Frequently asked questions

A structured, 9-phase apprenticeship that takes a medical student from zero research experience to a submitted systematic review / meta-analysis and an international conference abstract, in about 100 focused hours. It combines about 16 hours of visual lessons, the textbook, 18 playbooks and templates for every phase, and senior-mentor help at exactly the points where students stall. See how it works.

MBBS students in any year, interns, recent graduates, and IMGs building toward the Match, PLAB/AMC routes, or a stronger academic CV. No prior research experience is required. The protocol is designed from absolute zero: if you can read a paper, we can take you to writing one.

Because they're the one form of publishable, top-of-the-evidence-pyramid research a medical student can execute without a lab, patients, funding, or an institution's permission. Everything you need is a laptop, database access strategies (which we teach), and a rigorous method, which is exactly what the protocol installs.

Courses teach about research; the protocol makes you produce it. Every phase ends in a real deliverable (a validated question, a registered protocol, a completed extraction, a manuscript), and when you hit a wall a senior mentor looks at your specific problem, via Doubt Tokens and, on higher plans, cohort deadlines and 1:1 calls. The output isn't a certificate; it's a submitted paper.

No. We teach the exact search strategies for open-access databases (PubMed) and gated ones (Embase). We strictly do not provide institutional login credentials or software licences. Everything the protocol requires can be done legitimately without them.

The whole system: the textbook (The 100-Hour Meta), 18 playbooks, the 9-phase course (110+ short visual lessons, about 16 hours) and every tool and template, plus Doubt Tokens for the walls the playbooks don't clear. Higher plans add people, not content: a cohort in Accelerator, a senior mentor in Mastery. See everything you get. Tau Square Studio, our review software, isn't part of any plan: it's a separate add-on, for students only.

Mastery students do: the textbook and all 18 playbooks come as printed books. On Foundations and Accelerator, the playbooks and templates are digital files you download and keep, and the textbook is read online in your dashboard, chapter by chapter.

When you hit a wall on your own project (a search string returns nothing, an R script won't run), you send the specific problem and a senior mentor sends back the exact fix, usually within 24 to 48 hours. Every plan comes with some (32 on Mastery, 8 on Accelerator, 3 on Foundations), and you can buy more anytime inside the platform.

Foundations includes 6 months of platform access; Accelerator includes 12. The templates and playbooks you download during your program are yours to keep. The system you install stays installed. (And the Clinical Grace Period protects the window if rotations intervene.)

Our meta-analysis software, built on the 100-Hour Protocol: import, screening, full texts, extraction, risk of bias, the analysis in R and the write-up pack, in one workspace, with τ² AI reading alongside you and guardrails at every step. See what Studio does.

No. Studio is sold separately, as an add-on for Tau Square students. The best time to add it is at checkout when you join: that's the lowest price it will ever be. You can also add it later, at the regular price.

No. Studio is only for Tau Square students. It's built on our method, and we keep it that way.

τ² AI (Tau Square AI) is the reading assistant built into Studio, and it never types a value into your data. It works by our Glass Box Protocol™: τ² AI points to the answer in the paper, our own algorithm (plain code, no AI) reads it and checks it against the paper, and you verify it. A number that isn't in the paper is flagged red, so hallucinations don't get into your data. Journals ask authors to disclose AI use, so Studio writes your AI-use statement for you.

In a folder you choose on your own computer, not in our cloud, so your work stays yours. Studio runs in Chrome or Edge on a laptop or desktop.

You and one co-lead. Your co-lead screens and extracts alongside you, τ² AI included, but can't start reviews of their own.

Up to 300 papers a month on Base, 800 on Plus and 1,500 on Pro. A paper counts once a month, however many times τ² AI reads it, and a paper longer than about 30 pages counts as more than one.

Your reviews stay in your folder, and you can still open and export them. Starting new reviews, τ² AI and working with your co-lead stop after a 14-day grace period.

Plan for 4 to 5 focused hours a week. The protocol is built for a medical student's calendar: structured sessions you can schedule around rotations and classes, not an open-ended time sink. The 100 hours is the total engineered budget from zero to submission.

Two protections exist. Foundations is fully self-paced, so you simply pause and resume. And under the Clinical Grace Period, if board prep or rotations genuinely threaten your timeline, your access window is formally extended. Your investment doesn't expire because medicine happened.

Cohorts open on fixed dates, and the next one is shown with the plans on the pricing page. Foundations never waits: it's self-paced and starts the moment you enrol.

Foundations is self-paced and available anytime, no cohort needed. The Accelerator cohort opens every 8 weeks, so if you miss this intake, the next one opens shortly after.

The Accelerator Carryover applies: you carry into the next cohort at no additional charge, and your remaining Doubt Tokens carry with you. The deadline is there to pull you forward, not to punish you.

Every plan includes the whole system: the textbook, 18 playbooks, the 9-phase course and every template. Mastery ($6,000, by application): everything in Accelerator, plus a senior mentor who co-writes every manuscript with you, weekly 1:1 calls, line-by-line editorial review and a plan for several papers, with 32 Doubt Tokens. Accelerator ($1,500): everything in Foundations, plus an 8-week cohort with weekly calls and a deadline that carries you to submission, with 8 Doubt Tokens and 12 months of access. Foundations ($600): the system on its own, self-paced, with 3 Doubt Tokens and 6 months of access. See how they stack up on the pricing page.

Yes. Genuinely free, no card required. Phase 0 is a 14-lesson introduction, about 2 hours. Enter your email and WhatsApp and every lesson opens straight away.

Start with Foundations without fear of choosing wrong. If you realize you need cohort structure, your full $600 applies toward an Accelerator upgrade within 4 months. You pay only the $900 difference, directly inside the platform, and receive the cohort, 8 fresh Doubt Tokens, and 12 months of access.

Mastery seats are limited by mentor bandwidth and granted by application, not checkout. Send a short note about your goals to admin@tausquareacademy.com (details on the application page).

Yes. In India, you pay in rupees through Razorpay by UPI, card or netbanking, with EMI options including No-Cost EMI on eligible credit cards, and you see the full amount with 18% GST before you pay. Outside India, you pay in US dollars by card.

Absolutely. Every program is delivered fully online, and the method is built around international conference and journal targets. International students pay in US dollars by card or PayPal at checkout, and receive an export invoice. Your price is shown on the pricing page.

All sales are final once program access begins. The entire methodology and every template is proprietary and downloadable, so a refund would mean handing the complete system over for free. That's why evaluation happens before payment: Phase 0 is free, and so is the 15-minute strategy call. Cancellations before access, duplicate charges, and failed transactions are refunded in full (details in the Refund Policy).

Payments are processed by Razorpay under PCI-DSS compliance. Your card, UPI, and banking details go directly to the payment gateway. We never see or store them. Every checkout is bound to a server-created order, so amounts can't be tampered with.

No, and any program that promises publication is lying to you. Acceptance is decided by independent journal editors and peer reviewers. What we guarantee is the process: a rigorous, submission-ready manuscript built with methodology that survives review, mentor oversight at every friction point, and Phase 9 covering submission strategy and reviewer rebuttals. Conference abstracts, realistically, come faster than journal acceptance. Most scholars present internationally first.

Scholars and mentors from our community have presented at international meetings including ACC, ASCO, DDW, ASBrS, NANS, and Spine Summit. The method is built to produce conference-grade abstracts on the way to the full manuscript. See the letters and the stories.

Please do. That's what the free 15-minute Research Strategy Call is for: a doctor who has walked this route maps your specific timeline and next three steps, whether or not you join. Or just message us on WhatsApp.

Any time, two ways: in the mobile app via Account → Danger Zone → Delete My Account (immediate), or by emailing privacy@tausquareacademy.com from your account email (actioned within 7 days). Full details in the Privacy Policy.

By method, it's secondary research: it pools studies other people ran. But many of the rules that score applications count it as research. UK Internal Medicine Training scores it as original research, and India's NMC lists it as a research publication for faculty posts. The full answer, with sources.

Increasingly, yes. With Step 1 pass/fail, program directors lean harder on the rest of the application, and documented research output (publications, presentations) is one of the clearest differentiators, especially for IMGs competing without a home-institution network. A first-author systematic review plus an international presentation changes how your application reads. Our guide on how to publish research as a medical student goes further.