Medical Student Research
Research & Travel Funding

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Research Elective Policies

  • Research electives must be a minimum of 2 weeks. There are no exceptions.
  • All electives must be submitted at least 4 weeks before the elective start date.
  • If your elective starts in less than 2 weeks, please submit your application and reach out to Fiaba Zakarian ( fiaba.zakarian@med.usc.edu) with a brief explanation for why your elective is being submitted less than 2 weeks before your elective.
  • Under no circumstances can we accept a Research Elective that is submitted on or after the elective start date.
  • All personnel involved with research activities must be included in the Study Personnel section of the iStar application. Study personnel can be added and removed without submitting an amendment (with the exception of changing the PI or the Co-investigators).

Research Elective Electronic Form

Research Elective PDF Form (for reference only)

For additional information, please contact the Medical Student Research Advisor, Fiaba Zakarian, at fiaba.zakarian@med.usc.edu.

Receiving Research Elective Credit

A copy of your final product is due on the last day or your elective. Please upload your final product to the following link: https://usc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cZaqPXJ21Dxug6O. 

  • Your final product can be an abstract, poster, literature review, PowerPoint presentation, manuscript, analyses, or any other material you worked on during the elective. If none of the aforementioned materials apply, you may submit a 2-3 paragraph report summarizing what you accomplished during your research elective.
  • Your final product will be sent to your faculty mentor and they will be asked to review your performance on the elective. Once your preceptor completes your evaluation only then will you receive credit for your elective.
  • Final products that are submitted late will result in an “incomplete”.

If you have submitted your final product but have not yet received credit for your elective, it is likely because we have not received your faculty evaluation. Your preceptor can complete the evaluation directly through MedOasis, or alternatively, they can fill out this Student Performance Evaluation Form.