Choose from 130 participating programs in 10 professional health care fields at 60 universities. See if your home state or territory funds its residents through PSEP, and in which health care fields.
Professional Student Exchange Program (PSEP)
An affordable pathway to healthcare education
Health professionals are in high demand, especially in underserved rural areas of the West. Educating more students for careers in healthcare is crucial. But it doesn’t make fiscal sense for less populous states to create their own programs in every health care field.
With out-of-state tuition for some health care programs often exceeding resident tuition by over 300 percent, this can be daunting for tomorrow’s health professionals. It may saddle them in debt, force them to leave their community for more lucrative opportunities, or discourage them from pursuing a passion to heal.
WICHE collaborates with 12 Western states and Pacific Island jurisdictions to provide a solution. Through the Professional Student Exchange Program (PSEP), students pursuing careers in 10 health fields – ranging from optometry to dentistry to veterinary medicine – may enroll in participating programs across state lines and receive substantial tuition support from their home state or territory.
Through PSEP, a student can save $35,700 and $139,800 on tuition over the duration of a health degree study. By participating in PSEP, Western states and territories benefit by inspiring and compelling graduates to return home to practice and bolster the professional health care workforce of their communities.
Applying for PSEP is simple.
Not all WICHE states and territories fund students through PSEP, and the fields supported vary by state. See the link below for details.
Complete your state application before Oct. 15 (suggested Sept. 1 for veterinary medicine). State residency requirements range from 1 to 5 or more years.
Observe your field’s national application deadlines.
Some states (but not all) require you to return home to practice after graduation.
“Thanks to WICHE, my family and I are able to rest easier while I continue my journey to becoming an optometrist. Thank you to WICHE and the State of Hawaii for helping make my dreams come true!”
HAWAII, OPTOMETRY, MARSHALL B. KETCHUM UNIVERSITY
Benefited from PSEP? Tell someone about it.