Elective Bursaries

Below is a list of organisations offering bursaries to undergraduate medical students for the purpose of travel and/or elective study. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and we encourage all students to investigate further funding opportunities.

Students are advised to check the relevant website(s) of the external funding organisations for up to date details, and contact them with any queries.

• Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain & Ireland: applications are invited from medical students for funding towards an elective period between October-March and April-October, with a focus on anaesthesia, intensive care or pain relief.

• British Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons: up to £500 each year for students undertaking research or an elective related to plastic surgery. 

• The British Division of the International Academy of Pathology: a total of 10 scholarships a year to undergraduate students of medicine to allow them to work in departments of histopathology/cellular pathology, molecular pathology or cytopathology histopathology, in universities, NHS laboratories or research institutes in the UK or overseas.

• British Geriatrics Society: up to £400 scholarship for undergraduates who can show how the elective will help to further their interest in geriatric medicine.

• British Society for Haematology: scholarships up to £1,000 to support medical undergraduates, Master in Science (MSci) students, biomedical and clinical science students undertaking electives in haematology.

• British Medical and Dental Students' Trust BMDST-RSM Student Elective Awards: open to medical and dental students in UK and EU schools intending to go on an elective including a research element in the next academic year (or at least six months from the closing date).

• Institute of Medical Ethics: bursaries up to £800 to support electives related to medical ethics.

• Jewish Medical Association (UK): supports students undertaking electives in Israel.

• Kidderminster Medical Society: up to £1,000 bursary to help support an elective placement during study towards an MBChB (or equivalent) and up to £3,000 bursary to help support the first year of a Graduate Entry MBChB (or equivalent). All applicants must demonstrate some connection with the Wyre Forest Area of North Worcestershire.

• The Miss Ford Bursaries: aimed at medical students from Britain and France to spend elective attachments in organisations that speak each other's languages.

• The Pathological Society: up to £200 per week to support research projects in pathology or to gain experience in diagnostic departments.

• The Renal Association: bursaries up to £250 to undertake electives that include a renal component, either clinical or research.

• Royal College of General Practitioners—RCGP-SAPC annual elective prize: up to £500 for the best proposal by a medical student for an elective in primary care or general practice. 

• Royal College of Opthamologists—Patrick Trevor-Roper Undergraduate Travel Award: an award of up to £500 for undergraduates with an interest in opthamology to be used to fund electives or for travelling or subsistence. 

• Royal College of Physicians (RCP): grants of up to £500 for undertaking medical electives overseas (applicants must be medical student members of the RCP for at least six months before applying).

• The Royal College of Radiologists: bursaries up to £300 to support students taking an elective in clinical radiology.

• Royal College of Surgeons: two awards are available; one of up to £500 for clinical students planning to undetake an elective in surgery in the developing world, and a second of up to £1,000 for clinical students undertaking an elective in surgery in India.

• The Royal Society of Medicine: the royal society offers a wide range of prizes, awards, travel grants and bursaries. 

• Turing Scheme: The Turing Scheme has replaced the ERASMUS+ scheme, by providing funding for placements that last between 4 weeks and 12 months. Funding ranges from £335 to £545 per month. For more information on how to apply, visit our Turing Scheme: F Year Home 2023/24 page. 

• The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London: prizes for students undertaking electives in Conflict and Catastrophe Medicine. The society also offers the Rhino Elective Prize to students undertaking electives in countries with a native rhinoceros population.