WPQAA Scholarship Program

Supported by the ASCP Foundation

The ASCP WPQAA Program provides much needed funding to medical training institutions and universities to ensure the Medical Laboratory Workforce attracts qualified and properly trained future medical professionals to the field. The Western Pathology Quality Assurance Association (WPQAA) began as a for profit organization of pathologists and laboratory scientists in 1977 under the auspices of the College of American Pathologists. Their most enduring contribution is developing 11 scholarship endowments at 10 institutions across the US. 

In 2016, ASCP took over the administration of these endowments to continue this philanthropic commitment of developing a robust workforce of skilled laboratory professionals.

A Commitment to Future Patient Care

Our nation’s laboratory professionals have a bright future in patient care. At ASCP, we believe there will be countless and diverse job opportunities in the future provided that the field of laboratory medicine continues to evolve and is duly recognized for its vital contributions to patient care. 

Program Mission

While ASCP’s current and on-going initiatives on workforce development have shown measureable success and are well received by both the ASCP membership and the laboratory community at large, periodic evaluation of the workforce landscape and the organization’s activities is essential to fulfill ASCP’s role as a leader in the promotion of patient-centered care and the profession. The ASCP WPQAA Program is committed to ensuring that the nation’s clinical laboratories are adequately staffed with qualified laboratory professionals. 

Building the Medical Laboratory Workforce

The medical laboratory workforce includes multiple categories of laboratory science practitioners, who have various levels of education and training ranging from on the job training to associate, bachelor, and graduate or professional degrees. For years there has been growing concern among educators and those responsible for recruiting and hiring, that there is a shortage of qualified medical laboratory professionals entering the field. 

The ASCP WPQAA Program addresses this funding gap by providing endowment funding to leading medical training institutions and universities in the West and Midwest, as well as British Columbia and Canada.

Current Donees

The ASCP WPQAA Program ensures that the following institutions have endowment funds available to properly train future laboratory professionals.

  • British Columbia Institute of Technology, Burnaby, BC, Canada
  • California State University Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA
  • San Jose State University, San Jose, CA
  • San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
  • Colorado Center for Medical Laboratory Science, Denver, CO
  • University of Missouri Hospital and Clinics, Columbia, MO
  • University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
  • Oregon Institute of Technology / Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR
  • University of Washington School of Medicine, Master of Science in Laboratory Medicine, Seattle, WA
  • University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle WA
  • Sacred Heart Hospital, Spokane, WA

Discontinued Program

  • Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (Discontinued by ASU 2010)

ASCP Foundation