Global & Community Engagement

At HMS, students have many opportunities to engage with communities both locally and abroad.

Whether with Boston-area agencies or at hospitals abroad, our students help organizations reach their goals. Students may partner with community agencies to carry out summer research or scholarly projects. They may also participate in clinical rotations in the U.S. and abroad that provide health care to underserved populations.

A medical provider examines a prenatal patient in a clinic room.
Global Experiences

Opportunities for short-term service, longer-term engagement, clinical training, and scholarly work.
Family Van staff pose for a group picture outside the van.
Community Engagement

Empowering students with the knowledge, skills, and mentorship to broaden their view of health.
Aerial view of rowhouses in a Boston neighborhood.
Office for Community Centered Medical Education

Partnerships with nearly 50 community organizations in Roxbury, Mission Hill, and Jamaica Plain, focusing on a range of social, medical, and health access needs.

Student Reflections

Watch: Hae Lin Cho, HMS Class of 2023, describes her experience in a community engagement clerkship.

During my month in Kampala, I spent time with both clinical and laboratory components of my project evaluating diagnostics for TB meningitis. Working alongside the clinical team at Mulago Hospital exposed me to the realities of delivering care in environments with limited infrastructure, staffing, and diagnostic capacity. Being involved in both patient care and lab-based diagnostics highlighted how innovations at the bench can directly impact bedside decisions.

Medical Language Program

Medical language study enhances patient care and global experiences. HMS offers opportunities to learn and demonstrate proficiency in many languages.

Learn about medical language offerings

Office of Scholarly Engagement (OSE)

Students receive many forms of support in their pursuit of scholarly engagement and enrichment opportunities. The Office of Scholarly Engagement empowers student research, service, clinical training, and enrichment opportunities in Boston, nationwide, and around the world.

Contact the OSE