Community Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program Details

Walk with people and caregivers through chronic and life-limiting illnesses as you learn to integrate both biomedical and psycho-social-spiritual perspectives into a holistic care plan. The CHPM Fellowship is an ACGME-certified palliative care fellowship in which physicians may become board-eligible in hospice and palliative medicine.

Students must be enrolled in the CU Anschutz online MSPC program to apply for the fellowship program; they will complete both programs over the course of their palliative care education. The two-year fellowship overlaps with the master’s program and includes a clinical component within a palliative care or hospice setting. Students are expected to work with their home institution and the CHPM Fellowship leadership to secure a learning agreement (PLA) prior to beginning the fellowship.

Fellowship Eligibility

Physicians who are interested in the fellowship start by enrolling in the Master of Science in Palliative Care (MSPC) program at the University of Colorado Anschutz, which is offered fully online. In the first semester of the MSPC program, physicians can apply to the CHPM Fellowship, where they will build a clinical portfolio. Successful completion of both the MSPC and CHPM Fellowship are required to become board eligible.

Fellowship Components Overview

The CHPM Fellowship, done in conjunction with the MSPC, includes biweekly seminars, building a clinical portfolio and  doing clinical work in your local community.  

Seminar
In the biweekly seminars that span 2 years, you will submit written workups of your patients,  work on video assignments to develop and improve communication and assessment skills, and complete assigned readings and other assignments. Faculty will provide feedback and mentoring online. The clinical experiences that help you build your patient portfolio  will come from your own practice in your community. In addition, every two weeks during a video conference with the faculty, you will present cases orally, receive feedback, hear other fellows’ cases and discuss the online content.

Portfolio
Your portfolio will include your clinical experiences with feedback, patient logs,  360 evaluations from your colleagues at clinical sites, patient family evaluations,  as well as selected items from the MSPC/CHPM, like quality improvement projects or journal club assignments. At the end of each semester, fellows will present their portfolios to the Clinical Competency Committee (CCC) which evaluates all CHPM fellows using the recently approved AAHPM Milestones and Entrustable professional activities. 

Clinical Work
You will for the most part, complete your clinical work off campus in your community (some exceptions like pediatrics, may be done at different sites). The CHPM Fellowship allows mid-career physicians interested in palliative care to get clinical experience within a palliative care or hospice setting. You will be expected to work with your home institutions and leadership for the CHPM Fellowship to secure a program letter of  agreement (PLA) with each site before starting the fellowship. CHPM leadership will offer support and experience in this endeavor. 

Board-Approved

This program has been approved by the Accreditation Counsel for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) and other supporting boards as a demonstration project. Fellows who successfully complete the CHPM Fellowship will be eligible to take the Hospice & Palliative Care Certification Exam.

Palliative Medicine Fellowship Completion Time

The 40-credit-hour CHPM Fellowship is approximately two years long and can overlap partially with the MSPC program, which is 33 credit hours and can be completed in 2 to 7 years. With the standard course load, the MSPC program can be completed in 22 months.

Tuition and Fees

Tuition and fees are based largely on the degree program you enroll in. Currently, the fellowship program's tuition rate is $1,190 per credit hour. The fellowship does not have an in-state tuition rate for Colorado residents.

Admissions Information

To learn more about admissions requirements for CU Anschutz, please visit the graduate student admissions page.

If you apply by March 1, 2026, your application will be evaluated immediately after your required materials have been submitted – that means the sooner you apply, the sooner you’ll know if you’re admitted! You will also be eligible for a $500 scholarship if you are admitted and enroll in Fall 2026 courses!

Applications submitted after May 1, 2026, will be considered until the cohort is filled. Once the cohort is filled, we will put all other eligible students on a waitlist.

Palliative Care Information Sessions 

Gather all the information you need to take your next steps in one of our information sessions. Information sessions are offered virtually at various times each month. 

Each session will give you the opportunity to ask questions about the format, curriculum, outcomes, and more. You can also meet some of the palliative care faculty members. This is an excellent, no-pressure way to see if the palliative care graduate programs are right for you and learn how continuing your education could fit into your life. 

Your application fee will be waived if you attend an information session! Currently, the application fee is $50 for domestic applicants and $75 for international applicants.