Visiting International Student Elective Program

Students studying at international medical schools, must meet the following criteria to be eligible to enroll in up to three four-week clinical elective rotations, through AAMC VSLO.

• Students must be in good standing.
• Students must have completed all core clinical clerkships before beginning the clinical elective program.
• Students must be proficient in the English language.
• Students must be in their final year of medical studies or completed their core clerkships in order to participate in the elective program.
• Yale does not provide core clerkships to visiting students, only electives, these electives do not satisfy the requirements of core clerkships.
• Yale does not offer observerships/externships.

We offer clinical electives in many specialties of medicine. These are electives and do not meet requirements for core clinical clerkships. All electives are four weeks in length per clinical elective rotation. (We do not offer two-week elective rotations for visiting medical students.) Students may apply for a maximum of three (3) four-week electives, but these electives must be in different specialties.

This link provides a list of the electives. Please note, not all electives listed accept international students. The description of each elective on the list includes whether international students are accepted or not.

Read the descriptions of electives carefully within the Elective Catalog Listing before selecting your choices in the AAMC VSLO application. You may not change your choices or dates of elective after your application has been submitted to the elective department at Yale School of Medicine

If your home institution is currently a participating member of the AAMC – VSLO, please follow the link below to complete the online application process.

• VSLO Participating Members

Please note that the AAMC VSLO Free Mover pathway, which has provided a mechanism for many international medical students—particularly those without institutional VSLO access—to apply for clinical electives at Yale School of Medicine, will conclude in August 2026. We recognize that this change may affect many prospective applicants. Moving forward, international visiting students must apply through VSLO. Yale School of Medicine does not have a separate application process for students from non-participating institutions and does not accept direct or independent applications. Applicants are encouraged to confirm their institution's VSLO participation status.

1. Complete the AAMC Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) application.
   • Application Deadline: Your application should be submitted 4 - 6 months before the start of your chosen elective. Applications submitted after the four (4) month deadline will not be considered.
2. Letter of support from the Dean of the medical school
   • The letter of support will need to include verification that student is in the final year of medical school and that the student is in good academic standing
   • The letter of support must indicate the completion of the required core clerkships or note when the required core clerkship will be complete.
   • The letter of support must be written on the medical school's official letter head/stationary, with the original school seal, the dean's original signature and e-mail address.
   • The letter of support must include the applicants current class ranking, should class ranking not be available your home institution will need to provide a letter indicating rank is not given.
   • The letter of support must be in English or accompanied by an English translation.
3. Copy of student’s current transcript
   • Must included completed required core clerkships
   • Must be written in English or accompanied by an English translation.
4. Curriculum vitae (CV)
   • Must list student’s education, completed clinical electives/sub-internships, publications, and other professional accomplishments.
5. Letter of recommendation
   • Must be from a member of the faculty at student’s medical school who has observed student's clinical skills.
   • Must be written in English or with English translation and must be submitted with the faculty member's original signature on medical school's official stationery.
6. AAMC Standardized Immunization Form
   • Must be translated in English including the immunization records and other documentation.
   • If the student PPD is positive, student must INCLUDE a copy of chest x-ray report in English or with English translation.
   • The OGHE requires documentation of a quantitative hepatitis B surface antibody titer. A non-quantitative result (i.e., "Positive") is not acceptable.
7. Proof of health insurance
   • Must detail health insurance coverage for the duration of the clinical elective at Yale.
   • This certificate should be obtained from student’s health insurance company.
   • Must be translated in English.
   • Proof of Health Insurance is not required at application, but must be submitted upon acceptance.
8. Personal statement
   • Personal statement should describe student’s career goals, how this experience will help student achieve them, and what student has accomplished thus far in pursuit of those goals.
   • Personal statement should also include cultural opportunities student will pursue during his/her stay at YSM outside of the clinical setting.
9. A record of student TOEFL scores is REQUIRED if student is a non-native English speaker
   • Accepted language proficiency test include, TOEFL, IELTS, OET, and CAE

All applicants are required to submit all required documentation before the 120-day deadline; to have applications considered for a clinical elective rotation, we will not fully process incomplete applications. We cannot accept copies of any of the required documentation, however, we can accept a certified copy with raised seal.

Submission of incomplete applications or xerox copies of required documentation, will result in the applicants being marked ineligible.

Upon acceptance of a clinical elective rotation at YSM, the accepted students’ home institution will need to complete a required Clinical Training Agreement.

If your home institution is currently a participating member of AAMC VSLO please follow the link below to complete the online application process.

VSLO Participating Members

The tuition for a four-week clinical elective for students from international medical schools for academic year 2026-2027 is $4,775 USD. The tuition for eight weeks is $9,550 USD. The tuition for twelve weeks is $14,325 USD. Tuition is subject to increases with every new academic year. This typically happens in July.

We estimate that minimum living expenses for a month in New Haven will amount to at least $2,240, excluding the cost of housing.