Student Resources
Summer Medical Leadership Program
The University of Virginia School of Medicine conducts an innovative medical academic enrichment program – the Summer Medical Leadership Program (SMLP). The number one goal of SMLP is to expose participants to the “real world of medicine” to prepare them not only for admission to medical school but to assume future leadership positions in medicine/biomedical field. SMLP is a 6-week intensive residential summer enrichment program for undergraduate students from underrepresented groups and disadvantaged backgrounds who are interested in pursuing careers in medicine.
Student Organizations
AccessMed aims to serve students and faculty who identify as disabled or who are allies to the disability community as a central outlet for education and advocacy/support efforts. For students with disabilities, we provide a larger system of support throughout medical school and connection with mentors who can help them navigate school and residency. For allies, we want students to gain exposure to the diversity that exists within the disability community by providing opportunities for discussions, volunteering, education, and presentations from patients with disabilities, with the goal of improving our ability to care for future patients with disabilities.
Women in science and medicine face unique challenges and obstacles that can hinder career advancement and overall success. Through panel discussions, seminars, and social events our organization strives to 1. Educate and increase awareness about the inequalities women face in medicine and sciences. 2. Prepare its members for successful careers in academic medicine 3. Develop a network of current students, alumni, and physician-scientist mentors who are available to provide guidance to students.
We are the local UVA School of Medicine chapter of the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA), a national organization that aims to bring together allies interested in promoting the health issues of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, & Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) community. We are interested in both directly promoting the health and well-being of the AANHPI community as well as in helping all health care workers who work with these communities understand how to care for the AANHPI patient in a culturally sensitive manner. Finally, APAMSA provides an important forum for AANHPI medical students to meet, exchange information and experiences and develop personally and professionally through leadership and service.
The Association of Native American Medical Students (ANAMS) is a student organization representing Native American graduate health professions students throughout the US and Canada. The goals of ANAMS include providing support and a resource network for all Native Americans currently enrolled in various allied health professions schools. ANAMS strives to increase the number of Native American students in medicine and other health professions. Exposure and recognition on a national level throughout the medical community is what we continue to promote.
Christian Medical Association is the local UVA chapter of the national organization CMDA (Christian Medical and Dental Associations). We exist to provide community, accountability, encouragement, and Biblical teaching for medical students here at UVA! We have weekly Bible studies or speakers and occasional social events and hang-outs. We regularly host and connect with UVA faculty and physicians to hear about how faith and medicine intertwine or simply to gain insight from those who have walked this path before. If you’re looking for Christian fellowship while in medical school, you’ve come to the right place! Anyone and everyone is welcome!
The Ethiopian Eritrean Medical Students Association, EEMSA for short, is a cultural organization aiming to contribute to the diversity of UVA SOM. We want to promote the Ethiopian and Eritrean culture through the means of events showcasing different elements of the countries, including but not limited to their traditions, foods, clothes, and music. We also want to actively recruit and mentor pre-medical Ethiopian/Eritrean students in order to increase the number of physicians from that population. We will also make sure to touch on health disparities present in our communities, both nationally and globally, and our roles as future physicians to mitigate these issues. We have a lot planned for this organization and we look forward to involving the greater UVA SOM community to promote cultural competency.
The Graduate Recruitment Initiative Team (GRIT) at UVA exists to enhance diversity and inclusion across the graduate programs within the Biomedical Sciences Program at the School of Medicine, the Department of Biology in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Students and faculty will work together to achieve this goal through increasing efforts to improve the recruitment and retention of students with disabilities, women, underrepresented minorities (URMs), and LGBTQ+ students in doctoral programs at the University of Virginia.
At the University of Virginia School of Medicine, we want to ensure that our focus and efforts surrounding diversity, inclusion, and health disparities at least match or exceed what is offered at other medical schools and is sustainable. The inclusion and identity council is tasked with continually evaluating the needs of our diverse medical student population, identifying relevant campus issues around identity, and promoting an academic environment of inclusion, self-awareness, and social responsibility. The council is responsible for providing ongoing direction for programs and/or curricula at UVA SOM that support inclusive learning and promote respectful and effective communication with diverse patients and colleagues around issues of identity (examples include but are not limited to socioeconomic status, race, religion, LGBTQ+ status, genders, disability, etc.). We hope our medical school benefits from a more proactive and ongoing process around diversity that can enhance the learning experience for all students.
The Jewish Medical Student Association (JMSA) is a student organization dedicated to connecting Jewish medical students. We put on holiday celebrations and Shabbats, as well as events connecting Jewish medical students to medical students of other faiths with other School of Medicine organizations. JMSA also works with UVA Hillel to provide our members with volunteering opportunities within the wider Charlottesville community.
The Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) is a national organization for medical students of Latinx heritage and/or students who are interested in matters pertaining to the health of Latinx communities. Since its inception in the 1970s, LMSA has worked to provide academic and social support to Latinx students in medicine and to voice the health needs and concerns of Latinxs nationwide. Today, what started as a handful of students at Harvard University now encompasses more than two dozen institutions in the Southeast alone and many more in our sister regions across the nation. Similarly, the UVA LMSA chapter is committed to supporting its members, both academically and socially, by hosting several events each semester. We are also proud of our Medical Spanish initiative, Sobremesa, through which we seek to prepare our student body to better serve our community once they enter the clinical phase of their training. Lastly, we encourage our members to pursue opportunities at the regional and national level of LMSA to further develop their leadership skills, and to enact changes that will strengthen the education of a larger number of Latinx physicians in order to better serve the needs of Latinx patients in a culturally competent manner.
The Muslim Medical Association is a student organization dedicated to connecting Muslim medical students, residents and faculty, promoting topics that improve the well-being of Muslim community and sharing the Islamic faith with the larger UVA community through leadership and service. Our club programming include events such as community dinners, Q&A panels, speaker events and lectures.
qMD is the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) medical student organization at UVA. We work to promote awareness surrounding LGBTQ+ issues in medicine and are a source of support for queer students and their allies. qMD is dedicated to raising awareness of queer topics in medicine for the benefit of patients, healthcare providers, our community, and medical education.
St. Luke’s Catholic Medical Society is named for the patron saint of physicians and exists to bring together Catholic students (and anyone else!) with opportunities for worship, fellowship, and building relationships with Catholic physicians. Future plans include service projects and interfaith fellowship and dialogue.
The South Asian Medical Student Association of UVA SOM aims to promote opportunities for all students to learn about South Asian culture, host a variety of sociocultural activities (Diwali, South Asian movie nights, Holi, Eid, henna/crafts, etc.), support medical students during their education, and develop a cross-cultural mentorship network.
The Student National Medical Association (SNMA) is the oldest and largest student-run medical organization addressing the health concerns of minorities and underserved students. Membership is open to URM students as well as allies. The award-winning UVA chapter of SNMA hosts several events each semester to support members, academically and socially. Past events have included Study Strategies Workshops, Program Director Panels and Social Mixers. UVA SNMA members have also served the greater Charlottesville community through initiatives such as Discover Medicine, Sickle Cell Awareness Month, the Annual Toy Drive, Community Health Fairs, Pre-Med Mentoring and Unity Week Campaigns. There are also opportunities at the regional and national levels of the organization for SNMA members to further their leadership skills.
Women in Medical Sciences at UVA is an organization made up of graduate students and postdocs who support and promote the advancement of women in medical sciences. We sponsor events that help everyone (including men!) become better people and scientists, but we also provide a safe space to talk about women’s issues in our field.
Scholarships
The Ridley Scholarship Program seeks to attract Black students of the highest academic caliber and build a community of learning, leadership and legacy for Black students at the University of Virginia.
The Reider/Otis Scholarship will provide a one time gift of $5,000 to an LGBTQ student or to students who have demonstrated a willingness to advance the rights and acceptance of the LGBTQ community. Available for undergraduate or graduate students, excluding first years, who attend the University of Virginia on a full time basis, this scholarship can be applied for, or you may nominate a candidate who is also willing to apply.
The Herring Scholarship seeks to award $5,000 to a current undergraduate or graduate student of any year who demonstrates leadership, citizenship, and fellowship and has actively supported, through volunteerism and advocacy, the LGBTQ Center at the University of Virginia. Students, faculty, staff, and alumni of the University are invited to submit nominations.
The Peter Page Scholarship provides $10,000 in scholarship funds to highly-motivated gay male students. This merit scholarship is available for incoming first-year students who will attend on a full-time basis. Decisions are based on the students’ academic achievements, essays, recommendations, extracurricular activities, and awards demonstrating exceptional commitment to bettering the LGBT community. The Peter Page Scholarship also provides grants to highly-motivated gay male students with financial need. Current undergraduate or graduate students who attend the University of Virginia on a full-time basis can apply for a one-year grant. Decisions will be based on academic achievements, financial need, essays, extracurricular activities, and awards demonstrating exceptional commitment to bettering LGBT community at UVA and beyond. Recipients can apply for the grant again the following year. The Serpentine Society will work with the UVA Financial Aid Office to determine the amount that each individual student shall receive.
The V. Shamim Sisson Ally of the Year Award seeks to recognize a member of the UVA community who has gone above and beyond in their daily life in supporting the LGBTQ community, furthering the rights and acceptance of queer-identified individuals at the university and beyond. Understanding that allies come in many shapes and sizes and with varying access to resources, we encourage and welcome student, faculty, staff, and alumni nominees. This award brings necessary attention to the important role that allies play in the fight for equality, social justice, and the acceptance of the LGBTQ community. The V. Shamim Sisson Ally of the Year Award is presented during the Annual Serpentine Society Fall Weekend.
We are proud to offer up to $1500 to help offset the costs of travel and housing for highly qualified medical students who wish to do a visiting surgical clerkship at our institution during the months of August through October and whose backgrounds, interests or goals will bring diverse experiences and interests to UVA’s General Surgery Department.
The purpose of this scholarship is to provide medical students the opportunity to live and work in Charlottesville, while experiencing firsthand our Department’s inclusive culture and welcoming environment. This clerkship will hopefully encourage students to consider a career in Surgery, enhance students’ awareness of opportunities in academic medicine and provide them with specific mentoring and networking opportunities.
Additionally, students will have the opportunity to meet with the Program Director. Students will rotate for four weeks on one of our core General Surgery rotations such as the Colorectal, Hepatobiliary, Minimally Invasive and Foregut services. They will be expected to function at the level of a sub-intern or advanced medical student. Students will actively prepare for and participate in morning rounds, attend daytime operations, work at least 2 weekends, and give at least one formal presentation during their visit with us. They will also be expected to attend all morning reports, teaching conferences, morbidity and mortality conferences, and Grand Rounds with our residents.
As a faculty member at UVA for 35 years, Dr. Eduard E. de Lange has seen the positive effects of a culture that embraces diversity and inclusion. He and his wife, Francesca, strongly believe in the promotion of such a culture in society—and specifically in the healthcare learning environment. To this end, the de Langes have established the UVA Radiology Residency Diversity and Inclusion Fund.
The Fund’s aim is to encourage applicants who have an interest in enhancing diversity and inclusion in the field of Radiology to come to UVA and join the efforts of the Department in this area during their residency training. Residents committed to promoting these goals through education, service, leadership, and other initiatives are invited to apply for the Fund.
The UVA Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging is proud to offer up to $1,500 in scholarships to help offset the costs of travel and housing for up to seven highly qualified medical students per year who wish to do a visiting radiology elective at our institution. Visiting rotations are during the months of June through October. Scholarships are for medical students whose backgrounds, interests or goals will bring diverse experiences and interests to UVA’s Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging.
Note for medical students: MS-4’s who are first generation medical school attendees and/or socioeconomically disadvantaged students who have overcome substantial educational or economic obstacles in pursuit of their medical education are encouraged to apply for UVA Radiology’s 4th-Year Medical Student Scholarship.
Programs
The University of Virginia School of Medicine offers Summer Medical Research Internship (SMRI) opportunities to students entering into MD programs. The program targets, but is not limited to, racially and ethnically diverse students who have completed their first year of the M.D. Program at the School of Medicine. The projects are typically basic research in the biomedical sciences with the program’s goals including development of a cadre of diverse individuals who can carry the basic science research discoveries into the clinical realm for the betterment of the human condition.
The School of Medicine offers a ten-week research internship to qualified undergraduates considering a career in biomedical research. Generous financial support, housing, and travel are provided to participants. UVA is committed to diversity, and this program supports (though is not limited to) racially and ethnically diverse and first generation undergraduate students in their junior and senior years, aiming to expose them to laboratory research and familiarize them with the types of careers within biomedical sciences.