Away Rotation Guidance at the Specialty Level

As you consider your away rotations strategy, information about various specialties can help you decide what’s best for your medical education journey.

Many of the specialties/sub-specialties and their specialty societies listed here provide information that can help inform and support your away rotation decisions. We have linked to societies and added other useful information where it is available. 

  • Not all specialty organizations provide away rotation specific guidance for students. The Away Rotation Guidance column indicates if a specialty organization's website provides specific away rotation guidance.
  • Many specialty groups offer support to students seeking away rotations (financial, mentors, and more). The Away Rotation Support column indicates if the specialty site highlights their away rotation support. Visit the specialty site for additional information.
  • To help students further refine their application strategies, the Unique Elective Applications column lists the average number of unique elective applications submitted for each specialty and sub-specialty available through the VSLO application service during the last academic year.  

The Council of Medical Specialty Societies also offers timely information about specialties’ away rotation guidance.

You can search for electives (by specialty and location) in the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO)® application service.