Application process:

• Attend a Mandatory Information Session (January 22, 2025 at 8:00pm or January 31, 2025 at 5:00pm)
  • You MUST sign up for a Mandatory Information Session here: registration form
  • If you are unable to attend either of the information sessions, please contact us.
  • After the information session you will be given a personal link to the application to be filled out online.
• Fill out your application (due March 2 at 11:59pm)
  • You must indicate whether you are interested in the Mini Med School or Lab Science Investigations residential Pre-College program.
  • You will need:
    • A cover letter
    • A resume
    • Your high school transcript
    • Recommendation forms from two adults at your school (one must be your science or math teacher) due by March 16
• You may be contacted for an interview
• Final acceptance letters will be sent by April 18

Tufts University embraces diversity in the broadest form, including racial, ethnic, religious, socioeconomic, geographic diversity, as well as diversity in gender and sexual orientation.

At Tufts University School of Medicine, we believe that a diverse student body is essential for the creation of a teaching and learning environment that promotes excellence, quality and equity as core values among our future physicians, scientists and public health advocates, a workforce equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to address the range of health challenges facing our increasingly diverse patient population and their communities.

Aligned with our mission, the STEM+M CONNECT program aims to broaden participation and foster cultural humility of people pursuing STEM+M careers.

CONNECT Program goals:

The overarching goal of CONNECT is to diversify science and medical professions through offering experiences that build on four key areas:

To be eligible, you must:

• Be a current sophomore or junior
• Be 16 years old by July 7, 2025
• Be able to commute daily to the Tufts University Boston Health Sciences Campus
• Be authorized to work in the US: US citizen, permanent resident (Green Card holder), or have an EAD
• Be interested in STEM and/or health sciences
• Attend a Mandatory Information Session on Zoom
• Complete our online application
• Receive two recommendations from adults at your school, one must be a science or math teacher

The number of spots in the CONNECT program are limited and we prioritize offering the opportunity to students that demonstrate how their environments or experiences (individual, family, home, neighborhood, or community), and values position them to contribute to a future workforce that will either address the range of health challenges facing our increasingly diverse patient population and their communities (in the case of Mini Med School), or for Lab Science Investigations, position them as biomedical researchers who will advocate for scientific solutions that will serve diverse communities.

Students enrolled in CONNECT will be provided with a full scholarship to the on-campus Mini-Med School or Lab Science Investigations Pre-College programs. This includes housing on Tufts Medford Campus and 3 meals a day from July 5-18 (dinner only on July 5 since move-in happens in the afternoon). Additionally, students will be provided compensation of $2175 upon completion of the four-week program.

Please note that housing and food are not provided from June 30-July 4 or July 19-25 (lunch may be provided some days).

Expenses for travel using public transportation to and from the Tufts campus can be reimbursed if receipts are submitted.

Students who opt to participate in the research study will receive $100 upon completion of the research related tasks as outlined in the study information sheet. 

The CONNECT program, formerly called Mini-Med Connect, was launched in 2021 by University School of Medicine’s Center for Science Education (CSE) with support from a Science Education Partnership  Award (SEPA) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to create opportunities to empower and connect undergraduates and high school students from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine and science, and to study career interest and persistence in STEM+M careers.

In 2023, the Office for Multicultural Affairs (OMA) and the CSE began a collaboration that bridges the strengths of CONNECT and the Teachers and High School Students (TAHSS) Program. The TAHSS Program has undergone a number of changes since its inception. In 1989, Tufts University School of Medicine created the Minority High School Tutorial PLUS Program to provide local minority/disadvantaged students with access to medical student tutors. Additionally, in 1989, Tufts University School of Medicine received a grant from the NIH to start the Minority High School Research Apprenticeship Program, to offer research experiences to local minority/disadvantaged students during the summer. The TAHSS Program is an extension of both programs, and has the goals of exposing interested high school students of varied backgrounds to health care and related professions, and providing support in their career development.

Our current collaboration between CSE and OMA expands access partnering communities in the Greater Boston area, maximizes residential and clinical experiences, and amplifies our capacity to provide academic and personal development to all STEM+M CONNECT students and alumni.