Student Summer Fellowships

Student Summer Fellowships

The Student Summer Fellowship program offers opportunities for medical students to complete a research or service project related to community health. Projects must be focused on understanding and/or enhancing culturally competent practice, developing skills to become patient and relationship-centered physicians, and addressing a public health need in an underserved community or population.

There are two types of fellowships:

The Student Summer Research Fellowship is awarded for research in community health, cultural competency issues and vulnerable population health concerns. Although this is a research-based Fellowship, the focus should be on humanistic patient care and as such the proposal should show significant interaction with the target population.

The Student Summer Service Fellowship is intended to provide students an opportunity to design and implement a service project addressing a public health need in an underserved community or population. The Foundation’s goal is to provide an opportunity for students to work directly with patients and to become more compassionate, relationship-centered physicians.

Contact our Staff:

Who is Eligible?

Medical students at an accredited U.S. or Canadian school of allopathy or osteopathy may apply for either the Research or Service Fellowships (details below).

Project Details

The grant award includes a stipend of up to $4,000 for a 10-week period.

The student is expected to conduct the project under the oversight of a mentor (the student is responsible for identifying an appropriate mentor from their school). Multiple students can work together and submit one set of forms.

We are particularly interested in the following:

  1. Projects that encourage collegial teamwork, particularly interprofessional teams that include participants from other disciplines.
  2. Projects that are unique and designed and implemented by students.

How to Apply for  a Research Fellowship

  • Applications for the 2018 Student Summer Fellowships have closed.
  • All applications must be submitted using this online form 
  • Documents must be named using the following format: lastname_firstname_documenttype, e.g. Simmons_Amanda_MentorFormB
Your application must include:
  • Electronic application (register/log-in to grant request system)
  • Mentor Form A (download and attach to application)
  • On-site Supervisor Form (only required if project takes place off-site or overseas)
  • Letter of support from the Student Affairs or Medical Education Dean must accompany all applications. The letter must state that: 1) the student is presently in good academic standing, 2) the school approves of the mentor and the location of the project, and, 3) the school is willing to accept and administer the grant on the student’s behalf.
  • Proposal (2-3 pages) including:
    • abstract
    • hypothesis
    • objectives and significance
    • background and literature review with appropriate citations (citations do not count toward page limit)
    • research design and methodology (if IRB approval/exemption is necessary, please provide application status)
    • expected level of direct patient interaction during course of the fellowship
    • possibility for research to continue after student fellowship
    • thoughtful discussion of how this fellowship might contribute to the applicant’s understanding of the practice of humanistic medicine as well as the patient experience with illness, their health and the healthcare system (at least two paragraphs in length)

Reporting Requirements — Research Fellowship

A final paper describing the project is due by September 28, 2018. The final paper should include:

  • a restatement of  the original hypothesis and objectives of the project
  • a description of the investigation and activities undertaken
  • qualitative and/or quantitative data and its significance
  • conclusions
  • evaluation of project (include tools, methods used, work to date if part of a larger project)
  • comment on possibility for continuation of this research
  • discussion of how this fellowship has contributed to the Fellow’s understanding of the practice of humanistic medicine – based on your experience, speak on/discuss the patient/provider relationship as well as the patient’s experience with illness, and the healthcare system
  • what avenues are available to you for dissemination or presentation of your project? Describe what steps you have taken or identified to disseminate your project
  • pictures that document the student’s experience
  • headshot for publication on website
  • Mentor Form B (download and return completed form)
  • On-site Supervisor Form (only required if project takes place off-site or overseas)

Some well-conceived projects may fail or yield ambiguous results when unexpected problems are encountered. In all cases, students should write a clear and candid appraisal of the project and interpretations of the collected data.

How to Apply for a Service Fellowship

  • Applications for the 2018 Student Summer Fellowships have closed.
  • All applications must be submitted using this online form 
  • Documents must be named using the following format: lastname_firstname_documenttype, e.g. Simmons_Amanda_MentorFormB
Your application must include:
  • Electronic application (register/log-in to grant request system)
  • Mentor Form A (download and attach to application)
  • On-site Supervisor Form (only required if project takes place off-site or overseas)
  • Letter of support from the Student Affairs or Medical Education Dean must accompany all applications. The letter must state that: 1) the student is presently in good academic standing, 2) the school approves of the mentor and the location of the project, and, 3) the school is willing to accept and administer the grant.
  • Proposal (2-3 pages) including:
    • a statement of need identifying and providing background on the public health issue and population being addressed
    • background and literature review with appropriate citations (citations do not count towards page count)
    • a detailed implementation plan to address these needs (if IRB approval/exemption is necessary, please provide application status)
    • an evaluation component to assess impact of student’s intervention
    • expected level of direct patient interaction during course of the fellowship
    • comment on possibility for project to continue after the summer fellowship
    • a statement on opportunity for student to present work to faculty and peers, and possibility for publication
    • thoughtful discussion of how this fellowship might contribute to the applicant’s understanding of the practice of humanistic medicine as well as the patient experience with illness, their health and the healthcare system (this section should be at least two paragraphs in length)

Reporting requirements — Service Fellowship

A final paper describing the project is due by September 28, 2018. The final paper should include:

  • restatement of the original goals and planned intervention
  • description of activities undertaken, including information on number of participants
  • discussion of the project’s final results and its impact on the target issue/population, including whether or not the original goals were met
  • evaluation results (include tools, methods used)
  • discussion of how this fellowship has contributed to the Fellow’s understanding of the practice of humanistic medicine – based on your experience, speak on/discuss the patient/provider relationship as well as the patient’s experience with illness, and the healthcare system
  • pictures that document the student’s experience
  • headshot for publication on website
  • Mentor Form B (download and return completed form)
  • On-site Supervisor Form (only required if project takes place off-site or overseas)

Some well-conceived projects may fail or yield ambiguous results when unexpected problems are encountered. In all cases, students should write a clear and candid appraisal of the project and interpretations of the collected data.

2018 Student Summer Fellows

Lee Lemus Hufstedler UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program
Transgender Youth Homelessness: Healthcare Needs and Health Disparities

Tiffany Ku Loyola University Chicago
Assessing the feasibility and value of a social needs screening in free health clinics

Hardik Patel University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Implementing patient navigators to expand services and improve follow up care at a student-run wound care clinic

Bernadette Lim UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program
“We Are the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For”: A Health Education and Social Justice Art Initiative for Southeast Asian Young Women Engaged In or At-Risk Of Sexual Exploitation in Oakland

Angela Judd University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine
The Current and Potential Role of Technology in the Coordinated Care of Children with Medical Complexity

Gabriel Paul University of Connecticut
Men’s Health-Seeking Behavior, Cancer Knowledge and Awareness, and Willingness to Support Female Partners in Jérémie, Haiti

Michael Sarvi Mayo Clinic School of Medicine
Improving Health Outcomes of Phoenix’s Refugee Population through Educational Workshops