Elective Offerings and the Course Catalog

PLEASE NOTE - SPACE IN MEDICINE ELECTIVES ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED.  CONSIDER APPLYING FOR AN ALTERNATIVE ELECTIVE.

IMSE now offers a limited number of Virtual Electives - please consult the catalog for details.

Please review the below guidelines before visiting the course catalog to ensure you request electives open to international visiting students.

Note: Do not contact individual clinical sponsors for information on vacancies, elective availability, placement etc. Coordinate your requests with the Office of International Medical Student Education. Those who contact clinical departments directly will be disqualified from participating in the program.

See the Applications Requirements page for details on how to enter elective codes and dates into the application form.

If you still have questions about elective options after reading the below, please send the specific elective codes in an email to globalhealthelectives@med.cornell.edu - we can confirm whether you may apply for them.

1. Be sure to have the prerequisites indicated for all courses you request on your application form.
2. For PSYC electives, you must submit two additional recommendation letters from physicians that can evaluate your work in clinical psychiatry along with the other application documents.
3. MEDC electives are extremely limited.  Please consider applying to alternative choices.
4. The catalog is updated in April to display electives for the upcoming academic year. If you apply before April, please use the current elective information in the catalog on your application. If necessary, we will ask you to update your application form when the new catalog is released.
5. Only rotations at New York Presbyterian (NYP) and Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) are on the Weill Cornell campus. All other rotations are outside of Manhattan in our affiliated hospitals.

6. The following electives are not open to international students:

•      All electives at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK)
•      All electives at New York Methodist (NYM)
•      All electives called "International Elective"
•      All electives in Neurology (NEUR)
•      All electives in Pathology (PATH)
•      All electives in Rehabilitation Medicine (REHA)
•      All SURG electives, with exceptions SURG 8100
•      Several electives in Medicine are not offered to International Students: MEDC 8103, 8104, 8106, 8120, 8139, 8140, 8161

With these guidelines in mind, review the course catalog here.

Apply to the Visiting International Students Program

Student Eligibility and Policies

Application Requirements

FAQ for Students Applying

Visiting Student Reflections

Approved Students