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Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
MD Education

Application Requirements

Visiting student rotations are designed for students who are enrolled in their final year of medical school and have already completed one full year of in-hospital clinical training. Visitors must have previously completed basic clerkships in internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and surgery. Certain specialty electives may have prerequisites; check each listing in the elective catalog for details.

Because we use the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) program for receiving and processing visiting student applications, we can only accept applications from students who attend the following types of institutions:

  • U.S. medical school: Any LCME-accredited medical school located in the United States or Puerto Rico
  • Osteopathic medical school: Any AOA-accredited Osteopathic medical school
  • Selected students from our Global Partner institutions: A current list of institutions can be found on the Global Partners page and on the Global Partner Application form

Unfortunately, we can not accept applicants from schools located outside the contiguous 48 states, Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, with the exception of Global Partner institutions.

A fully executed affiliation agreement must be in place before a visiting student can rotate at Feinberg. For a listing of institutions with affiliation agreements in place, see the most recent affiliation agreement report.

Clerkship assignments for visiting students are made after our own students’ schedules have been completed for the upcoming academic year. Northwestern students always have priority on available clerkships.

Do not contact course directors, coordinators or faculty for any reason during the application process. Contacting any of these parties may result in your ineligibility for current and future rotations.

VSLO Application Requirements

Requirements Completed by Student

  • Photo
  • CV/Resume (please upload document as PDF)
  • USMLE Step 1 score or COMLEX score: Submit a scan your score report.
  • Immunization/Health Form: All students applying through VSLO must use the AAMC Standardized Immunization Form. Upload the completed three page form and supporting labs and documents as a single PDF in the immunization forms section of VSLO.
  • Health Insurance: Submit a scan of the front and back of your insurance card.
  • Visiting Student Policy Acknowledgement
  • BLS or ACLS Certification: Submit a scan of your BLS or ACLS completion card.
  • NPI Number (if you do not have an NPI number, you can apply on the CMS website.)
  • COVID-19/Coronavirus Vaccine: all visiting students to Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine are required to be fully vaccinated and submit documentation at least 28 days prior to rotation start date.

Requirements Completed by School Official (e.g., Registrar, Clinical Coordinator)

  • Letter of recommendation: This letter must be written by a faculty member who has observed you clinically and must comment on your clinical abilities and performance. Some departments have specific letter of recommendation requirements. Please refer to the elective descriptions for details. Only documents that have a faculty member's signature and are written on official letterhead will be accepted.
  • Current transcript with key
  • Feinberg School of Medicine Assessment Form Agreement: Effective May 1, 2019, all visiting students at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine will be graded using our assessment form.
  • Verification of medical liability and/or malpractice insurance: Students are required to have coverage of $1 million per occurrence/$3 million aggregate. If school does not provide this, student will need to purchase supplemental coverage and submit Certificate of Insurance prior to beginning rotation.

Check the elective descriptions on VSLO carefully. Some departments have specific requirements in addition to those mentioned above. For example, many electives also require a personal statement.

No documentation will be accepted via postal mail, fax, in an email or email attachment. All application documents must be submitted through VSLO only. For more information, please visit the VSLO site or contact VSLO at vsas@aamc.org or 202-478-9878.