ACS Resident Research Scholarships

• The applicant must be a Resident Member of the ACS, who has completed at least 2 postgraduate years in an accredited surgical training program (any specialty) in the United States or Canada at the time the scholarship starts. Scholarships do not support research after completion of the chief residency year.
• The ACS encourages diversity of applicants and institutions; only in exceptional circumstances will more than one scholarship be granted to applicants from the same institution.

The following information must be submitted according to the guidelines below. Applications that do not follow these instructions will not be considered.

• Research Title & Executive Summary
  • Your executive summary should be no more than 400 words and should describe the research proposed, the career objectives of the applicant, and how the proposed research will help the applicant achieve their career objectives.
• Research Proposal (5 page maximum) containing the following:
  • Specific Aims (1 page maximum)
  • Research Strategy (3 page maximum)—Should include significance, innovation, preliminary data and experimental design
  • References (1 page maximum)
• Budget for 2 years with justification (template included in application portal) 
• Formatting should be single-line spacing, Arial 11 font, and 1” margins.
• A letter is required from the fiscal officer of the institution reflecting approval of the application, which does not allow any indirect costs to the recipient or institution (1-page maximum).
• A letter from the Chair of the department in which the resident holds the categorical surgery resident position is required. The letter should confirm that the application holds a categorical surgery resident position in their accredited institution. The letter should also clearly state that the applicant has been granted the time and support to conduct full-time research for the entire two-year period of the grant (1-page maximum).
• A letter from the primary mentor who will be supervising the applicant’s research must be submitted, with content including a mentoring and training plan. The primary mentor must be an ACS Fellow. ACS Scholarships Committee members cannot serve as primary or co-mentor for this application. If the Chair is the mentor/co-mentor of the applicant, two separate letters should be submitted (2-page maximum).
• A NIH-style Biosketch is required for each the applicant and their primary mentor (5-page maximum).

• The scholarship is $60,000 over two years (i.e., $30,000 per year) and may be used for direct costs related to research only (resident salary, personnel, equipment, supplies, and/or travel). Indirect costs are not paid to the recipient or the recipient’s institution. Funds may not be used to cover expenses of degrees (e.g., MPH, MBA, PhD).
• The scholarship is awarded for two years, and acceptance of it requires commitment for the two-year period in full-time research. Funding typically begins in July of each year.
• Study outside the United States or Canada is permissible.
• Before receiving the second year of funding, a narrative and financial progress report must be approved by the ACS Scholarships Executive Committee.
• The recipient must attend the ACS Clinical Congress in the 2^nd year of their award to present an oral report on the research as part of the Scientific Forum and to the Scholarships Committee.

• An application for the ACS Resident Research Scholarship may be submitted even if comparable application to other organizations has been made.
• If the recipient is submitting, submitted, and/or offered a scholarship, fellowship, or research award from another extramural organization, it is the responsibility of the recipient to contact the College’s Scholarships Administrator. Those applicants receiving other extramural awards will have to choose between the ACS award and the other awarding body. Intramural awards are allowed (e.g., departmental support, institutional training grant, institutional career development award)
• Applicants who have already earned extramural research funding for their research period, irrespective of funding source or scientific overlap, are not eligible for this scholarship.