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“Meeting people like Dr. Benjamin Carson, who had to work so hard, was inspiring.”

--Itsy Tizazu
(high school class of 2004), who wants to be a pediatric neurologist.

Pre-College Students

In the 1950s, Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes asked, “What happens to a dream deferred?” Today, the University of Michigan Diversity and Career Development Office is working hard to ensure that more dreams are realized than ever before. We provide the encouragement, the resources . . . and the most important ingredient for success: hope.

Summer Science Academy (SSA)

Every summer, highly motivated rising 11th and 12th grade high school students from throughout Michigan come to U-M to experience campus and medical school life! They spend two weeks in a dormitory, attend classes from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and participate in evening events that highlight self-development, diversity awareness, and the arts. The result? A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for young adults to realize that they could have a career in medicine!

Rates of SSA success

• More than 85 percent of our SSA participants in the past nine years enrolled in an institution of higher education! More than 50 percent at the University of Michigan.
• Fifteen percent of our participants from 1995-1998 are enrolled in medical schools; 50 percent of those are at the University of Michigan Medical School.
• Other participants (12 percent) are pursuing advanced degrees or careers in dentistry, physical therapy, kinesiology, biomedical engineering, pharmacy, psychology and other health professions.

Read more about SSA.

Medical School Summer Opportunities for Apprenticeships in Research (MedSOAR)

Highly motivated incoming college freshman, undergraduates, and recent college graduates, can earn while they learn and explore a career in medicine and/or the biomedical sciences.  Students are paired with a faculty mentor and gain first-hand experience in either a research lab or a clinical setting.  While incoming college freshman are encouraged to apply, undergraduate students receive priority placement.  Students must have previously participated in a U-M Medical School Diversity & Career Development program (e.g. SSA/MACY or HOPE).

Read more about MedSOAR.