Registration & Records

2025-26 Phase 1a Academic Planner
2025-26 Phase 1b Academic Planner
2025-26 Phase 2 Academic Planner
2025-26 Phase 3 Academic Planner
2025-26 Electives & Selectives Academic Planner

In Phases 2 and 3, students will have the opportunity to shape their clinical schedules by having input on the order in which they proceed through the required clerkships and the addition of home institution 2-week selectives and 4-week electives, away rotations at other institutes, Global Health rotations and research blocks.

Phase 2 & 3 clinical schedules are managed through the OASIS online scheduling system.

Add/Drop Deadline: Three weeks prior to the start of a rotation.

• Students will be able to add and drop certain courses on their own throughout the year. For courses that are full or have special permissions, students can join waitlists which are administered by the R&R team. Please contact fsm_records@northwestern.edu with any questions. 

Schedule Planning Timeline

• Rising M3 Students
  The scheduling process for Phase 2 starts in January of the M2 year and is kicked off by an overview from the AWOME Deans and the R&R team of the timeline, process and policies.
• Rising M4 Students
  The scheduling process for Phase 3 begins in December of the M3 year and is initiated with an overview from the AWOME Deans and the R&R team of the timeline, process, policies and information about Away Rotations and the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities system (VSLO).

Please view this page for information about the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities system (VSLO) and applying to Away Rotations.

To schedule and receive credit for a research elective, students must complete the Research Elective Request Form and attest that they have reviewed the contents of the form with their research mentor. All requests for research electives must be approved by the student’s research mentor and submitted to AWOME for final approval before an elective can be scheduled. A separate form must be filled out for each non-contiguous research block.

The Research Elective Request Form should be submitted for approval at least two weeks prior to starting the research block. Students may not request elective credit for research time retroactively. Once the elective request is approved by the student research team, the R&R team will add it to the student’s schedule in OASIS and send them an email confirmation.

NOTE:

• The total amount of elective credit received for research that can be applied to graduation requirements is 12 weeks. (Please see the FSM Graduation Requirements policy for additional information.) However, students are welcome to schedule additional research blocks as their interest dictates.
• Students may request no more than a total of four weeks of research in two-week blocks (i.e., a total of two non-contiguous two-week blocks are allowed). All other research experiences must be scheduled in blocks of four or more weeks.
• The process for requesting elective credit for a Research Year (Independent Study) is the same (though there are some additional administrative steps needed to finalize logistics for extended time away from the MD curriculum). Students will receive four weeks of elective credit for a research year.

Learn about the institution's policy concerning student rights of access to personal educational record in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Current MD students can request unofficial transcripts by contacting FSM_Records@northwestern.edu. Official transcripts can be ordered via CAESAR and are processed within three business days. There is no charge.

Instructions for alumni transcript requests can be found here.

PDF copies of diplomas are available immediately following graduation. Please email  fsm_records@northwestern.edu to make this request. There is no charge.

Further information on alumni diploma requests for alumni can be found here.

Medical students who need letters of good standing or proof of enrollment may send an email request to FSM_Records@northwestern.edu. Please include any pertinent details to be included in the letter and where it should be sent upon completion.

If a medical student is summoned to jury duty and it conflicts with coursework or clinical activities, the student may request a deferment. Most jurisdictions typically will defer the student’s subsequent jury duty summons until the following year. The student may continue to defer jury duty until such time an education conflict no longer exists.

If the summons is served by the Cook County, IL, Jury Administration Office, a valid copy of the student’s NU WildCard will be accepted as proof of enrollment. Students should mail the summons along with a copy of their NU Wildcard directly to the Jury Administration Office for consideration.

Students who are summoned to jury duty by their home jurisdiction should follow the state instructions to request a deferment from that jurisdiction. If a deferment letter is required, please send this request to FSM_Records@northwestern.edu along with a picture of the summons. The R&R team will write a letter explaining the conflict and request a deferment on the student’s behalf. Please note we can only write a deferment letter if a conflict appears with a student’s scheduled medical school requirements.

Enrolled FSM MD students may be permitted to take one class each quarter at any Northwestern University school at no cost, pending approval from AWOME Deans and the course instructor.

Students pursuing coursework through this mechanism should note that they will be a fully enrolled student in the course (e.g., not merely auditing) and that they will receive a final grade.  However, grades obtained from non-MD coursework via this pathway will not be included on the FSM MD transcripts and cannot be applied towards the completion of any future additional degree.  This arrangement is intended to support the further edification of our MD students.

• Kellogg (MBA) Courses:
  • The Kellogg School of Management allows non-MBA students apply to participate in a few select courses each quarter. Information about open courses is made available on this page, typically a few weeks prior to the start of each quarter.
  • Students interested in participating in a course at Kellogg must inform the FSM Registrar of their interest in a specific course, including all relevant details (course name, number, meeting days/times and modality) and procure permission before moving forward with applying to register in the course.
• Non-Kellogg Courses:
  • Students may peruse the course catalog in CAESAR or review course catalogs for specific programs/schools to identify courses of interest.
    • NOTE: It is recommended that students only consider courses that either meet during evenings or weekends or are held asynchronously to avoid conflicts with MD coursework and responsibilities.
  • Once the course of interest has been identified, students must inform the FSM Registrar of their interest in a specific course, including all relevant details (course name, number, meeting days/times and modality) and procure permission to move forward with registering in the course.
  • If participation in the course has been approved by the AWOME Deans, students then must contact the course instructor to obtain a permission number indicating that they have been cleared to enroll in the course.
  • The student must then provide the course permission number to the FSM Registrar who will then facilitate the student’s registration in the course.

Starting in 2025, the USMLE Certification of Identity Form (CIF) will no longer be required for students registering for Step 1. Please follow registration instructions provided by NBME/USMLE. The registrar is required to verify enrollment for students. This is done on a regular basis.

For billing summaries and projections of future payments, please visit CAESAR. Additional information regarding financial aid can be found here.