Pre-Med students have a lot of work to do in college to prepare for medical school, as we’ve discussed several times before. High grades are important, of course, but your extracurriculars matter nearly as much, with strict expectations for what you have achieved. We go more into this in another article here.
In this article, however, we’re going to talk about how you can spend your summers, specifically by giving some options for summer programs designed for pre-med students to gain research experience at various medical labs. We won’t be able to list every program, nor are these the only ways to spend your summers, but we hope to give you a sense of the options that are out there, and a place to begin your own investigations. Let’s get started!
Summer Programs At Your University
The programs we are listing in this article are generally open to students across the country, regardless of what school you’re with. Your own university is likely to have its own programs, or you may continue research work begun with a professor or in a lab which you began during the school year.
If you can parlay a part-time school year position into a full-time one during the summer, this is quite valuable. This might not always be possible; funding for these programs generally comes from research grants, and availability will depend highly on the lab you are working in and the work they are doing. Nonetheless, this should always be a starting point for your investigations.
First, because you already know the lab and the people there, and are trained in necessary techniques. While it is good to gain experience in multiple disciplines at times, this does allow you to skip training and onboarding, and jump straight into doing work.
Additionally, medical schools like to see devotion over time. They understand that this is not always possible of course, especially with funding as precarious as it is now, but dedicating yourself to a single lab over an extended duration shows the kind of commitment they like to see in students.
Summer Research Opportunities for Pre-Med Students
We aren’t going to be listing these in any particular order. These opportunities all have their own strengths, and some may better fit your own interests, abilities, and ambitions. This is not a comprehensive list, but should give you a sense of what kinds of opportunities you can find.
These internships are run by various NIH offices around the country. You must be enrolled full time to apply, but college students and recent grads alike are eligible. The program provides a stipend, and free parking is available at all labs. Applications open in December and are due in February.
Applications must be submitted . You will need a CV or Resume, a personal statement, and two references who can submit letters of recommendation. Note that applications are not processed centrally, instead the PI on each project reviews applications, and then chooses the interns they wish to work with for that summer. The exact start and end dates and length of the program varies based on the lab you are working in. You are expected to take the initiative when reading out to PIs; they provide a guide to doing this .
(SURF)
Around 180 students each year take part in this ten week program. You may apply to one of Mayo Clinic’s campuses, admissions are handled by each campus. You must have completed at least your sophomore year of college before you enroll in the program. You must also be considering a career as an MD-PhD, rather than simply intending to pursue a career as a practicing physician. They advise students interested in an MD alone to check out their .
The program runs from the end of May through the end of July. Applications open in November, and are due at the start of February. The application must be submitted . This requires a personal statement/cover letter, unofficial transcripts, and two references willing to write a letter of recommendation for you. If you are accepted, you will be matched with a PI in the research area of interest you indicated. A stipend is provided; there is some connected to the program for rent.
Run by the Cleveland Clinic, this is a ten week research internship open to current undergraduate students, though they have a for high schoolers. Applications open in December, and are due at the end of January; applications must be submitted online.
The number of spaces available varies, and is dependent on the individual needs of each lab. In addition to the set summer internships, students may reach out to PIs directly to set up individual research internship placements. This is recommended for students who are not available during the summer internship period, or those who want to join a particular lab. This is also available during the school year, though that is only an option for students attending university within commuting distance of Cleveland Clinic.
To apply for the independent internships, you must reach out to the PI you are interested in working with detailing why you are interested in working in their lab, an introduction of who you are, and your availability. You should include an updated resume and a list of academic contacts who can serve as references for you.
A research hospital in Arizona, Barrow is the largest neurological disease research center in the world. Their summer internship is a paid ten week research program open to all undergraduate students, both domestic and international. Students spend their time working full time under a research mentor at Barrow, contributing to an ongoing research project.
You must apply to this program ; the application opens in December, and is due in early February. You must choose which area you want to work in when you apply, there are numerous research areas of expertise, plus programs like publication and philanthropy. Housing is not provided.
Run by UT Health, the BRAINS (Brain, Rejuvenation, Aging, Inflammation, Neurodegeneration, and Stroke) research group investigates a number of related diseases and medical issues. The summer internship is a paid ten-week program which pairs an undergraduate student with a researcher, allowing the student to assist in an ongoing research project.
The program is designed to introduce students to the basics of neurology and neurological research. There are multiple projects ongoing at any given time. Applications open in December and are due in January; applications must be submitted online. Decisions come out in February, if you are admitted to the program you have a week to respond.
The application is a form you must download, complete, and submit by email. In addition to demographic information and three short essays, you must also submit a CV and an unofficial transcript. You must have two recommenders send letters to the program by the application deadline. This is a paid program, though rate of pay depends on your prior research experience.
(NURO)
Run by the University of Michigan’s College of Medicine, NURO is specifically aimed at students who attend colleges in Southeast Michigan. This is both a ten-week summer research program, and a year round part time research program; students begin in the summer, then continue working throughout the year. This is why the program is limited geographically, so that the only students who attend are the ones who can commit to the full year of in-person research.
Students in the program join an existing neuroscience research project, working under a senior researcher. There is a stipend provided for the summer session, and work during the school year is paid hourly.
You must have completed one year of undergraduate study already, be majoring in a related STEM field, and be a US citizen to apply. They prefer students with an interest in pursuing a PhD. Undergraduates at University of Michigan Ann Arbor are not eligible to participate in this program. Applications must be submitted online; applications open in December, and are due in February. Preference is given to underrepresented students, and those lacking other access to research programs.
There are several research programs under this umbrella, but the ones that concern us here are a pair of neuroscience research programs. (Dynamic Experiences in Neuroscience to Diversify Research Internship Training Exposures for Students) and (Developing Access to Research in Neuroscience). Both of these are neuroscience research internships open to undergraduate students who do not attend UChicago.
These are eight week programs, which pair students with research faculty to work on existing research projects. Both programs provide a stipend to participants. You must have completed at least one year of undergrad at the time you begin the program. Both programs are designed to help prepare students for future graduate studies.
Applications to both programs must be submitted , they share a common application. This application requires a CV, a statement of your interests in this program and in research more generally, and an unofficial transcript. They ask that you list the names of three faculty members you wish to work with from their Department of Neurology.
These are a collection of programs run by the Department of Biology and Biomedical Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. Some of these programs are open to undergraduates from across the country, while others are limited to just undergrads at WashU.
These are ten-week paid programs, where students join in research projects and work under faculty. You may apply for all of these programs online, though each has a separate application. Applications are due in early February.
Run by a private non-profit research laboratory, this summer program admits approximately 20 students each summer. The program lasts for ten weeks, students join in the work of an ongoing research project, and also participate in the community at the lab, learning what life is like for a biomedical research scientist. The program also offers career development opportunities, aimed at helping students grow as professional researchers.
A stipend is provided. Unlike many other programs, the program also provides housing, with students residing on the lab’s campus and eating in the dining hall there. The application for the program must be submitted online, through their website. International students are eligible to apply if they are enrolled full-time at a US university.
Current sophomores and juniors are eligible to apply to the program. Prior research experience is preferred, but is not required. The program emphasizes the biological sciences, but students majoring in other STEM fields may also apply. The application opens in December, and is due in January. The application requires two letters of recommendation, a personal statement on your research interests, and unofficial transcripts.
One of the largest private investors into biomedical research, HHMI also runs the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience to train the next generation of scientists. This is a paid, nine-week program, hosted at labs associated with HHMI across the US, both within partnered universities, and at their main campus.
Students work full-time on ongoing projects being undertaken by HHMI staff. Students have a chance to present their research at the end of the summer. The program is open to rising juniors and seniors only. You must be a US citizen or permanent resident. You are in charge of your own transit and housing during the summer program, though the stipend is intended to help you meet these costs.
The application for this program is due in December, and must be completed online. Students are informed of admissions results in the spring. The application must be submitted online.
This program is not aimed solely at biological research (though it supports it), but is instead intended for students of multiple academic disciplines to participate in high level research, and to prepare those students for graduate school. Students both work on a research project under the guidance of an MIT faculty member, and receive advising and counseling on applying to graduate school in the future.
Many departments at MIT participate, everything from philosophy to biological engineering. They do have a for those students interested in the biological sciences however, due to the popularity of that field. The program offers housing and a weekly stipend to participants.
Current sophomores and juniors majoring in a STEM field are encouraged to apply. You must have a GPA of at least 3.5 to be eligible. MIT undergraduates may not participate in this program. You must have prior research experience to apply. The application must be submitted .
Final Thoughts
There are many ways to spend your summers during college, and no matter what school you attend, they will have their own summer options, both set programs, and ones you can arrange through labs you encounter. These programs, however, show the range of other possibilities, ones which can give you novel experiences and connections, which are especially valuable for students considering pursuing research at a higher level.
Being a pre-med is both challenging and stressful, and some of that is intentional, to make sure students unable to handle the stress of being a doctor never need face it. If, however, you would like help with your own career as a premed, then schedule a free consultation with us today. Our mentors are experienced at keeping you on track, and helping you connect with the opportunities that best suit your wants and needs.
