Information for Students

The CFV Fellowship is a new, competitive opportunity designed to build and support the pipeline of physician leaders in pediatrics and family medicine. The Fellowship aims to expand experiential learning and clinical opportunities for undergraduates to apply the skills they are developing in professional healthcare settings. In this inaugural year, CFV Fellowship opportunities will be available to students from Duke, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and UVA.

For Harvard College students, the CFV Fellowship will be piloted by the Harvard Mignone Center for Career Success (MCS) and support student access to summer clinical internship experiences in pediatrics and family medicine in the U.S. that are often limited to students who can earn credit or bring their own funding to the opportunity. Harvard CFV Fellows will receive a generous stipend to support their summer experience.

Why pediatrics and family medicine?

Simply put, there is concern that there will be a shortage of pediatricians (Why are fewer U.S. MD graduates choosing pediatrics?; Pediatric Workforce Shortages Persist in 2024). The CFV Fellowship will offer students early exposure to pediatric medicine, an important step to developing and sustaining interest in pursuing pediatrics and pediatric specialties.

Why a clinical experience?

Medical and other health professions school admissions committees value applicant experiences demonstrating sustained, direct patient interaction and exposure to diverse patient populations and settings. This experience is the best way to reality test your interest in medicine, so it is also the best way to cultivate or solidify your interest in pediatric and faimily medicine. There are some barriers to engaging in these kinds of clinical experiences, which the CFV Fellowship may mitigate by providing a generous stipend. Though there must be a clinical component of the experience to qualify for the CFV Fellowship, students can also conduct research, administrative tasks, and more.

Pre-arranged and Self-Arranged Opportunities

In order to apply for the CFV Fellowship, students must first secure a qualifying summer experience. These opportunities can be either “pre-arranged” or”self-arranged” as explained below. Students must be able to include an Internship Confirmation Letter or similar document in their CFV Fellowship application due Monday, March 30th.

• Pre-arranged programs/internships:
  • Opportunities identified by MCS and listed in Crimson Careers beginning in late December/early January.
  • Existing programs that meet the minimum opportunity requirements.
• Self-arranged internships:
  • An organization identified by a student that does not have a formal summer program but is willing to host an intern for a clinical summer experience. One example could be a private pediatric practice in a student’s hometown.
  • Students may use the MCS information for host sites when approaching organizations about a self-arranged opportunity.

Application Instructions

Step 1: Apply for a pre-arranged program/internship or pursue a self-arranged opportunity.

Step 2: Upon receiving a position offer, apply for the Harvard CFV Fellowship (application coming soon) by March 30. The Fellowship application will require:

• Resume
• Unofficial transcript
• Proof of direct deposit enrollment
• Short answer application form
• Internship Confirmation Letter or equivalent

Timeline

The Harvard CFV Fellowship Application will be part of the Summer Funding Opportunities Office (SFO) “Round C” funding:

• Application Deadline: March 30, 2026, must include signed Internship Confirmation Letter or similar agreement from host site
• Student Receives Award Notification: April 17, 2026
• Student Accept/Decline Deadline: April 20, 2026
• Student Waitlist Processes: concluded by April 27, 2026

Questions? email cfv@fas.harvard.edu

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What qualifies/distinguishes a “clinical” internship or experience?

A: Although there is no one definition of what constitutes a “clinical” experience, medical schools expect applicants to have tested their interest in medicine through hands on experience engaging with patients and patient care. Examples of clinical functions include greeting patients, gathering intake information, observing medical practices, and more. The opportunity does not need to be exclusively clinical. An intern can also perform research and/or administrative tasks and still be eligible for the CFV Fellowship if there is a patient care component to the overall experience.

Q: Will “clinical research” meet the clinical experience requirement?

A: If the clinical research experience includes in-person interactions with human subjects or participants, then it qualifies for the CFV Fellowship. Sample interactions include participant screening and assessment, survey administration, measuring vitals, specimen collection, etc. In addition, the opportunity does not need to be exclusively clinical. An intern can also perform research and/or administrative tasks and still be eligible for the CFV Fellowship if there is a patient care component to the overall experience.

Q: Why is “Family Medicine” included in the Fellowship in addition to pediatrics?

A: The “family medicine” terminology exists to recognize that some healthcare settings do not serve pediatric patients exclusively. As long as the intern’s experience includes in-person interactions with children (patients from birth up to age 17), it can qualify for the CFV Fellowship.

Q: What if I am interested in an organization that has never hosted a summer intern before?

A: MCS has created this information for host sites to support healthcare providers who may not have hosted an intern in the past. Please contact MCS (cfv@fas.harvard.edu) if additional information is needed.

Q: What if an organization requires that interns have insurance or receive academic credit?

A: This requirement is often waived when an intern receives a stipend from their home college or university. Ask your proposed supervisor to verify that this will be the case for a Harvard CFV Fellow.

Q: What if I am interested in an organization that can only support a student for a part-time or shadowing experience, not a full-time summer experience?

A: In this pilot year, Harvard is only supporting full-time summer clinical internships through the CFV Fellowship Program.

Q: What if the application timeline does not align with the typical process at the organization that interests me?

A: To increase transparency and streamline student decision-making, Harvard standardizes application, notification, and award timelines for funded summer opportunities. Therefore, the application timeline is set for this year.

Q: What if an organization wants to hire me, but I do not end up receiving the CFV Fellowship?

A: We anticipate that this will be a competitive Fellowship, and not all qualified students will receive an award. You are not expected to participate in the experience you have identified if you do not receive the CFV Fellowship. However, here are a few other options if you and the organization are both amenable to alternative arrangements:

• The organization may provide its own stipend or wage to support your summer experience.
• You may be able to apply for academic credit through Experiential Study (EXPSTDY). To be eligible for credit, you must be a rising junior or senior studying specific disciplines for this to apply.
• Though not recommended, the organization may be willing to host you as an unpaid intern. If that is the case, the host organization must be willing to meet the Test for Unpaid Interns and Students from the U.S. Department of Labor, as well as any additional criteria stipulated by the host’s city and/or state.
• The organization may be willing to convert the experience into a shadowing or other short-term or part-time experience that would not necessitate a stipend.