Fellowships, Awards & Scholarships
They all have different eligibility requirements and application due dates.
Fellowships and Scholarships Heading link
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Submission Deadline: April
Designed to support underrepresented minorities in research. To be eligible, you must pursue a six-week summer research project. Awards are $3,500, and students participate in weekly lunch and learn sessions. Please contact Yolanda Campbell (ycamp@uic.edu) with additional questions.
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Submission Deadline: February-March
The purpose of the Craig medical student summer research fellowship program is to enable medical students who are interested in research and scholarship to conduct defined summer research and scholarship projects under the mentorship and guidance of faculty at the University of Illinois College of Medicine between their M1 and M2 years.
Craig Program Timeline
The standard timeline is detailed below:
- November-December preceding summer fellowship: Craig fellowship informational session for M1 medical students
- November-January preceding summer fellowship: Craig fellowship opportunity announcement disseminated to M1 medical students
- February-March preceding summer fellowship: Craig fellowship application due date
- April-May preceding summer fellowships: Craig fellowship positions offered
- June-August: Craig fellowship program undertaken
- September-October following summer fellowship: Craig fellowship reports collected
- Fall/winter/spring following summer fellowship: Students present fellowship project results at the College of Medicine Research Day at the University of Illinois College of Medicine campus where the research was performed
Student Applicant Eligibility
Only first year (M1) students are eligible to participate in the University of Illinois College of Medicine Craig fellowship program. M.D./Ph.D. program students are not eligible as they are already expected to participate in research by virtue of their combined degree program. Students must be academically eligible to receive the Craig Fellowship. Those students who are required to complete summer remediation exams are ineligible.
Mentor Identification
Prior to developing and submitting a Craig fellowship application, interested students should identify a research faculty mentor who agrees to supervise the student on a project during the summer months, provide research mentorship and guidance during the Craig fellowship program, help the student prepare for a poster presentation at the College of Medicine Research Forum, and ensure that the student fulfills all requirements of the fellowship, including a final written report. Students must select a research mentor that is a University of Illinois College of Medicine faculty member.
Students are able to select mentors from any of the University of Illinois College of Medicine campuses, and are not restricted to mentorship at the campus where the student is enrolled. In the scenario of cross-campus mentorship, Craig fellowship applications are submitted to the campus of the faculty mentor, rather than that of the student participant.
Application
The Craig fellowship application consists of the following components:
- Cover page
- Research proposal 3-4 pages in length, followed by a bibliography
- The research proposal should include the following elements:
- Cover Page: title of the proposal, student name, research mentor’s name, and appropriate University of Illinois College of Medicine department
- Specific Aims: principal aim(s) of the research project; a summary of the questions the student will ask and the methods that will be used
- Background and significance: information to help the reviewer understand the context of the questions the student is asking and why they are important, as well as the clinical and/or basic science significance of anticipated outcome(s)
- Experimental methods, anticipated outcomes, and alternative approaches: for each Specific Aim, provide details about the methods the student will use, specific experimental protocols, how they will answer student’s questions, what information student expects to obtain, and interpretation of anticipated results; state explicitly the portion of planned research to be completed by the student applicant over the summer research months. Provide also a brief explanation on what the student will do if the outcome of the results is not the anticipated one.
- Timeline: provide a tentative plan stating when the different steps and goals of the proposal will be completed. The goals of the proposal should be met within the time of the fellowship
- Program mentorship (to be completed by research mentor): please describe the skills that the student will acquire with his/her work during the proposed Craig fellowship. Additionally, please specify who will actually be supervising the student, e.g. the faculty research mentor, other faculty member, post-doctoral research associate, graduate student, etc., as well as the frequency of meetings and whether meetings will be in person or via phone, e-mail, combination, etc.
- Student applicant resume/curriculum vitae
- 1-2 paragraph statement of interest explaining nature of interest in undertaking a research project for personal and professional development.
Craig Program Dates
See COM website for current dates HERE.
When submitting your application, please make sure to follow these instructions:
- Please name your application as follows: LastName.FirstName_Craig2024Application
- All documents are sent as one complete file— no multiple submissions. No personal email or hand-in copies will be accepted!
- ALL necessary signatures MUST be present on the submitted application cover page in order to be considered.
- Please make sure they are in the sequence as listed above under “Application”.
Expectations for Participating Students
- All awardees are required to submit a final research report after completion of their summer fellowship.
- Craig fellows are required to submit an abstract and present a poster at their campus College of Medicine Research Forum.
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Submission Deadline: October
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program expands perspectives through academic and professional advancement and cross-cultural dialogue. Fulbright creates connections in a complex and changing world. In partnership with more than 140 countries worldwide, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers unparalleled opportunities in all academic disciplines to passionate and accomplished graduating college seniors, graduate students, and young professionals from all backgrounds.
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Submission Deadline: November
The James Scholar for Independent Study Program (JS/ISP) focuses on supporting and refining research skills among medical students as they develop into clinical physicians.
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Submission Deadline: February
Founded in 1996, Health & Medicine’s Chicago Area Schweitzer Fellows Program cultivates aspiring health and human services professionals to be informed, concerned, and involved with addressing health inequities. Each year, the Schweitzer Program provides 30 exceptional students with opportunities to design and implement projects to improve the health and well-being of underserved Chicago communities.
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Gold Student Summer Internships
The Gold Student Summer Fellowship program offers opportunities for medical students to undertake a research or service project related to community health and to develop skills to become a compassionate, relationship-centered physician.
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Gold Humanism Honor Society Resident/Fellow Grants
Do you have a GHHS chapter initiative that could use some funding to get off the ground? Or are you a resident/fellow and GHHS member launching a humanism in medicine initiative?
The Gold Humanism Honor Society accepts proposals for a GHHS Chapter Activity Grant on a rolling basis. The grant period will be based on the project’s needs.
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Medical Research Scholars Program
The Medical Research Scholars Program is a yearlong research immersion program for future clinician-scientists that advances health by inspiring careers in biomedical research. By engaging students in basic, clinical, or translational research investigations, offering a curriculum rich in didactics and professional development, and featuring a robust mentorship and advising program, MRSP prepares its Scholars to become tomorrow’s leaders in medicine and biomedical research.
Awards Heading link
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Gold Humanism Honor Society
The Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) is a community of medical students, physicians, and other leaders who have been recognized for their compassionate care. GHHS reinforces and supports the human connection in healthcare, which is essential for the health of patients and clinicians.
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Submission Deadline: February-March (will be announced annually)
As generously endowed by Drs. Bárány, this fund is set up to provide awards of approximately $1000 for excellence in research to graduating COM at Chicago MD or MD/PhD students. Awards are to be presented each year at Commencement.
Criteria for the award are as follows:
- Nominees must be enrolled in good standing as a fourth year medical students in the College of Medicine at Chicago.
- Nominees must have successfully completed or be on track for completion of the College’s requirements for graduation in Spring of the award year.
- Nominees shall have done at least one of the following:
- Authored a paper in a refereed journal.
- Made an oral presentation at a national or international meeting.
- Made a poster presentation at a national or international meeting.
Students may self-nominate, or be nominated by faculty or other students.
To submit a nomination, please forward 1) a letter from the student nominee, describing his or her research, interests, and accomplishments; 2) a letter of recommendation from a research advisor; 3) a single pdf comprised by electronic copies of any key manuscripts, abstracts, or presentations; 4) a curriculum vitae or resume. If the student is not a first author, his or her contribution to the publication(s) should be described in the letter of recommendation. If eligibility depends upon a key manuscript that is In Press, documentation of this fact should be submitted.
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Submission Deadline: February-March (will be announced annually)
As generously endowed by Drs. Erdös, in 2014 this fund will provide an award of approximately $1000 to a graduating MD or MD-PhD student from the UIC COM at Chicago.
Criteria for the award are as follows:
- Nominees must be enrolled in good standing as fourth year medical students in the College of Medicine at Chicago.
- Nominees must have gained research training at the UIC COM at Chicago, and should not have had doctoral level training or an advanced degree in medical or biological sciences prior to entering the College of Medicine.
- Nominees must have successfully completed or be on track for completion of the College’s requirements for graduation in Spring of the award year.
- Eligibility requires academic achievement in research in the basic sciences, such as authoring a paper in a refereed journal, or making an oral or poster presentation at a national or international meeting.
Students may self-nominate or be nominated by faculty or other students.
To submit a nomination, please forward 1) a letter from the student nominee, describing his or her research, interests, and accomplishments; 2) a letter of recommendation from a research advisor; 3) a single pdf comprised by electronic copies of any key manuscripts, abstracts, or presentations; 4) a curriculum vitae or resume. If the student is not a first author, his or her contribution to the publication(s) should be described in the letter of recommendation. If eligibility depends upon a key manuscript that is In Press, documentation of this fact should be submitted.