The Skull Base Fellowship in the Department of Neurological Surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine is a CAST-approved training program that offers an immersive high-volume surgical experience spanning the full breadth of transcranial microsurgery and endoscopic endonasal skull base approaches. Fellows actively participate in a diverse and complex case mix, including pituitary adenomas, craniopharyngiomas, meningiomas, chordomas, vestibular schwannomas and complex vascular skull base pathology. The division has particularly high-impact pituitary and vestibular schwannoma programs, supported by robust patient volumes, refined workflows and advanced perioperative protocols. Fellows gain experience not only in surgical technique, but also in clinic-based multidisciplinary decision making and longitudinal patient care.
Collaboration is central to the fellowship model. Fellows work in an integrated environment alongside otolaryngology–head and neck surgery, radiation oncology (including Gamma Knife radiosurgery), endocrinology and neuro-oncology, ensuring an evidence-based, team-driven approach to complex skull base disease. Training extends beyond the operating room, with structured exposure to the microneurosurgery and skull base anatomy laboratory, providing hands-on practice and technique refinement, as well as opportunities to participate in clinical research. Weekly skull base surgical anatomy conferences, multidisciplinary tumor boards, postoperative case reviews and an annual series of courses and workshops reinforce a rigorous academic framework while fostering surgical judgment, technical mastery and leadership in skull base care.
Application Process
Applicants for this fellowship must be residents or graduates of neurosurgical residency programs in the United States that are approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), or of neurosurgical residency programs in Canada that are approved by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and be eligible for medical licensure in Indiana. The department is unable to accept applicants with an ECFMG Visa.
