Visiting Students

*University of Minnesota Medical School Visiting Student Announcement*

The 2023-2024 Visiting Student Catalog will open in VSLO on March 1st, 2023. We will begin accepting applications at that time. We plan to have our catalog listings posted in mid-February, so applicants can begin browsing our upcoming offerings.

Visiting medical students from domestic LCME-accredited medical schools and COCA-accredited medical schools ONLY may apply for selected elective rotations at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

International medical students are not accepted unless a formal agreement exists between their medical school and the University of Minnesota. For a list of medical schools with whom the University of Minnesota has formal agreements, please visit the website for the Global Medical Education & Research Program.

Application Procedure for Visiting Students from U.S. LCME-accredited Medical Schools or COCA-accredited Medical Schools

The University of Minnesota Medical School uses the AAMC's Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) to receive visiting student applications. Our institution information is available at AAMC's list of VSLO host institutions.

To apply to our institution, you will need to complete an application in VSLO. Do not send elective requests directly to our office or to course personnel.

General Guidelines for Visiting Students:

• Due to a high volume of applications, do not email elective coordinators directly regarding elective availability or your application status. You can contact the VSLO coordinator at vsas@umn.edu for a status update. If appropriate, the VSLO coordinator will connect with the elective coordinator.
• Applications MUST conform the established UMN electives as listed in the VSLO elective catalog without exception.
• Applications must conform to the published calendar. Some exceptions can be made upon offer, but this is at the discretion of the individual clinical department.
  • NOTE: We do not host visiting students during the March and April terms in order to ensure that our staff have enough time to prepare for the upcoming academic year. Individual departments can approve exceptions at their discretion. Please contact the VSLO coordinator (vsas@umn.edu) for more information or to connect you with the department.
• Participation in an away rotation through the University of Minnesota Medical School does not guarantee an interview with the respective residency program.
• Visiting students are only eligible to take a maximum of two (2) electives at our institution. 

Eligibility Requirements

• in good academic standing
• completed at least 3 core clerkships (MED, SURG, OB/GYN, PED, Family Medicine and/or Psych) including one in the elective's specialty, if applicable
  • Any elective specific prerequisites will be listed on the catalog page for the elective.
• passed USMLE Step 1 or COMLEX-USA Level 1
• receiving credit for the elective at your home school
• paying tuition at your home school during the period indicated
• have certification in OSHA safety measures and infection control precautions
• Current with Basic Life Support (BLS) training
  • ACLS will not be accepted in lieu of this requirement.
• We accept only the AAMC Standard Immunization Form and require the following immunizations
  • Tuberculosis Screening - TB blood test (QuantiFERON TB-Gold or T-SPOT) OR Two-Step TST within one year of the elective end day.
  • Hepatitis B (documentation of vaccine or positive titer)
  • Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) (documentation of two doses or positive titer for each)
  • Varicella (documentation of two doses OR positive titer OR provider diagnosis of disease date within one year of elective)
  • Tetanus/Diptheria/Pertussis Tdap (documentation of one dose received July 2005 or later and then 1 every 10 years after that)
  • Influenza vaccine within the last year.
  • Covid-19 vaccine(s); exemptions not accepted.
• completed HIPAA training
• professional liability and malpractice coverage is provided by your home school of at least 1,000,000 per instance and 3,000,000 aggregate (Visiting students in elective rotations through the UMN Medical School do not have professional liability coverage from the University of Minnesota.)
• hold personal health insurance. Visiting students must provide verification that they carry their own health and accident insurance to cover any inpatient medical expenses they may incur.

Affiliation Agreements

We require a reverse affiliation agreement with the visiting student's host institution. If we are unable to establish an affiliation agreement between the University of Minnesota and the visiting student's home institution within two weeks of the elective start date, the student will not be able to rotate at the University of Minnesota.

• To view a list of current affiliation agreements, please reference our list of Affiliation Agreements that Cover Medical Students. Reverse affiliation agreements that cover visiting students are noted as "Reverse agreement - their students coming here."
• The University of Minnesota has signed on the AAMC Uniform Clinical Training Affiliation Agreement. If your home institution is listed here, we can likely expedite the affiliation agreement process.

Deadlines

Visiting student applications are reviewed on a term by term basis. Due to internal deadlines, we aim to notify students with a decision 6-8 weeks prior to the elective start date. Scheduling is at the discretion of our clinical departments, and if you are selected for a spot, you will be extended an offer through VSLO. Applications for the upcoming academic year open on March 1st.

Due to our internal deadlines, we maintain priority deadlines on a term by term basis after which dates, we will begin our application review. If you submit an application after the priority deadline, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to review your application. You will not be notified about the status of your application until after the priority deadline has passed.

• Priority Deadline 1: March 12th, 2023 - For electives beginning 5/1/2023, 5/15/2023, 5/29/2023, and 6/12/2023
• Priority Deadline 2: April 30th, 2023 - For electives beginning 6/26/2023, 7/10/2023, 7/24/2023, and 8/7/2023
• Priority Deadline 3: July 2nd, 2023 - For electives beginning 8/28/2023, 9/11/2023, 9/25/2023, and 10/9/2023
• Priority Deadline 4: August 20th, 2023 - For electives beginning 10/23/2023, 11/7/2023, 11/20/2023, and 12/4/2023
• Priority Deadline 5: October 15th, 2023 - For electives beginning 1/8/2024, 1/22/2024, 2/5/2024, and 2/19/2024
• NOTE: The UMN elective catalog will be closed to visiting students during the March and April terms. Exceptions will need to be approved by the department. Please contact the VSLO coordinator (vsas@umn.edu) for more information.

If You Are Accepted - Additional Requirements

If you are offered and accept an elective, you will be asked to complete several additional requirements including a specific background study prior to arrival.  Please note that there are very specific deadlines for some of these requirements and failure to meet them in the timeline will result in your offer being revoked.  

Mistreatment and Harassment Reporting

The University of Minnesota recognizes its obligation to its faculty, staff and the community to maintain the highest ethical standards.

To facilitate this process the University has chosen Ethical Advocate to provide you with an anonymous way to report activities that may be violations of the University's policies or other laws, rules and regulations.

Reporting an incident of mistreatment, harassment, or abuse of a medical student can be reported 24 hours, 7 days a week through the University Compliance Program (https://compliance.umn.edu/report).

To learn more and report an incident visit our Reporting Mistreatment Page.

Biosafety Incidents and Needlestick Injury Protocol

In the event of accidental or potential exposure to infectious and environmental hazards at an instructional site, visiting students can follow the same processes and procedure as University of Minnesota medical students. 

Steps to address blood borne pathogen exposure and a 24 hour help line can be found on our Needlestick Injury Protocol page.

Additional biosafety incident and emergency information can be found on the university's BioSafety and Occupational Health page.

For More Information

For more information, please browse our institution's visiting student electives in the VSLO Elective Catalog.

Housing

The UMN Medical does not coordinate housing for visiting students. You may use the links below to search for on-campus and off-campus housing. The AAMC also provides housing resources on their website.