-health outcomes to make an essay sound impressive.
The Merck program similarly considers university and non-university leadership. Its dated November window is useful for planning, but the same page says the cycle is closed. Ask AVMF whether the 2026 form will activate in November before calling it open or building a budget around it.
Vet tech students: accreditation and semester position matter
Source: Zoetis veterinary technician scholarship
The Zoetis technician criteria require full-time enrollment in good standing at a CVTEA-accredited program in the U.S. or Puerto Rico, with second-year eligibility in a two-year program or third-year eligibility in a four-year program, including term-based equivalents.
Ask your program director how your term corresponds to those categories. Do not assume that a DVM school’s accreditation satisfies the technician program requirement. Because the summary and detail deadlines conflict, request written clarification and aim to finish by October 31 unless the provider confirms otherwise.
Some awards require your school to nominate you
Source: AAVMC scholarship nominations
AAVMC’s Chewy Veterinary Leaders Program lists 15 scholarships for Fall 2027 and one eligible nominee per U.S. institutional member. The same page describes the Patricia M. Lowrie Organizational Health Scholarship, a $10,000 one-time Fall 2027 award. A nominee cannot also be nominated for the other program.
Your first action is therefore contacting your student-affairs or scholarship office, not assuming you can bypass the school’s selection. Suggested email: “I am a second-year veterinary student interested in the Chewy nomination. What is our internal selection process, and which materials must I provide?”
Pre-veterinary students need a different shortlist
If you have not started a veterinary degree, none of the DVM training-year entries becomes eligible simply because you intend to become a veterinarian. Search your undergraduate department’s biology, animal-science, and general financial-aid awards instead. AVMF also maintains a university scholarship resource; verify the actual institution’s conditions.
Avoid expired program names
AAVMC explicitly identifies several former Zoetis/AAVMC and Merck diversity scholarship programs as archived. Do not confuse those with the current AVMF programs because the sponsor names overlap. Confirm the administrator, exact title, credential, training year, and dated application form before applying.
