Visiting Student Clerkships

Students in good academic standing in their senior year at US schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) and students at schools accredited by the American Osteopathic Association Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) may apply for clinical clerkships at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California for a maximum of eight weeks. The Keck School of Medicine accepts visiting student applications through the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities Program

2025-2026 Rotations Timeline

• February 10th: VSLO catalog will be open to view.
• March 3rd: Applications will start being accepted.

For questions regarding visiting student rotations, please email medstuaf@usc.edu 

Rotation Criteria

In order for a student to be placed in a rotation, the following criteria must be met:

• The applicant must be in the final year of their medical education program (4th year medical student) at the time of the rotation and in good standing.
• The applicant’s file must be complete.
• Keck School of Medicine and individual department requirements must be met.
• The rotation must be available during the requested time period.

Housing

Please note that the Keck School of Medicine is unable to provide or arrange housing, board or travel expenses. No stipend is provided during this clerkship. Although we do not offer formal housing placement, some information regarding housing and transportation is provided here

The Office of Student Engagement and Cultural Affairs (OSECA) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC (KSOM) is excited to announce the Visiting Clerkship Award, which provides support for fourth year medical students to participate in the KSOM visiting student clerkship program. As an institution that serves a broad patient population, Keck strives to recruit residents who are dedicated to the care of the local population and are motivated to work with this population. One goal of the Visiting Clerkship Award is to increase awareness of opportunities in academic medicine.
The program is designed to help build a comprehensive sense of connection on the Keck campus by leveraging array of experiences that exist among the Trojan family as well as in the distinctly diverse community of greater Los Angeles.

PROGRAM DETAILS
KSOM will fund a limited number of Visiting Clerkship Awards from July to November to full time fourth year medical students in good standing at accredited US medical schools.

The program will provide a stipend up to $2,000 to each recipient to help defray the costs of an away rotation.

Housing is the responsibility of the awardee.

Clerkships will last for four weeks and are available in all clinical departments offering fourth year medical student rotations.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Applicants must meet the following criteria to be considered:
Be accepted for a visiting student clerkship at the Keck School of Medicine of USC
Be a 4th year medical student in good academic and professional standing at an LCME accredited medical school.

APPLICATION PROCESS AND DEADLINES

Apply for the elective using the AAMC Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) application service.

Upon acceptance to an elective, complete the Visiting Clerkship Award application online. Access the online application here.

Email the following supporting documents to the Keck Office of Student Engagement and Cultural Affairs at keck.ose@usc.eduOne letter of recommendation
USMLE Transcript
Proof of acceptance as a visiting student at the Keck School of Medicine of USC

Applications will be reviewed individually and awarded on a rolling basis. Once you have submitted your application, you will receive a confirmation email.
For complete details, visit the award program here.
The application can be found here