NYU Langone’s Department of Ophthalmology offers a comprehensive elective to visiting medical students who are in their final year of medical school.

In this four-week advanced course, medical students train with residents and faculty at the NYU Langone Eye Center, NYU Langone’s Tisch Hospital and Kimmel Pavilion, Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone, and the eye clinics and operating rooms at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. You conduct clinical activities for our comprehensive eye service, as well as in subspecialty clinics, including cornea, glaucoma, medical and surgical retina, pediatrics, neuro-ophthalmology, uveitis, and oculoplastics. You also have the opportunity to observe and participate in ocular surgery in operating rooms and minor procedure suites at our various clinical sites.

During your rotation, you participate in all department conferences as well as medical student–specific virtual didactic modules. You have the opportunity to improve your slit lamp, ophthalmoscopy, and operative skills using a suite of EyeSi clinical and surgical simulators. As your skills develop during the four-week block, you begin seeing patients in the clinic independently.

Performance is graded on resident and faculty evaluations of clinical skills and participation. You also complete an oral grand rounds presentation at the end of the rotation.

Application Process for Visiting Medical Students

The Department of Ophthalmology’s residency program is accepting applications for visiting student rotations through the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) program. Learn more about opportunities, application requirements, and deadlines from the VSLO program.

We are offering spots to up to five visiting students for each elective block. Students must be available for the entire four-week elective. No exceptions can be made if your medical school blocks do not line up with those at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Acceptance to a visiting student elective does not guarantee a residency match interview.

Elective Dates

Our elective will be held in the months of June, July, August, and September.

Applications for all months will be reviewed starting April 1, and students will be notified on a rolling basis. Applications may be submitted after that date, but spaces may no longer be available.

Find exact elective dates and application requirements from VSLO.

Please make sure your CV contains core clerkship grades and scores for any U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step Exams you have taken.

You will be required to provide two short answer statements (250-word maximum) in your Personal Statement responding to the following questions:

1. Why are you interested in rotating at NYU Langone? Responses that comment on specific interest in NYU Langone or New York City will be favored.
2. Describe a hardship or challenge that you had to overcome. How has that influenced your perspective on medicine?

International Students and Students from Non–LCME-Accredited Medical Schools

Currently, NYU Grossman School of Medicine does not offer an observership opportunity or process visiting student requests from non–Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME)-accredited medical schools. The Department of Ophthalmology follows the same guidelines. Thank you for your interest in our program. Learn more about information for visiting MD students.

Contact Us

If you have questions, contact OphthalmologyAdminEducation@NYULangone.org.