The Nursing Incentive Scholarship Fund (NISF) provides scholarships to Kentucky residents attending approved LPN, ADN, BSN, or graduate nursing programs. NISF recipients are selected individually by the Board, using specified criteria outlined in regulation 201 KAR 20:390. The amount of each scholarship is $1,500 per semester, a max of $3,000 per year. NISF scholarship recipients may use the funds they are awarded for cost of living expenses—the award funds do not need to be directly applied to tuition or the cost of books. The funds are thus directly awarded to the recipients and not to their programs of nursing. After completing the program and obtaining licensure (if applicable), scholarship recipients must complete one year full-time work as a nurse in Kentucky for each year of study funded (or its equivalent).
All applications are due for receipt between January 1 and June 8, and are for the academic year commencing that fall.
The Kentucky Board of Nursing is currently working with the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) to implement the Optimal Regulatory Board System (ORBS), which provides on online portal for licensing, discipline, and scholarship applications. All NISF applications must be submitted through the ORBS nurse portal.