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Visiting Students

Current Opportunities

For the academic year 2024–2025, all visiting rotations are coordinated through the Association of American Medical Colleges' (AAMC) Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO). The program charges a fee for this service. Robert Wood Johnson Medical School will open and start to accept visiting applications as of February 2024. All applications will be reviewed and responded to approximately 35 days before the start date being requested. The 2024–2025 academic year and clinical calendar starts June 10, 2024.

Please be aware that the following departments may not be accepting visiting students for the 2024–2025 academic year: Family Medicine and OB/GYN. This includes all core rotations and electives within these departments. There are also a few rotations within other departments that have been closed as well. We will continue to update the VSLO catalog based on information received from the departments. Please continue to review VSLO for any electives that might have been closed since then due to limitations to our clinical capacity.

Robert Wood Johnson Medical School does not provide travel, housing, or living expenses for visiting students. Students are responsible for finding housing for the duration of the visiting experience.

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How to Apply

To apply, please review all eligibility information and requirements below and complete the VSLO application process on the AAMC website for your preferred electives and dates.

Electives

Acceptance into an elective is based upon receipt of the properly completed application forms. If you wish to apply for more than one elective, please use one application form per elective. You do not need to fill out duplicates of the other forms. Use Robert Wood Johnson Medical School course numbers to identify the electives you choose.

View the Elective Catalog

For more information on our visiting student electives, please contact:

Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Office of the Registrar
675 Hoes Lane, Room TC-111
Piscataway, New Jersey 08854-5635
Email: registrarvsas@rwjms.rutgers.edu

You must follow our elective block rotation dates. In addition, no visiting student may accumulate more than 16 weeks of electives. *Two-week blocks may be available within these four-week blocks in the schedule below.

2024–2025 Elective Blocks

Block 1

06/10/24 – 07/05/24

Block 2

07/08/24 – 08/02/24

Block 3

08/05/24 – 08/30/24

Block 4

09/02/24 – 09/27/24

Block 5

09/30/24 – 10/25/24

Block 6

10/28/24 – 11/22/24

Block 7

11/25/24 – 12/20/24

Vacation

12/23/24 – 01/03/25

Block 8

01/06/25 – 01/31/25

Block 9

02/03/25 – 02/28/25

Block 10

03/03/25 – 03/28/25

Block 11

03/31/25 – 04/25/25

Once an elective is offered and accepted, there is a non-refundable $75 processing fee due for each elective you have accepted. Please make the check payable to "Rutgers RWJMS" and send it to the address listed for the contact person. If payment is not received within two weeks from the date of acceptance, you could potentially be withdrawn from the elective.

Eligibility and Application Requirements

  • All visiting students must be:

    • Enrolled at a US Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accredited medical school or a participating Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) accredited American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) member college

    • A fourth-year student with an anticipated graduation of Spring 2025

    The program is not available to medical students who:

    • Are pre-clinical and third-year medical students

    • Attend or have graduated from non-US medical schools

    • Attend medical schools that are not LCME accredited by the AAMC or COCA accredited by the American Osteopathic Association

    • Are foreign medical students on an F-1 Visa who attend US medical schools

    Option for Foreign Medical School Students

    VSLO is not currently available for international students or students enrolled at Canadian medical schools. Although we do not accept international students for our established clerkships and electives, the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Office of Global Health offers an International Global Health Experience to students who attend our partnering institutions. These are typically four-week observership programs, supervised by our global health faculty.

    About the Observership Program

    For additional information, contact the Office of Global Health at globalhealth@rwjms.rutgers.edu.

    • Application
    • Photograph
    • CV
    • Transcript
    • Essential Functions Form
    • AAMC Standardized Immunization Form and applicable supporting documentation
    • Copy of a Background Check having been completed within one (1) year of the anticipated start date of the elective
    • Home Institution Verification
    • Confirmation student passed USMLE Step 1 or COMLEX-USA Level 1
    • Confirmation of good academic standing
    • Confirmation of OSHA, mask fit test, and HIPAA
    • Must be in final year of medical studies in order to participate in clinical elective program
    • Fourth-year Student Acknowledgement
    • Copy of Current/Valid BLS
    • Proof of COVID vaccination
    • Medical liability/malpractice insurance

    All documents must be uploaded through VSLO. Forms will not be accepted via fax or mail.

    • We only review visiting students’ applications 30-35 days before the start date of the rotation. For example, if you apply in April for an August rotation, we are unable to review your application until July.
    • Priority is given to Robert Wood Johnson Medical School students, which makes it difficult for us to provide capacity until 30 days before the start date.
    • All approvals are subject to capacity and availability at the time of acceptance, 30 days prior to the start date.
    • All applications must be complete when submitted. Please make sure to review all requirements below, and submit a criminal background check within 12 months of the start date.
    • If you are applying for the EMED sub-internship, please be aware that you will need to complete a supplemental application, which can be found in VSLO.
    • Our background check is done through CastleBranch. On the CastleBranch website, select "Place Order" and enter "RU35" as the package code.
    • You may use other companies to complete the background check process, but the report must include the following checks:
      • Nationwide Healthcare Fraud and Abuse Scan
      • Nationwide Record Indicator with SOI
      • Social Security Alert
      • Residency History
    • Please notify Robert Wood Johnson Medical School that you are requesting a background check through our services by completing the Criminal Background Check Notification Form and sending it with your application.