Overview
The HMS Scholars in Medicine (SIM) Program is designed to provide every Harvard medical student with an opportunity to pursue a health-related question, issue or problem in depth, through a mentored scholarly experience. The student can approach the problem through any of a wide range of disciplines in the biomedical sciences, clinical sciences, humanities, arts or other field. This is accomplished by:
- Introducing students to the challenges and rewards of carrying out and writing up a scholarly project
- Developing a mutually beneficial partnership between a student and a faculty mentor.
Typically scholarly projects take a minimum of three months to a year to complete. A good scholarly project asks a question that has been carefully chosen and clearly defined so that the student can answer it during the course of the project.
HMS Mentors
Harvard faculty may post an opportunity for student scholarship in the OSE Opportunities Database. This opportunity will also appear on your Harvard Catalyst faculty profile. HMS-affiliated faculty can find information about the scholarly project on the scholarly project site.
Non-HMS Mentors
Non-HMS-affiliated faculty are invited to mentor students. Students with non-Harvard mentors are required to also have an HMS mentor who is familiar with Harvard research processes, in case HMS support is needed. Contact the Office of Scholarly Engagement to request more information and the required documentation.