American College of Surgeons (ACS) Resident Research Scholarships 2025-2026
- Omran Aburayya
- Aug 20
- 3 min read
If you're a surgery resident with a drive for academic research, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Resident Research Scholarships offer an exceptional opportunity. This two-year funding supports full-time research for residents, with $60,000 in direct research funding—empowering you to pursue an impactful career in academic surgery. Read on for details.
🎓 Scholarship Summary
Location: United States or Canada (research may be conducted internationally)
Host Institution: American College of Surgeons (ACS)
Level: Postgraduate resident-level, during general surgery or surgical specialty training
Target Group: ACS Resident Members who have completed at least two postgraduate years in an accredited surgical training program (research cannot extend beyond chief residency year)
Fields of Focus: Surgical research across general surgery and specialties, anywhere across the research spectrum
Value: $60,000 over two years—$30,000 per year—exclusively for direct research costs (e.g., salary, personnel, supplies, equipment, travel); degrees or indirect costs are not covered
Award Duration: Two years of full-time research, typically beginning in July
Application Deadline: August 25, 2025
📚 Scholarship Overview
The ACS Resident Research Scholarships are backed by generous contributions from Fellows, ACS Chapters, and supporters of academic surgery. They aim to foster scholarly careers in surgical research by providing a dedicated funding window early in surgical training. Only exceptional applicants from the same institution are considered simultaneously to encourage diversity .
🎁 Scholarship Benefits
Research Funding: $30,000 annually for two years, permitting flexibility in covering direct costs like salary, supplies, equipment, and travel—but not indirect institutional costs or degree expenses (e.g., MPH, MBA, PhD) .
Flexibility: Research may be conducted inside or outside the U.S. and Canada .
Dissemination Opportunity: In the second year, awardees must present their research at the ACS Clinical Congress as part of the Scientific Forum and to the Scholarships Committee .
Progress Reporting: To receive second-year funding, recipients must submit a narrative and financial report approved by the ACS Scholarships Executive Committee .
✅ Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must:
Be a Resident Member of the ACS.
Have completed at least two postgraduate years in an accredited surgical training program (any specialty) in the U.S. or Canada by the scholarship start time. Not eligible if research begins after chief resident year .
Be the only recipient from their institution, unless in exceptional circumstances .
📝 Application Procedure
Application components generally include:
Research Title & Executive Summary (≤400 words): Outline proposed research, career objectives, and how the project supports your goals.
Research Proposal (max 5 pages):
Specific Aims (1 page)
Research Strategy (3 pages): significance, innovation, preliminary data, experimental design
References (1 page)
2-year Budget with Justification (using ACS template), formatted in Arial 11, single-spaced with 1" margins .
Letters:
From the fiscal officer—institutional approval, no indirect costs (1 page).
From the department Chair—confirm categorical surgery resident position and full-time research time support (1 page).
From the primary mentor (ACS Fellow)—detailing a mentoring/training plan; if Chair is mentor, submit separate letters (2 pages).
NIH-style biosketch for both applicant and mentor (max 5 pages each) .
💡Additional Info:
Applicants with existing or pending external extramural awards must coordinate with the ACS Scholarships Administrator, and may need to choose between awards; intramural funding is permissible .
Applicants previously awarded extramural research funding overlapping the period are ineligible .
Contact: scholarships@facs.org or the Scholarships Administrator at ACS for queries or submission.
