June 14 - June 27, 2009

Summer Science Academy (SSA) is a two-week residential summer enrichment program sponsored by the University of Michigan Medical School (UMMS) Diversity and Career Development Office (DCDO).  SSA brings together highly motivated current 10th and 11th grade high school students throughout Michigan to experience campus and medical school life. Current medical students and SSA program alumni serve as student leaders and mentors. During the two-week session, the student leaders stay in the dorm with participants and provide classroom tutoring, intellectual and social stimulation, one-on-one and small group mentoring, and insight into college and medical school life. During the day, SSA participants attend classes taught by experts in the field and participate in fun-filled evening events highlighting cultural diversity, self-development, and the arts.

The Diversity and Career Development Office is committed to increasing the diversity – in the widest and most inclusive sense – of medical school enrollments and thereby helping to create a well-trained, diverse physician workforce committed to working with underserved and disadvantaged populations to reduce health disparities. All students with an interest in medicine and health disparities are encouraged to apply. In keeping with its goal of increasing the diversity (broadly defined) of medical school enrollments, DCDO particularly encourages applications from students who come from groups that are underrepresented in medicine. For instance, some applicants may come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds or from racial and ethnic groups that historically have been underrepresented in medicine, or may attend schools with largely socio-economically disadvantaged or underrepresented student bodies. Other applicants may come from parts of Michigan (such as rural areas) whose residents historically have been underrepresented in medicine or lacked access to medical services.

The University of Michigan Medical School takes great pride in SSA and in the program’s ability to increase the opportunities for high school students to gain valuable exposure to the world of medicine.

For more information contact:

Yolanda Campbell, Health Career Programs Manager
Telephone: (734) 764-8185
Fax: (734) 615-4828
Email: umms.ssa@umich.edu