AO Spine fellowship

The AO Spine Fellowship Program offers a unique educational experience to the most promising young surgeons in the entire field of spine surgery. With this program, AO Spine provides a gateway to our worldwide network and fosters cross-pollination and networking opportunities across our global community.

Fellows will have the opportunity to learn from leading AO Spine experts in the carefully selected and renowned centers, covering the entire scope of spine surgical procedures performed around the world. AO Spine offers short-term fellowships that range in duration from 4 weeks up to 12 weeks.

AO Spine Short-term International Fellowship Program

The call for application for the 2026 AO Spine program is now closed.

Selection criteria

We aim to identify the most promising young surgeons specialized in orthopedic, neurosurgery, or trauma surgery with a strong interest in spine surgery and support them in deepening their understanding and extending their knowledge and skills.

AO Spine Fellowships are in high demand, and we receive more applications each year than we can accommodate. In the end, we want each fellow to become a part of the worldwide AO Spine community.

Selection criteria for AO Spine fellows:

Be a spine physician or specialized in orthopedic, neurosurgery, or trauma surgery with a strong interest in spine surgery.
Previous participation in at least one AO Course or one AO event (online or face to face)
Two-year membership prior to the Fellowship application. We are looking for fellows with a long-term interest to stay involved in the AO.
Have not participated in a Spine Fellowship in the past 2 years (except self-funded)
Up to 45 years old at the moment of application

Application process

The application requires the upload of supporting documentation. Please have these files ready for upload before you begin to fill in your application. (Accepted file formats are PDF, JPG, PNG, and GIF.)

Download example PDF to see what information will be required.

You will need the following documents:

Letter of motivation
Curriculum vitae (including list of publications)
Copy of medical diploma or specialization diploma (neuro/ortho)
The most recent AO Spine course/event certificate
1 recommendation letter from a senior surgeon (signature and contact details)
Copy of passport
English proficiency (certificate or self-statement of competency)

Only complete applications will be considered. Make sure you have an active AO Spine membership .

Stipends

During your fellowship, you will receive a small stipend fund to contribute to your accommodation and living costs.

Please note that the stipend is a contribution to the costs for travel, accommodation and meals and may not necessarily cover all the costs. AO Spine is not able to arrange accommodation in the host country. Travel as well as insurance costs must be funded entirely by the fellow.

The AO Spine Fellowship stipends are calculated using a benchmark of USD 550 for 1 week's fellowship in the United States. The stipends for all other countries are adjusted for the local price level. To calculate the adjustment, the price level ratio of purchasing power parity (PPP) conversion factor to market exchange rate provided by the World Bank is used. The World Bank data can be accessed here. The stipends are paid in Swiss francs equivalents.