USP Winter Schools 2025

UMCG has a longstanding partnership with USP, including a double degree Sandwich PhD program and a great number of connections between researchers in Groningen and at USP. As part of this collaboration, the Graduate School of Medical Sciences every year makes scholarships available for a selected number of UMCG medical students who have a demonstrable interest in research (e.g. who are enrolled in the Junior Scientific Masterclass/MD-PhD program) to attend the USP Schools.

In 2025, the topics of the Schools are:

• Cardiology 
• Gynecology/Obstetrics
• Dermatology
• Pediatrics
• Neurology
• Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine
• Infectious Diseases
• Plastic Surgery
• Trauma and Acute Care Surgery

Consult this brochure and the USP website for more detailed information.

How to apply?

Application (and selection) include two steps, internal at UMCG and external at USP.

For the UMCG: medical students collect the following documents to apply:

• Short motivational letter, including: (1) The School of your interest and why you choose this School; (2) Why you are a good candidate to be selected for an USP Winter School grant; and (3) Your affinity for/experience with research
• List of grades (of your Bachelor/Master in Medicine)
• Copy passport

Send your application package to prof. Han Moshage of the Graduate School of Medical Sciences (GSMS) by  16 March 2025. Incomplete applications and applications received past the deadline will not be taken into consideration.

For USP: submit your application in accordance with the instructions on the USP Winter School website. Note that the deadline to submit your application to USP is 30 March 2025!

We strongly recommend that you work on your application to UMCG and USP simultaneously, since a failure to meet any of the two deadlines will result in your application being considered ineligible.

Selection

The selection procedure includes two steps, by UMCG and by USP:

• The UMCG selection will be done by the GSMS. Selection criteria include: Proven affinity for and experience with research; your motivation to attend the School; and your academic performance, as well as any other criterion deemed relevant by the GSMS.
• The USP selection is an internal procedure at USP; carefully read the information on the USP website to ensure that you fulfill their registration requirements.

It is important to note that your selection by UMCG does not automatically result in your selection by USP.

Again, we strongly recommend that you work on your application to UMCG and USP simultaneously, since a failure to meet any of the two deadlines will result in your application being considered ineligible.

The Scholarship

The Graduate School provides five grants of up to EUR 1,000 each to cover the cost of travel to and from Brazil (economy class, round-trip). USP will cover the registration fees and provide housing during the School. Any additional costs must be covered by the selected students.

The hard requirement to receive the travel allowance is that you attend the School for which you were selected and fulfill all associated requirements set by USP. The UMCG scholarship does allow for flexible travel arrangements, meaning you can extend your stay at USP or visit other locations in Brazil.

Important dates

• 16 March 2025: deadline to submit your application to UMCG, prof. Han Moshage, by email
• 30 March 2025: deadline to submit your application to USP in accordance with instructions on the USP website. It is your responsibility to timely meet the USP application requirements. This is a separate process from the UMCG application! UMCG-selected students may request a Letter of Support from the UMCG to submit with their USP application (contact: prof. Han Moshage)
• 10 April 2025: notification of USP selection results
• 14 to 25 July 2025: USP Winter Schools