Dr. and Mrs. Ernest Steury Medical Student Scholarship Fund

The purpose of the "Dr. and Mrs. Ernest Steury Medical Student Scholarship Fund" is to assist with the tuition of medical students who are committed to a career in foreign or domestic medical missions. Applications are evaluated on the basis of academic record, spiritual maturity, cross culture experience, leadership ability, the student's sense of call, references, and extracurricular activities/talents.

Prerequisites:

• All applicants must be U.S. citizens who are beginning their 1st or 2nd year of training in an American medical school.
• Applicant must be enrolled in an accredited medical college or college of osteopathic medicine and working towards a MD or DO degree.
• Applicants must have experienced a sincere call into career medical missions and be willing to serve for an extended period of time on a foreign or domestic mission field (see Depreciating/Repaying Scholarship/Loan)
• Applicants must be a CMDA Member (Join Now)

Managing Guidelines

Scholarships/Loans of up to $25,000 are provided for the first, second, third and fourth year for medical students. These will normally but not necessarily be renewed on a yearly basis till the applicant graduates from their medical school or college of osteopathy. Rarely, the Steury Scholarship Fund may decide to pay off medical or college of osteopathy debt of a second, third or fourth year student up to the cost of tuition for each year of school they did not receive a Steury Fund scholarship.

• Funds received from the Steury Scholarship Fund will be considered a grant if the student meets all of the following guidelines; otherwise, it will be considered a loan.
• Scholarships/Loan apply toward medical/D.O. school tuition only.
• All recipients must sign a formal agreement concerning the terms of the scholarship/loan before any funds will be paid.
• CMDA requires school tuition invoices and/or other documentation before tuition will be paid. All scholarships/loans awarded will be paid directly to the school of the recipient.
• All recipients must update the Associations by June 1st each year during their training concerning their progress and reaffirm their desire to participate in long-term missions.
• If recipient for any reason, other than death or total and permanent disability, discontinues their medical/osteopathic education, or fails to enter the foreign/domestic mission field or to serve on the field for the required amount of time the scholarship will be converted to an interest-bearing loan. If this occurs, the principal plus interest must be repaid to CMDA’s Steury Fund over not more than a ten-year period.

Writing Off/Repaying Scholarship/Loans

Change of plans: In the event that a recipient of this scholarship/loan decides not to serve on a foreign mission field, repayment must begin within six months after they leave or finish medical and residency training (see repaying the scholarship/loan).

Delayed departure: In the event that a recipient of this scholarship/loan is delayed in arriving on the mission field beyond two years following their medical/osteopathic training, repayment will begin. (see repaying the scholarship/loan)

Recipient on the field: The total amount of the scholarship/loan will be written off at the rate of 14% for each year of service on the mission field (approximately 86 months). Time used for deputation/home leave will not be considered time of service. During authorized deputation/home leave, repayment of the scholarship/loan will not be required. In the event that a recipient leaves the foreign mission field before the scholarship/loan is totally written off, repayment must begin on the portion that has not been written off. All scholarship/loans will be written off chronologically, beginning with the first one awarded. A leave of absence from mission service will trigger repayment until the recipient returns to the mission field or the loan is repaid (see repaying the scholarship/loan). 

Repaying the scholarship/loans

All scholarships/loans not written off by service on a foreign/domestic mission field will be converted into a loan. In this event, an interest rate equal 8.25% will be applied back to the date in which each scholarship/loan was awarded. Monthly payments will be established in order for the debt to be repaid within no longer than 10 years. All scholarship/loans not written off will be repaid chronologically, beginning with the first one awarded. Prepayment is encouraged and allowed without penalty.

• Each scholarship recipient is required to expeditiously inform CMDA if they leave their field of service for other than vacation or emergency leave. They must report their activities to CMDA at least biannually through their prayer letters or other correspondence. An annual formal report using CMDA guidelines is due by July 1st each year. CMDA will provide an annual summary of loan forgiveness in January of each year or upon request of the grantee.
• To insure proper supervision and accountability, scholarship loans are only written off when recipients are serving under a recognized mission board that meets ECFA guidelines for governance and financial accountability.
• Those serving in a domestic or foreign missions must spend at least 75% of their professional time in indigent care. Up to 25% of their time may be spent in personal income generating activities that are approved by their mission board if they are in a “tent making” situation.

Application Process

• Applications may be downloaded by clicking the link below. References, a written personal testimony and other documents are required.
• Applications must be submitted by March 15 to be approved before the start of school that calendar year.
• Finalists will be notified by May 15 and invited to CMDA’s headquarters for a formal day of personal interviews with the selection committee. CMDA will reimburse up to $500 for travel costs and lodging during the interview process.
• Final selections will be made by June 15th and finalists will be notified by e-mail or letter. 

Steury Scholarship Application (.doc)

Steury Reference Request Letter (.doc)

Submit inquiries regarding the Steury Medical Scholarship to Debra Deyton, Executive Assistant, at debra@cmda.org.