External Funding Opportunities

Students are encouraged to apply for fellowships and/or scholarships as a source of funding from external sources for research or travel. In most cases, students apply directly to the funding sources.

Fellowships

The Office of Scholarly Engagement (OSE) provides information about external funding fellowship opportunities. Students are encouraged to apply for funding from the many excellent national and professional society fellowships available for MD students.

  • Year-long or year-off fellowships
  • Summer fellowships
  • Fellowships for study or research abroad; clinical electives abroad (including some Harvard traveling fellowships); for study in the UK, see also the http://www.britishcouncil.us

Fellowships Processed Through OSE:

Some of these fellowships are processed through the Office of Scholarly Engagement (OSE). Students should contact ose@hms.harvard.edu in the summer if they plan to apply to any of these fellowships. Deadlines for these fellowships vary each year.

Scholarships

The Financial Aid Office maintains a list of available scholarships which can be found on the Financial Aid Office Types of Aid page (from the funding page: navigate to Scholarships/Fellowships > External > Outside Scholarship Opportunities).

Preparing Your Application for External Funding

Important Deadline: At least three weeks prior to your submission date

When you prepare an application for external funding, find out if the funds must be awarded to HMS. Information on how the funds are disbursed may be found on the funder’s website; if not, contact the funder to ask how the funds are disbursed.

If the funds must be awarded to HMS, reach out to the Finance Office in the Program for Medical Education at least 3 weeks prior to the submission date of your application. The PME Finance administrator will work with you to have your application reviewed and approved by the HMS Office of Research Administration.

HMS sponsored proposals require institutional review and authorization prior to submission. See the strict HMS submission policy.

Databases & Lists of External Funding Sources: