Further Your Career and Advance the Field of Neurosurgery

Sponsored fellowship awards represent a strategic investment by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons on behalf of the field of Neurosurgery. The Congress of Neurological Surgeons offers several fellowship awards for residents, neurosurgeons who have recently completed training, and established neurosurgeons alike. The awards are meant to defer some of the costs fellows incur during their research and studies and to enhance the education of neurological surgeons at all stages of their careers.

View the 2008-2009 Fellowship Award Recipients for the  CNS Domestic Fellowships  •  CNS International Fellowships •  CNS Medical Student Fellowships

2009-2010 Available Awards:
[Click on the name to view award description.]
View Frequently Asked Questions.

Complete your fellowship at an outside institution or at your home institution during residency.
In the past, the clinical fellowship awards were designed to allow applicants to do elective rotations at an institution outside their primary training program. However, with the new limitations on resident training imposed by the 80-hour workweek, the CNS Executive Committee recognizes the difficulty for some residents to acquire clinical research or subspecialty training at outside institutions during their residency research rotations. Therefore, to allow more well-qualified surgeons and residents to enhance their professional careers, the CNS now offers fellowship awards to all neurosurgical residents and neurosurgeons at either an outside institution or their home institution.

Application & Eligibility
Applicants must complete the online standardized CNS Fellowship Application, to be reviewed by the CNS Fellowships Committee. Applications may be given special consideration according to the research or clinical topic chosen and the importance of that topic to the field of neurosurgery.

In order to ensure that suitable applicants receive fellowship training at centers that can provide a worthwhile learning experience, the CNS requires that the fellowship sponsor be qualified in the area of sought expertise, be interested in teaching, and provide a suitable environment for the applicant. Although the attainment of a post-graduate degree is not necessary during the fellowship, the Congress supports the most formal educational experience possible, including training in basic science, clinical, economic, and public health and policy pertinent to neurosurgery.

Upon completion of the fellowship, the CNS requests that fellows provide a detailed description of their completed fellowship experience, as well as a listing of all peer-reviewed journal and book chapter publications in progress, submitted, or already accepted for publication. Similarly, a listing of all attended meetings and lecture topics that stemmed from the fellowship experience shall be made known. Although the value of the fellowship will not be measured by numbers of publications or presentations, the CNS is interested in tracking where the fellow practices afterwards and understanding the impact the sponsored fellowship has on that individual's career. The CNS acknowledges that a sponsored fellowship is not followed by a certification process nor does the CNS offer any level of accreditation to the specific fellowship.

Deadline for all 2009-2010 Fellowship applications: December 1, 2008 at 11:00 pm Central time.
Any overlap in funding for the same research project and/or fellowship period should be disclosed to the CNS Fellowship Committee and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Complete the Online CNS Fellowship Application

Deadline for all 2009-2010 Medical Student Summer Fellowship applications:
February 2, 2009 at 11:00 pm Central time.

Complete the Online CNS Medical Student Fellowship Application.

View Frequently Asked Questions.