WASHINGTON, D.C., February 2, 2026 – The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and Certiphi Screening®, the nation’s leading provider of screening solutions for health profession students, are pleased to announce the launch of a new scholarship program to support nursing students pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees. Open to members of AACN’s Graduate Nursing Student Academy (GNSA), this program will award two $5,000 scholarships each year through the Foundation for Academic Nursing.

“Investing in graduate nursing education is vital to sustaining the nation’s supply of expert nurses who serve as educators, researchers, leaders, and advanced clinicians,” said Dr. Deborah Trautman, AACN President and Chief Executive Officer. “AACN commends our partners at Certiphi for their commitment to advancing nursing at the highest level through their support of graduate education.”

The Certiphi-GNSA Scholarship is open to nursing students enrolled in master’s and doctoral programs offered by AACN member schools. Applicants must be members of the GNSA (click here to register for free) and submit a brief essay (500 word maximum) explaining some key characteristics of effective nursing leadership and describing an experience where you demonstrated some of these characteristics.

For more details on eligibility and application requirements, see the Certiphi-GNSA Scholarship page. Scholarship applications are being accepted now through April 1, 2026.

AACN and Certiphi Screening

In June 2025, AACN announced a new partnership with Certiphi Screening, the association’s preferred partner for criminal background checks, drug screenings, and record tracking services. Specializing in the health professions, Certiphi currently has similar partnerships in place with the Association of American Medical Colleges, the American Dental Education Association, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, and other national associations across disciplines. AACN negotiated an up to 30% discount on background checks and other compliance tracking services for students from AACN member schools.

Nursing schools interested in finding out more about Certiphi’s services are encouraged to view a free on-demand webinar and contact account manager Suzi Arant at 888-260-1370, ext. 2012 or sales@certiphi.com.

Partnering to Support Nursing Students

AACN actively seeks opportunities to partner with corporate sponsors and other stakeholders to provide discounted services and scholarship programs to nursing schools and students in baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs. The association currently administers scholarship programs in conjunction with the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, Hurst Review Services, Liaison International, QGenda, Scrubin Uniforms, Uniform Advantage, and Wolters Kluwer. Those interested in establishing a scholarship program and/or partnering with AACN are encouraged to contact Foundation Director, Dr. Katie Fioravanti, at kfioravanti@aacnnursing.org.

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Certiphi Screening, Inc., a member of the Vertical Screen, Inc. family of applicant screening companies, provides customized applicant and student background screening services to leading colleges, universities, hospitals and healthcare organizations, including background screening, fingerprinting, OIG/EPLS searches, drug testing and occupational health screening. For more information, call 888-260-1370 or visit the website.

AACN’s Graduate Nursing Student Academy (GNSA) is the collective voice for graduate nursing students, representing over 17,000 students in master’s and doctoral level nursing programs at AACN member institutions. The GNSA provides high value programs, services, and resources to graduate nursing students as they prepare for the next stage of their nursing career.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is the voice for academic nursing representing more than 875 member schools of nursing at public and private institutions nationwide. AACN works to establish quality standards for nursing education; assists schools in implementing those standards; influences the nursing profession to improve health care; and promotes public support for professional nursing education, research, and practice.