Georgia Veterinary Education Loan Repayment Program (GVELRP)

Student loan repayment for veterinarians who agree to provide food-animal veterinary services in Board-approved rural shortage counties in Georgia. Administered by the State Veterinary Education Board with the Georgia Student Finance Authority (GSFA), with administrative support from the Georgia Department of Agriculture. Annual cycle: the 2026-award application period closed October 15, 2025; the next period opens Fall 2026 for the 2027 service year.

US citizen or lawful presence; Georgia resident; a practicing veterinarian or a veterinary student in the final year of study. Awards require practicing or intending to practice in Board-approved rural counties meeting population-threshold requirements.

No award amount is published. Neither the program page, the GVELRP Program Overview, nor the 2026 application states a dollar figure, an annual maximum, or a total loan-repayment ceiling. What is published:

Form of the benefit: "financial relief, by way of student loan purchases, for veterinarians willing to provide food animal veterinary services in shortage areas around the state." The Board "will instruct GSFA to make payments on the outstanding student loan debt of the contracted veterinarian" — payment goes to your lender, not to you.

Funding is not guaranteed year to year: "GVELRP awards are subject to appropriation each year by the legislature."

Contract term: "Each contract between the Board and the participant will be for a period to be defined by the contract" — no fixed length is published.

Service obligation: "the participant is expected to devote at least 20 hours per week to providing food animal or veterinary services in the area of need that they applied for." You may move to another approved area of need with Board approval.

Payment timing and clawback: awards are received "at the completion of the year of service." "If the terms of the contract are breached by the participant at any time, the contract will become void and the participant will not receive the award at the end of the service period." Prior service in an approved area does not count toward a contract.

No double-dipping: "Federal regulations do not allow applicants to participate in both the USDA Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) and the Georgia Veterinary Loan Repayment Program during the same contractual timeframe."

Download the application and reference forms; submit the signed application with three completed reference forms (at least one from a DVM/VMD and at least one from a current/former employer) to StateVetEdBoard@agr.georgia.gov during an open period. Next period opens Fall 2026 for the 2027 service year.