MD Lotteries | NYU Langone Health

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MD Registration & Student Records MD Lotteries

MD Lotteries

The preclerkship stage of NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s MD curriculum covers the standard, foundational coursework necessary to become a physician. Medical students personalize their training in the later stages of medical school through selective and elective courses and clerkships—the clinical rotations that take place at NYU Langone and other training sites.

You enroll in electives, selectives, and clerkships through a series of lotteries. Lotteries allow you to fulfill curriculum requirements and create a schedule that matches your individual interests.

We believe that the lottery system is the fairest way to allocate the clinical training opportunities that we offer.

There are different lottery processes for enrolling in clerkships, selectives, electives, and critical care clerkships and advanced subinternships. The Office of Registration and Student Records provides information about your lottery eligibility and timing. You are not able to access lotteries for courses or clerkships that you are not yet eligible for. The schedules below show when lotteries take place for corresponding coursework.

Clerkship Palette Lottery Schedule

Lottery Month Coursework Months
April All year

Surgery-Related Elective Lottery Schedule

Lottery Month Coursework Months
May August through December
October January through June


Critical Care Clerkship Lottery Schedule

Lottery Month Coursework Months
Late November All year
Critical Care Clerkships do not take place in April, December, and January.


Elective Lottery Schedule

Lottery Month Coursework Months
Mid December January through June
April July through December


Selective Lottery Schedule

Lottery Month Coursework Months
January April through June
April July through September
June October through December
October January through March


Subinternship Lottery Schedule

Lottery Month Coursework Months
Mid November All year
Subinterships do not take place in December and January.