Clerkship Lottery Timeline
| Class meeting | Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 |
| Lottery opens | Immediately following class meeting |
| Lottery closes | Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, at 8 a.m. |
| Posted to schedules | Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, by 5 p.m. |
| Schedule Change Requests Open for clerkships | Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, at 5 p.m |
Elective Lottery Timeline
| Elective Lottery Opens | Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, at 5 p.m. |
| Elective Lottery Closes | Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at 8 a.m. |
| Electives Posted | Thursday, March 12, 2026, by 5 p.m. |
| Elective Add/Drop Opens | Tuesday, March 24, 2026, at 5 p.m. |
Second-year medical students enter into a clerkship lottery to submit preferences for the order of the clerkships in their third year. The lottery does not apply to Tuscaloosa students, who will work with the Tuscaloosa leadership to schedule the Longitudinal Integrated Curriculum.
Once clerkships are posted to student schedules, students participate on a third year elective lottery to fill their 4-week elective slot with a desired elective course.
A class meeting is held early in the spring semester of the second year to provide details on the clerkship and elective lottery process.
Clerkship Tracks
Clerkship tracks include six different schedules for completing clerkships. Students rank each track in order of preference (1-6).
Entering Your Preferences in the Lotterries
Use the Scheduling Lottery link to enter your preferences in the lottery before the posted deadline.
Lottery Results
Results will be posted to your schedule (Academic Summary) on the date listed in the timeline above. You will be notified to review the results.
Making Changes
Before the lottery deadline
You can make changes to your preferences in the lottery any time before the deadline – even if you already saved preferences previously. The saved rank order at the time of the deadline is used for the lottery. If you do not enter a rank order, the lottery will assign you a full clerkship schedule. Electives will not be added to your schedule if you did not submit lottery preferences.
After clerkships are posted to your schedule
After the lottery runs and clerkships are added to your schedule, you may be able to make changes to your clerkship order based on availability. You can search for courses in Course Availability. We recommend you speak with an advisor in MSS or on your clinical campus before making change requests. Use OSCR - the Online Scheduling Request System to request changes to lottery results during the posted add/drop dates.
After electives are posted to your schedule
After the elective lottery is run and electives are added to your schedule, you may use the Online Schedule Change Request system (OSCR) to add or remove electives based on availability. You may also continue to adjust your clerkship order based on availability. You can search for courses in Course Availability. If you do not submit picks for the elective lottery you will not be assigned an elective.
Electives requiring permission
These courses are not included in the third-year elective lottery. Once the lottery is open, you may use the Online Schedule Change Request system (OSCR) to register for a written permission course. You will be required to upload an email with permission from the course instructor.
Helpful Resources
Graduation Requirements
Montgomery Campus - Clerkship Lottery
Tuscaloosa Campus - Scheduling MS3 Coursework
Huntsville Campus - Clerkship Lottery
Video: Clerkship Lottery Overview (6:20)
Video: Entering Your Preferences in the Clerkship Lottery (2:56)
Video: Requesting Changes to a Clerkship Schedule (5:38)