Applications Open for Critical Care Nursing Scholarships

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and American Association of Colleges of Nursing collaborate to provide scholarships for baccalaureate nursing students

Applications for the AACN² Pathway to Critical Care Nursing Scholarship are now being accepted. Each scholarship provides $2,500 to eligible students enrolled in entry-level baccalaureate programs who are committed to providing expert care to patients at their most vulnerable. The deadline for applications is Sept. 1, 2026, and scholarship recipients will be announced in November.

Administered by the Foundation for Academic Nursing, the AACN²: Pathway to Critical Care Nursing Scholarship represents a collaboration between the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN Critical Care) and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN Colleges) to support nursing students interested in critical care practice. This support, in turn, helps ensure the future of critical care nursing and the appropriate staffing to create and sustain healthy work environments. AACN Critical Care will fund up to eight prelicensure scholarships this year (up to $20,000 total) through the partnership with AACN Colleges.

“These prelicensure scholarships provide vital support for the next generation of acute, progressive and critical care nurses,” said AACN Critical Care Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Vicki Good. “Together with our colleagues in academic nursing, we are developing collaborative solutions and taking action to stabilize and strengthen the nursing workforce.”

Health workforce analysts continue to project a significant gap between the total number of nurses needed and the total demand for nurses through 2037. Addressing this shortfall requires collaborative solutions and strategic engagement from leaders in academia and clinical practice.

“Advancing solutions to address the nursing shortage is essential to keeping individuals, families and communities healthy and thriving,” said Dr. Deborah Trautman, AACN Colleges President and Chief Executive Officer. “These scholarships funded by AACN Critical Care will open new doors to nursing students beginning their careers and help reduce financial barriers to pursuing a nursing education.”

The partnership is an expansion of AACN Critical Care’s prelicensure scholarship program that includes similar levels of support for nursing students through the Organization for Associate Degree Nursing (OADN) and the Foundation of the National Student Nurses’ Association, Inc. (FNSNA). The funds come from AACN’s endowment established in 2001 to support scholarships for nursing education and professional development.