Applying for an Elective at MSKCC

Medical students must be in their final year of medical school at the time they are participating in the electives. There are no exceptions to this requirement. We require written documentation from your school to confirm your final year status. NOTE: Students are required to demonstrate strong academic credentials (Minimum GPA 3.0 or B average.)

The academic year for the Elective Program begins in July and ends the following June. Note: Priority registration for elective spots is given to Cornell medical students during the month of April. 

• For electives beginning in July, August and September, visiting students may submit applications beginning in April. Reviews of visiting student applications begin in May when Cornell priority registration is over. Decisions are made on a rolling basis.
  
• For electives beginning October through June, applications may be submitted no earlier than six months prior to the start of the elective. (Applications sent in earlier than six months will be returned without review.) Decisions are made on a rolling basis.

International students are no longer accepted for the month of June.

Completed application materials for international students must be received no later than eight weeks prior to the start of an elective - no exceptions.

Yes. There is a one-time, non-refundable application fee of $100 to apply for one or more electives. Checks or money orders should be made payable to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. International students must submit a check in US dollars (drawn on a US bank), US Travelers Cheques or an international money order payable in US dollars. Wire transfers and credit card payments are not accepted. Applications will NOT be processed without the application fee.

See How to Apply (International Medical Students).

No. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center does not charge tuition for medical student electives.

Yes. Module dates must be followed as published on our website.

No. You must indicate specific electives of interest on your application materials. If you do not, we will return your application materials to you without review.

Due to the increased volume of applications to our program, we can now only consider requests for a maximum of 8 weeks for both Medicine and Surgery electives. NOTE: According to New York State Department of Health regulations, medical students whose medical education includes more than 12 weeks anywhere outside the country where their medical school is located are ineligible to participate in post-graduate training programs (residency and fellowship) in New York State if the medical school is not approved by the NYS Education Department for extended clerkships. List of approved schools is available at http://www.op.nysed.gov/medforms.htm

Your chances of being scheduled may increase if you include alternate choices for electives and module dates. This is especially true for the fall module dates. In addition, submission of completed applications with all requested documentation significantly expedites the review and acceptance process.

When deciding on which elective to apply for, consider your personal interests and the career path you would like to take. Which previous clerkships have sparked your interest? Ask your medical school advisor or other faculty members for guidance.

No. We cannot hold applications for students. We ask that applications be sent to us no earlier than 6 months prior to the start of the elective.

You will be notified approximately six to eight weeks after a completed application is received. No phone calls please; e-mail inquiries only. medstudent@mskcc.org

All electives take place at Memorial Hospital, one of the teaching hospitals of Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Certification or validation required by a student's medical school or by other medical authorities regarding an elective at Memorial Hospital will be signed by the elective sponsor(s) or from another designated supervisor at Memorial Hospital and returned directly to your medical school. The only seal provided will be from Memorial Hospital. Only actual dates of elective(s) will be certified. No weekend dates will be certified.

While a student's status as a fourth year elective student at Memorial Hospital will provide him/her with the equivalent rights and duties, for the limited period of the elective(s), of a medical student from Cornell, students will not receive any certification, validation, signature, or official seal directly from Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

Some electives require a phone interview with the sponsor. You will be notified if an interview is required. In all other circumstances, applicants should not contact the sponsors directly. Sponsors are not aware of the availability of electives and are not equipped to answer detailed questions regarding application procedures. As a future physician, you also need to be mindful of time constraints placed on a practicing physician's busy schedule. All inquiries should be directed to the Medical Student Coordinator in the Graduate Medical Education office. No phone calls please; e-mail inquiries only. medstudent@mskcc.org

Students are responsible for obtaining their own visas. Please contact the American Embassy for more information on visa-related issues.