Each year at Commencement, Harvard Medical School presents six awards that recognize outstanding accomplishments in research and scholarship to graduating MD students. Each award comes with a $500 prize.
To apply for these awards, a student must have a written paper(s) published or accepted for publication while enrolled at Harvard Medical School. A single application is submitted per student to be considered for all of the awards listed below. You may submit up to three papers within the same research focus per application, and you can submit up to two applications with differing research foci.
| Award Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Richard C. Cabot Prize | Established in 1968 and awarded for a paper on medical education or medical history, preferably of persons or incidents of the 20th century |
| Henry Asbury Christian Award | Awarded to a student who has displayed diligence and notable scholarship in their studies or research and who offers promise for the future |
| Leon Reznick Memorial Prize | Established in 1959 and awarded to a student who has shown excellence and accomplishment in research conducted during their period of study at Harvard Medical School |
| Dr. Sirgay Sanger Award | Established in 1979 and awarded to a student who has shown excellence and accomplishment in research, clinical investigation or scholarship in some aspect of psychiatry conducted during their period of study at Harvard Medical School |
| Rose Seegal Prize | Established in 1968 and awarded for a paper on the Relation of the Medical Profession to the Community |
| James Tolbert Shipley Prize | Awarded as a prize for research carried out by a medical student, the results of which have been published or accepted for publication |
Apply
Deadline: April 1, 2024
An email with an application form will go to all graduating students in January with regular reminders into March.
Eligibility
MD and MD/PhD students during their graduating year who have a written paper(s) published or accepted for publication while enrolled at Harvard Medical School.
Papers must be related to work done while at HMS.
How to Apply
Complete the online application Awards for Research and Scholarly Accomplishments, during the application window.
The following documents are needed to complete the online application:
- A letter assessing your work and its impact on the field (on letter head) from either an HMS faculty who was your research mentor or who is very familiar with your work
- PDFs of 1-3 published articles or manuscripts accepted for publication (and/or PDFs of publisher's acceptance for any manuscripts not yet published
- Your CV or Resume
Review Process and Award Notification
Applications are reviewed by the Honors in a Special Field Committee. Awardees will be notified in mid- May and will be listed in the Commencement program.