Area of Scholarly Concentration

All medical students at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine complete an independent Area of Scholarly Concentration (AOSC) project that provides a practical, closely mentored opportunity for scholarly skills development.

AOSC projects enhance students' abilities to identify knowledge gaps in science and medicine and to pursue solutions to challenges in the field. AOSC projects are hypothesis-driven, longitudinal projects with a focused, detailed design appropriate for the specific area of study.

The goals of the AOSC program include the design and performance of an inquiry-driven, highly individualized scholarly project that culminates in the submission of a a first-author manuscript to a peer reviewed journal or a research thesis.

What to Expect

M1 Year

In the first year of medical school, students take part in didactic sessions that introduce the AOSC format and cover key foundational topics, including the ethical conduct of research, how to find a mentor, and the wide range of research opportunities available at Feinberg. These sessions also include small-group discussions to support deeper exploration and understanding.

After the proposal is accepted, students initiate their project at the end of the M1 academic year during a four-week summer research curricular session. Students may also apply for the Summer Research Scholars Program or the T35 program. These programs provide additional research resources and regularly scheduled interactive didactic sessions with physician-scientist faculty to students dedicating eight to 10 full weeks to research on campus.

M2 Year

In the fall of their M2 year, oral presentations are held where students present their work to faculty and peers to receive critical and constructive feedback. A few weeks following the oral presentations, a formal poster presentation session emulating a conference is held, where students present their work to peers and faculty.

M3 & M4 Years

The remainder of the work is independent, supported by 1:1 meetings between students, their research mentors and their small-group faculty leaders. During the third and fourth years, students may elect to receive elective research credit ranging from two to twelve weeks to continue their research. By January of their M4 year, in order to meet the AOSC graduation requirement, students must have submitted a first-author manuscript to a peer reviewed journal or a research thesis.