Travel and Study Fund

Background

The Royal Medical Society (RMS) Travel and Study Fund is supported by the RMS Trust to provide grants to RMS members for educational activities both overseas and in the UK.

Application Process

The RMS Travel and Study Committee awards funding to RMS Members in support of elective placements and summer projects. It is a competitive process. Following submission, applications are reviewed and short-listed applicants are invited for interview. Attendance at interview is essential. Interviewed applicants will be informed by email of the Committee’s decision shortly after interview.

Successful applicants must produce a report about their travel/study experience and submit this within 6 weeks of the project/elective.

Members are permitted to receive a maximum of two awards from the Travel and Study Fund (Jasjot Singhota awards are not included in this total). Members should take this into consideration when applying for projects during the early years of medical school. There is no limit to the number of applications which may be made by unsuccessful applicants.

In exceptional circumstances, members may be considered if they fall outwith the application deadlines or if applying for a third/subsequent award. If you wish to be considered in this category, you need to write to the chairperson of the Committee with a full project outline and a statement in support of your application explaining why you merit special consideration. This can be organised by contacting the Committee at travelandstudy@royalmedical.co.uk.

Application Criteria - Essential

You must have been a RMS Member for at least 12 months
Elective/project due to take place before September 2026
Medical or biomedical orientated, ethically sound project
Complete application submitted by the advertised deadline
Attendance at interview
Submission of report within 6 weeks post-elective/project
You should not use (generative) artificial intelligence as part of your application

Assessment Criteria

The Committee assess applicants according to the following criteria, in order of importance:

Involvement of Member with the RMS
Organisational Effort of Member
Benefit of Project to Member
Benefit of Project to RMS and other Members
Presentation

Contribution to the RMS could include election to Council or Senior Council, being a tutor at multiple tutorials or events, involvement with organising or presentation a RMS Conference and attendance at a significant number of events. This list is not exhaustive.

Previously there was a requirement for 5 attendances at RMS events in order to be eligible for funding. This was removed surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and will be reintroduced soon. It is therefore in your interest to attend RMS events in anticipation of applying for funding.

Widening Participation

The RMS Travel and Study Committee is committed to supporting students from a widening participation background. We will ask you to indicate this status in the application and will consider this during shortlisting and funding allocation, if successful.

Report

Following completion of the project, successful applicants have 6 weeks to submit their written report of their project. Video submissions may also be considered, if appropriate. Submission is mandatory and failure to do so would require repayment of the award to the Society and mean no further Travel and Study awards can be applied for. We also encourage all successful applicants to share their elective experiences at RMS electives events. Reports may be shared on the RMS website.

Application Dates

This application round is intended to support summer projects and electives due to take place in Spring/Summer 2026:

Applications open: 20th October 2025

Applications close: 16th November 2025

Interviews: 8th December 2025, from 18:00

Successful applicants informed and award of funds: By end of 2025

Deadline for submission of report: 6 weeks post-elective/project

The Jasjot Singhota Award

Friends of Dr Jasjot Singhota, a previous member of the RMS Council, offer a financial award in her memory.

The Jasjot Singhota Award is an elective scholarship for medical students from the University of Edinburgh with interests in anaesthetics, emergency medicine, pre-hospital medicine or intensive care medicine. The award is in memory of Jasjot, an alumna of the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Medical Society, who was training in anaesthetics and had a real passion for her work and helping others. She was a vivacious, enthusiastic and joyful person who loved to travel and truly lived her life to the full. The aim of this Award is to assist students with similar interests to Jasjot to maximise their elective experience.

All RMS members are invited to submit an application if they meet the following eligibility criteria:

Be a current RMS member with subscription fee up to date
The elective is a University of Edinburgh Year 6 MBChB elective
The elective is predominantly in anaesthetics, emergency medicine, pre-hospital medicine or intensive care medicine

An interview including a representative from the Jasjot Singhota Award will take place in due course. The value of the award will depend upon the application, interview performance and the relevant costs. You may be asked to complete a separate interview for the RMS Travel and Study Fund if you apply for both funds.

Applications open: TBC

Applications close: TBC

Interviews: TBC

Successful applicants informed and award of funds: TBC

Deadline for submission of report: 6 weeks post-elective/project

Travel and Study Committee for the 289th session (2025/2026)

The Travel and Study Committee currently consists of three members:

The Chair who typically serves a three-year term and is a former President of the Society
A council member of the current session (generally a President)
A representative of the ordinary membership

Please do not hesitate to contact the Chairperson at travelandstudy@royalmedical.co.uk with any questions or queries.

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