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.

Cannon Society students and faculty posing at an outdoor event with the word "Cannon" spelled out in balloons.
Cannon Society
Castle Society students posing in their learning studio.
Castle Society
Hinton Society students posing in their learning studio.
Hinton Society
London Society students posing in the TMEC Atrium with their Society Olympics poster. The poster says "Let's Make HISTORY" with the letters H, S, and T standing out in a different color.
London Society (HST)
Peabody Society students posing with a poster that says "Peabody" in the TMEC Atrium.
Peabody Society

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.

Learn about career planning

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