Summer Research Fellowships

Support opportunities are available for:

• Undergraduate students interested in pursuing graduate programs in neuroscience (Ph.D. or M.D.-Ph.D.)
• UR medical students typically during the first summer after year 1 of the medical school curriculum

Please visit the URMC Education Website for a description of these summer programs and to apply.

Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowships

Summer Research Fellowships for College Undergraduates support summer research opportunities for students during their college years (nation-wide) who are interested in pursuing graduate programs in Neuroscience (PhD or MD-PhD). The Program is linked with the University of Rochester Medical Center's (URMC) Summer Undergraduate Research Program. Interested students must apply through that program, indicating their interest in Neuroscience within the application. The admission process will identify candidates for the Schmitt Program, and selected students will then be matched with an appropriate advisor and laboratory for the summer. The Schmitt Fellowship typically supports half the cost of the summer fellowship. Students from the University of Rochester are encouraged to apply, with options to continue research part-time into the following year(s).

Medical Student Summer Research Fellowships

Summer Research Fellowships for University of Rochester (UR) Medical Students support summer research opportunities typically during the first summer of the medical curriculum (between years 1 and 2, and on occasion later years connected with year-out programs noted below). The University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry has a long and enduring history of training physician-scientists interested in academic careers that combine teaching, clinical medicine, and research. As part of a broad initiative to establish an Academic Research Track (ART; entailing a 5th year of training) within the medical school curriculum, the Schmitt Program offers UR students scholarships for summer research in neuroscience. Our goal is to promote the initiation of the scholars’ passion for research on the nervous system and its disorders, and to prepare them for a year of research with an independent MD-MS Program in Medical Neurobiology.

We anticipate that 2-4 first-year medical students will be selected each year for this competitive program. Applications are linked centrally with the Office of Medical Education's student enrichment programs. Please apply through that portal and register your interest in the Schmitt program in the application process. In general, consider the following guidelines for submission:

• Satisfactory performance in the first year medical school curriculum to date.
• Letters of support; one from a previous research mentor and the other from a medical school faculty member familiar with the candidate.

  If these are not already submitted, send this Reference Form to those supplying letters with instruction to return to the Program Director by email.

• A CV and a personal statement (one page) outlining career goals and plans for the MD-MS.

• If these are not already submitted, use this Application Form and return it by email as noted on the form.

• Strong interest and aptitude for academic medicine and an interest in neuroscience in particular. It is expected that most applicants for this program have had significant undergraduate research experience, although not necessarily in neuroscience.

Applications should be completed and sent to the Director of the Schmitt Program. The deadlines for the MD-MS Program can be found through the website. Contact with the Program Director and/or Co-Director in advance is encouraged.