Relationships, community, and dialogue
Established to support Harvard Medical School’s 230-year tradition of enhancing the interaction between students and faculty, the Academic Societies provide a community-based approach to medical education and an organizational framework to help students take full advantage of the plethora of opportunities available at HMS.
Meet the Societies
All HMS students in the Pathways curriculum are placed into an academic society upon matriculation:
- Cannon
- Castle
- Hinton
- London (for all Health Sciences and Technology students)
- Peabody
Dental students, who share the Pathways curriculum during the first year and a half, are also fully integrated into the four Pathways societies and participate in the same advising program.
Each society serves as a longitudinal learning community, where students are supported by a dedicated Advisory Dean and a small group of Society Advisors—all physicians with a deep commitment to advising and medical education. These societies offer continuity of advising, academic oversight, peer support, and a structured space for professional identity formation.
Societies support students not only academically, as robust learning communities, but socially and emotionally through society-wide community gatherings, creating a network where students progress together through the curriculum and build lifelong relationships with their peers and advisors. Through the society-based advising framework, students experience a balance of structured learning, individualized attention, and peer-supported reflection—tools essential for navigating a dynamic and demanding path to becoming a physician.
Contact Us
Academic Societies
Harvard Medical School
Tosteson Medical Education Center (TMEC)
260 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
617-432-1570
student_affairs@hms.harvard.edu
Society offices are located on the 2nd floor of TMEC (Suites 213 & 252)
Office hours vary by society
Make an appointment:
Meeting scheduler