School of Medicine

MD Student Summer Research Fellowships

First-year medical students are offered the chance to apply for a summer research fellowship during the summer between their first and second year. There is a common application which is typically due in March.

The fellowship stipend is $4,000 for a period of at least eight weeks (40 hr/wk). Students conducting research under the mentorship of Tufts School of Medicine faculty at Tufts School of Medicine-affiliated institutions are eligible for the full amount of the fellowship. Students conducting research under the mentorship of non-Tufts School of Medicine faculty at non-Tufts School of Medicine-affiliated institutions are limited to 50% of the stipend ($2,000). Matching funds may be requested from the non-Tufts School of Medicine faculty/institution but are not required for the student to receive the award.

Summer Research Fellowship Conditions

  1. Fellowships are limited to students pursuing the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
  2. The fellowships are $4,000 per student if the research project is conducted at a Tufts affiliated hospital or with a Tufts faculty member and $2,000 for a non-affiliated hospital or non-Tufts faculty member. Matching funds can be requested from the non-Tufts faculty/institution, but they are not required for the student to receive the award.
  3. Fellowships will be disbursed in two installments: one at the start of the summer (mid-late June) after the PI submits confirmation of the student start date and one in mid-late July after the PI submits a short update on your progress.
  4. Students are expected to work 40 hours a week for at least eight weeks in the lab in order to receive the full fellowship.
  5. No more than two students working with the same mentor in the same laboratory may receive Tufts School of Medicine-sponsored fellowships.
  6. An eligible student may apply for other available fellowships offered by Tufts School of Medicine or external sources, but the student may only accept one.
  7. At the end of the summer, all students who received a fellowship are required to submit a one-page written abstract and present a poster at the Poster Fair which is held in the fall semester.
  8. The awarded students must complete a W9 form so that the monies can be paid. 

Application Information and Deadline:

To apply, fill out the common application and submit the appropriate documentation by the receipt deadline.

Applications will be reviewed by the Tufts School of Medicine Committee on Medical Student Research, and notification of award will take place approximately four weeks after the application receipt deadline. The fellowship review committee will assign the appropriate award based on the guidelines of the fellowship.

The following fellowships are offered by Tufts School of Medicine to MD Students:

  • This fund supports Tufts medical students conducting laboratory research in the basic sciences during the summer months between first and second year.

  • This endowed fund was established in 1987 by family and friends in memory of David F. Noonan, a distinguished member of the class of 1990. The fellowship is awarded to a first-year medical student for research conducted during the summer between the first and second years of study. Preference will be given to a student conducting research related to diabetes or leukemia.

  • The Shader Fund was established by Richard I. Shader, MD, and is awarded to a Tufts University School of Medicine student who is doing summer research in translational pharmacology or a Tufts School of Medicine student doing research with the Center for the Study of Drug Development.

  • This endowed fund was established by the children, friends, and colleagues of Dr. and Mrs. Stohlman after their death on September 8, 1974. The fund sponsors medical students to conduct biomedical research, specifically in the discipline of hematology. Up to two students are selected annually following a competitive application process in which interested students propose to conduct hematologically related research under the sponsorship of an established investigator. Whenever possible, the research is to be concerned with the proliferation of blood cells and its regulation, but the quality of the investigator and the laboratory in which the student proposes to work would be overriding considerations in the selection of recipients. Tenure of the award is the summer between the first and second years of study.

  • This endowed fund was established by Mrs. Alice Cary Williams in the memory of her father, Dr. Harold Williams. The fellowship is designed for students who wish to carry out basic-science or clinical research during the summer between the first and second years of study. Students can pursue a wide range of research opportunities at the Medical School and its affiliated hospitals.

  • This fund supports medical students doing research in orthopedics.

  • This fund was established in 2022 by a grateful patient of Michael S. Levin, M.D., clinical associate professor of medicine at the School of Medicine, to support international research experiences for medical students. Recipients of this funding must conduct research as part of their Global Health experience. Those interested in this award should apply to the Summer Research Fellowship program in addition to the Global Health Program. Please contact Kimberly Burke for the application form.