Texas Animal Health Commission now accepting Rural Veterinarian Incentive Program

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The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) announced it is accepting applications for the 2023 Rural Veterinarian Incentive Program (RVIP). The program provides payment of tuition and fees or loan repayment assistance to eligible veterinary students and veterinarians. According to an organizational release,¹ those who commit to work in the designated areas located in Texas can receive up to $180,000 of assistance.

“The RVIP offers a great opportunity to receive up to $45,000 for each year of full-time veterinary service in rural communities in need of a veterinarian,” said Andy Schwartz, DVM, TAHC executive director and Texas state veterinarian, in the release.¹ “We are pleased that this program seeks to provide assistance to veterinarians and veterinary medical students and the designated rural communities that will benefit from veterinary services in their areas.”

Interested veterinary professionals must meet the following criteria:¹

• A currently enrolled student or graduate of a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program at Texas Tech University’s School of Veterinary Medicine or Texas A&M University’s School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
• Graduates that graduated within 4 years of the application date and a practicing veterinarian
• A student currently enrolled in an out-of-state accredited college of veterinary medicine can apply if they added high school or undergraduate in Texas
• A United States citizen or legal permanent resident
• agree to practice veterinary medicine full-time in an eligible rural county in Texas for at least one calendar year
• Not currently fulfilling another obligation to provide veterinary medical services as part of a scholarship agreement, educational loan agreement, or another educational loan repayment agreement
• Have received an eligible education loan for at least 50% of the funds for tuition and fees for 1 or more academic years while enrolled in an accredited school of veterinary medicine
• Eligible to receive payment from the funding source

Applications will be submitted to the RVIP Committee through a process facilitated by the TAHC. Applicants can submit the completed RVIP Application Form by email or mail. Selected participants can only receive assistance for qualified educational loan debt incurred after March 3, 2021. They can also only receive assistance for service obligation periods that are finished prior to December 31, 2023, due to the source of funding under Section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.¹

To learn more about the RVIP, interested professionals can visit and apply at the TAHC website.

Reference

Rural veterinarians, veterinary students can apply for education assistance. News release. Texas Farm Bureau. July 10, 2023. Accessed July 10, 2023. https://texasfarmbureau.org/rural-veterinarians-veterinary-students-can-apply-for-education-assistance/