---
kind: "section"
citation: "10 U.S.C. § 2120"
title: "10"
title_heading: "Armed Forces"
number: "2120"
heading: "Definitions"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/10/2120"
units:
  - "Subtitle A — General Military Law"
  - "Part III — Training and Education"
  - "Chapter 105 — Armed Forces Health Professions Financial Assistance Programs"
  - "Subchapter I — Health Professions Scholarship and Financial Assistance Program for Active Service"
---

# §2120. Definitions


In this subchapter:

- (1) The term “program” means the [Armed Forces](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-4) Health Professions Scholarship and Financial Assistance program provided for in this subchapter.
- (2) The term “member of the program” means a [person](/usc/10/2700.md?p=2) appointed a [commissioned officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-2) in a [reserve](/usc/10/101.md?p=c-6) [component](/usc/10/3011.md?p=13) of the [armed forces](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-4) who is enrolled in the [Armed Forces](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-4) Health Professions Scholarship and Financial Assistance [program](#1).
- (3) The term “course of study” means education received at an accredited college, university, or institution in medicine, dentistry, or other health profession, leading, respectively, to a degree related to the health professions as determined under regulations prescribed by the [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) of Defense.
- (4) The term “specialized training” means [advanced training](/usc/10/2101.md?p=3) in a health professions specialty received in an accredited [program](#1) that is beyond the basic education required for appointment as a [commissioned officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-2) with a designation as a health professional.

## Source credit

(Added Pub. L. 92–426, § 2(a), Sept. 21, 1972, 86 Stat. 717; amended Pub. L. 98–94, title XII, § 1268(13), Sept. 24, 1983, 97 Stat. 706; Pub. L. 100–26, § 7(k)(2), Apr. 21, 1987, 101 Stat. 284; Pub. L. 100–180, div. A, title VII, § 711(a)(2), Dec. 4, 1987, 101 Stat. 1108; Pub. L. 101–189, div. A, title VII, § 725(a), (h)(1), Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1478, 1480.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### Amendments

1989—Pars. (1), (2). Pub. L. 101–189, § 725(h)(1), substituted “Scholarship and Financial Assistance program” for “Scholarship program”.

Par. (4). Pub. L. 101–189, § 725(a), added par. (4).

1987—Pub. L. 100–180 substituted “subchapter” for “chapter” in introductory text and in par. (1).

Pub. L. 100–26 inserted “The term” after each par. designation and struck out uppercase letter of first word after first quotation marks in each par. and substituted lowercase letter.

1983—Pub. L. 98–94 substituted a colon for a dash after “In this chapter” in text preceding par. (1).

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Demonstration Project on Service of Retired Nurse Corps Officers as Faculty at Civilian Nursing Schools

Pub. L. 110–417, [div. A], title V, § 597, Oct. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 4479, as amended by Pub. L. 111–383, div. A, title X, § 1075(e)(8), Jan. 7, 2011, 124 Stat. 4375, which authorized the Secretary of Defense to conduct a demonstration project to encourage retired military nurses to serve as faculty at civilian nursing schools, expired on June 30, 2014.