Summer Internships and Programs for Students Interested in the Health Professions
In an effort to provide current and specific information about internships and programs that may be of interest to students who are exploring a career in the health professions, the Office for Pre-Health Advising has teamed up with the Center for Career Education to consolidate internship listings. To search for summer opportunities please log into Handshake.
Vassar: URSI (Undergraduate Research Summer Institute) – Open to all Vassar students interested in the sciences, Vassar’s Undergraduate Research Summer Institute is an intensive 10-week summer program in which Vassar students explore original hands-on scientific research under faculty direction. Approximately 30 students and 20 faculty from the Vassar community collaborate annually in the URSI program. Participants are engaged in the entire research process: they learn to formulate hypotheses, review scientific literature, develop experimental protocols, handle major instrumentation, gather data, analyze results, and present their findings. Application period: Feb. 1– 15, undergraduates only. Notification in late February.
If you are considering working abroad, please review these websites please be sure to visit our Overseas Opportunities page
Websites listing additional summer programs:
AAMC Summer Undergraduate Research Programs
National Association of Health Professions Advisers Summer Opportunities for Disadvantaged and Minority Students
Health Professions Advisory Program (HPAP) @ Syracuse University
Rochester Institute of Technology – Extensive list of pre-medical opportunities throughout the country
SACNAS: Advancing Hispanics/ Chicanos and Native Americans in Science
Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and Oak Ridge Associated Universities – Academic fellowships, scholarships, research experiences and internships for undergraduate and graduate students
Other resources you might explore:
The Journal of Young Investigators – A peer-reviewed, nonprofit online science journal targeted at undergraduates and entirely run by undergraduate students from around the world. Since 1997, undergraduates and recent graduates from over 50 different academic institutions in 9 countries have worked to establish JYI as the top undergraduate science journal. Over the years, the JYI has received generous funding and support from the National Science Foundation, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Duke University, Science Magazine, Science Magazine's Next Wave, GlaxoWellcome, Inc., Swarthmore College, Georgetown University, and many others. Furthermore, for its excellent publications and innovative educational programs, JYI has been featured in Nature, the New York Times, the Chronicle of Higher Education, EurekAlert!, and other publications.
Most recently, the Science Career Center at JYI has composed an extensive list of undergraduate summer research opportunities. This list currently has 100+ undergraduate summer research internships available to college students, and internships are being added regularly. This list has stood out in the scientific community because there are opportunities in all fields of science and because it is constantly updated and maintained by the undergraduate staff at JYI.
Anyone can access the Science Career Center's Summer Internship listing.
As most of these research opportunities have deadlines before March, undergraduates are advised to carefully browse this list and start applying early! Moreover, undergraduates are encouraged to apply to more than one fellowship, since these are stipend-based and thus are highly selective. Remember, summer internships and research experiences in general play a significant role in the scientific job market and graduate programs alike!