Skip to Main

Rotations for Visiting Students

Thank you for your interest in a fourth-year pediatric elective experience at UT Southwestern Medical Center/Children’s Health Dallas. Below is an overview of the types of electives we currently offer and the processes to be followed by individual domestic and international medical students to aid you in the decision process.

Elective enrollment status: UT Southwestern hosts final-year visiting medical students exclusively during the following months. We are unable to accommodate requests for rotations outside of these times. Attention to rotation start dates and application submission deadlines is highly encouraged.

Fall semester: October, November, and December

  • Applications open: May 1, 2025
  • Application deadline: June 1, 2025

Spring semester: April, May

  • Applications open: November 1, 2025
  • Application deadline: December 1, 2025

Application Process:

  • After submission, applications are sent to the relevant course director for review. Notifications will be sent via email; please allow 30-60 days for the review process.
  • Acceptance by a faculty member outside the standard application process does not guarantee program admission.
  • Application processing is managed by the Visiting Student Coordinator, and, in conjunction with the course director, they are the only entities who may issue official offers of acceptance.

Note:

All students, domestic and international, are limited to one visiting elective rotation institution-wide. Example: If you apply for a rotation in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and you are accepted into both, you will be asked to choose between the two.

Before applying, please review our FAQ's to help answer some commonly asked questions.

Course Listings

(Note: The 1900-level courses are our inpatient rotations and are highly competitive and are limited to domestic visiting medical students. Not all applicants are accepted to these courses. Also, UTSW students are required to take 1900-level courses, so enrollment tends to fill quickly. Therefore, choosing alternative courses is highly encouraged.)

Block Schedule: All block schedule dates are inflexible and should be considered when scheduling an elective block.

Application Requirements

  • Domestic and International Medical Student Application Requirements
    • Application: Domestic medical students will complete the application on the VSLO website.
      • Please select only ONE rotation, applying for more than one elective rotation in VSLO does not guarantee a rotation spot.
    • Survey Questionnaire: Please click the link to complete a brief survey to allow us to better evaluate your application.
    • Curriculum Vitae: Must be updated and uploaded (PDF format) on the VSLO website.
    • Official Medical School Transcript: Must include pre-clinical and clinical courses. Grades for the Pediatrics Core rotation must be included on the transcript. (If any requirements are missing from your transcript, your application is considered incomplete for review.)
    • Letter of Intent: Designed to express your interest in working with this organization, why you are interested, and what skills and experiences you have that the program might find valuable.
    • Letter(s) of Recommendation (LOR): Must be submitted from a clinical preceptor through VSLO (Domestic) or the International Visiting Medical Student Portal (International):
      • All LORs must be submitted before your application is considered complete for review – Be proactive in making sure your LORs are completed and submitted along with application.
      • International applicants will need three LORs.
    • USMLE Step 1: COMLEX Level 1 will be accepted in place of the USMLE Step 1 for DO students (Step 1 is highly preferred).
      • International applicants must have completed and passed a Step 1 exam.
    • Letter of Good Standing: Attestation of good standing is not required if “YES” is indicated in VSLO by your school.
    • Once an offer is made, additional credentialing and supporting documentation will be requested. If all requested materials are not received six weeks in advance of the start of the rotation, the offer will be revoked.
  • International Medical Student Requirements – Additional
    • International visiting medical students are required to submit ALL of the above listed requirements in their applications, in addition to the following supporting documents:
      • LOR: International applicants will need three LORs.
      • USMLE Step 1: International applicants must complete and pass the Step 1 exam.
    • Visiting international student applications need to create an account and submit applications via the International/NON-LCME Visiting Medial Student Portal. Submissions will only be reviewed with confirmation of payment via the International/NON-LCME Visiting Medical Student Portal.
    • Complete the survey questionnaire
    • All required documents included in the email should be in a PDF format.
    • Once an offer is made, additional credentialing and supporting documentation will be requested. If all requested materials are not received six weeks in advance of the start of the rotation, the offer will be revoked.
  • VMS Calendar 2025-2026

    Below is a chart for you to understand the specific dates of certain rotations. Attention to rotation start dates and required submission dates are highly encouraged.

    VMS Calendar 2025-2026 (3257)
    BlockVSAS Offer DeadlineBegin DateEnd Date
    Block 1 05/23/2025 07/07/2025 08/01/2025
    Block 2 06/20/2025 08/04/2025 08/29/2025
    Block 3 07/18/2025 09/01/2025 09/26/2025
    Block 4 08/15/2025 09/29/2025 10/24/2025
    Block 5 09/12/2025 10/27/2025 11/21/2025
    Block 6 10/04/2025 11/24/2025 12/19/2025
    Block 7 11/21/2025 01/05/2026 01/30/2026
    Block 8 12/29/2025 02/02/2026 02/27/2026
    Block 9 01/16/2026 03/02/2026 03/27/2026
    Block 10 02/27/2026 04/13/2026 05/08/2026
    Block 11 03/27/2026 05/11/2026 06/05/2026
    Block 12 04/24/2026 06/08/2026 07/03/2026
    *This includes any off-cycle rotation dates
Back-to top