If you're a high school student in Oklahoma interested in a medical career, summer medical programs can offer valuable hands-on experience and exposure to the healthcare field. These programs allow you to explore different medical disciplines, work directly with professionals, and develop skills that can set you apart in college applications and future career pursuits.
Oklahoma's universities, hospitals, and research centers provide summer programs that introduce you to the world of healthcare through clinical activities, research projects, and interactive learning. These experiences help you understand the demands and opportunities in medicine, giving you a head start on your academic and career goals.
Here are 11 of the best 2024-2025 summer medical programs in Oklahoma for high school students, offering opportunities in fields like biomedical research, clinical work, healthcare leadership, and more.
11 Best Summer Medical Programs for High School Students in Oklahoma in 2024-2025
Horizon offers trimester-long research programs in areas like data science, machine learning, political theory, biology, chemistry, neuroscience, and psychology. For those interested in medicine, options include courses like Neuroscience, Medical Sociology, or Neurodegenerative Diseases. You can choose either quantitative or qualitative research methods. After selecting your track, you’ll collaborate one-on-one with a professor or PhD scholar from a leading university to develop a 20-page research paper suitable for journal submission. The program provides specialized field knowledge, expert guidance, a recommendation letter, and feedback to improve future projects and college applications. Apply now for this unique opportunity!
Subject Areas: Medicine, STEM, Economics, International Relations, Philosophy, Political Theory, History, and more
Location: Virtual
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts, including in the summer. Upcoming dates are:
- Winter seminar: December 2, 2024 onwards
- Spring seminar: March 3, 2025 onwards
- Lab dates are flexible, but you must apply 4 weeks in advance
Eligibility: High school students with good academic standing (>3.67/4.0 GPA) can apply. Most accepted students are 10th/11th graders! Only a few tracks require formal prerequisites, more details of which can be found here
Application Deadline: Varies according to cohort. November 10, 2024 for the winter cohort, and February 9, 2025 for the spring cohort
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program, created by Harvard and Oxford researchers, allows high school students to work one-on-one with PhD mentors on an independent research project. You’ll get guidance to develop a college-level research paper, with additional support from writing coaches. You can opt for their tracks in medicine, neuroscience, or biology. The program ends with a symposium where you can present your research, with the potential for publication.
Subject Areas: Medicine, Neuroscience, Biology, and more
Location: Remote
Program Dates: June to August (summer). Fall, winter, and spring cohorts are also available
Cost: $2,990 (12 weeks) | $5,900 (16-20 weeks). Financial aid is available
Eligibility: High school students with a minimum 3.3 out of 4 GPA
Application Deadline: Summer deadlines are usually in March, April, and May
The Veritas AI Deep Dive is a 10-week online course for students interested in AI and medicine. You'll learn how AI is used in healthcare, work on disease diagnosis projects, and enhance medical scans using AI models. The first two weeks introduce AI in medicine, followed by topics like medical data preparation, EDA, and Convolutional Neural Networks in weeks 3 to 5. The final weeks cover image segmentation, regularization, transfer learning, and clinical evaluation basics. Prior experience with Python or completion of the AI Scholars program is required.
Subject Areas: Artificial Intelligence, Healthcare, Medicine, Machine Learning, Computer Science
Location: Remote
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year
Cost:
- $2,290 for deep dives
- Need-based financial aid is available
Eligibility: High school students. Students applying to the AI Fellowship program must complete the AI Scholars program or provide evidence of previous experience in AI and Python
Application Deadline: Varies according to cohort. December 1, 2024 for the upcoming Winter cohort
Ladder Internships is a selective program for high school students to intern with high-growth startups across various industries, including health tech, AI, and marketing. These startups have raised over a million dollars, with founders being YCombinator alumni or former employees of companies like Microsoft and Google. During the 8-week virtual internship, you'll work closely with managers and a Ladder Coach on real-world projects, presenting your work to the company. The program also includes one-on-one training in communication and time management, plus group sessions with other interns.
Subject Areas: Medicine, Healthcare, and more
Location: Remote
Program Dates: 8-week programs with multiple cohorts throughout the year
Cost: Starting at $2,490. Financial aid is available
Eligibility: Open to all high school students who can work for 10-20 hours/week for 8-12 weeks. These internships are also open to undergraduates and gap-year students!
Application Deadline: Multiple deadlines throughout the year. Summer cohort: May 12, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)
OMRF’s Fleming Scholars program offers paid opportunities to work in biomedical research labs on individual projects under senior scientists' supervision. Over 8 weeks, you’ll contribute to research that can impact the fight against human diseases. You’ll also attend professional development workshops and seminars. At the end of the program, you’ll write an abstract summarizing your research findings and deliver a scientific presentation.
Subject Areas: Biomedical Research
Location: Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK
Program Dates: June 2 – July 25, 2025
Cost: Scholars who complete the full summer program will be paid $5,000
Eligibility: High school seniors who are Oklahoma residents, at least 16 years of age, and U.S. citizens or permanent residents
Application Deadline: February 1, 2025
6. Mash Camp
MASH Camp (Math and Science in Health Careers) is a 4-day summer camp for students interested in pursuing healthcare careers. The camp helps you explore careers in medicine through hands-on activities that blend math, science, and interdisciplinary fields. The aim of this camp is to explore how different fields influence medicine and healthcare. This interdisciplinary focus makes it a good choice for future medicine practitioners.
Subject Areas: Mathematics, Science, Healthcare
Location: University of Oklahoma, Tulsa, OK
Program Dates: June 17 – 20, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)
Cost: No information available
Eligibility: Current 9th–12th graders
Application Deadline: May 1, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)
SPARK is a free, in-person summer program offering high school students hands-on medical activities and discussions with faculty from different specialties. You will have the chance to perform medical procedures on mannequins under the guidance of medical practitioners. While all high school students can apply, upperclassmen, including graduating seniors, are given priority.
Subject Areas: Medicine
Location: OU Health Science Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Program Dates: July 22 – 26, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)
Cost: Free
Eligibility: High school students, preference will be given to upperclassmen
Application Deadline: No information available
Club Scrubs is a program for high school students who want to explore healthcare careers. The program offers interactive activities led by healthcare professionals. You will learn about various healthcare fields, working with medical students, faculty, and staff. Club Scrubs aims to encourage students to pursue higher education and STEM careers. The program is held on Tuesday evenings.
Subject Areas: Medicine, Healthcare, STEM
Location: OU Health Science Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Program Dates: No information available
Cost: No information available
Eligibility: High school students
Application Deadline: No information available
The VOLUME Summer Program offers high school students hands-on experience in healthcare and allied fields like medicine, nursing, therapy, pharmacy, social work, and healthcare administration. The program includes skill-building activities, educational sessions from hospital staff, and job shadowing to prepare for healthcare careers. This program is unique for introducing students to healthcare administration, another healthcare career that high school students usually have less exposure to. You will have the chance to interact with pediatric patients, and you will also attend sessions to help you prepare for college.
Subject Areas: Healthcare, Medicine, Nursing, Administration
Location: Bethany Children's Health Center, Bethany, OK
Program Dates: June 2 – 19, 2025
Cost: No information available
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors
Application Deadline: March 26, 2025
10. CURE Jr. Program
The CURE Jr. Program is a one-day event for rising Oklahoma high school juniors and seniors to explore careers in cancer research and medicine. Topics covered include laboratory and clinical research, biomedical engineering, clinical trials, physical therapy, surgery, community research, and college preparation. This program will give you an overview of potential career options in medicine.
Subject Areas: Medicine, Cancer Research, Biomedical Engineering
Location: Stephenson Cancer Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Program Dates: June 21, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)
Cost: No information available
Eligibility: Rising Oklahoma high school juniors and seniors
Application Deadline: June 12, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)
The Honors Summer Academy at Oklahoma Christian University is a one-week program for talented high school students. Students interested in medicine can take the Introduction to Microbiology course, where you’ll learn which microbes contribute to health and which cause disease. The cell biology course could also be useful as it explores how healthy cells turn cancerous.
Subject Areas: Engineering, Microbiology, Cybersecurity, Cell Biology
Location: Oklahoma Christian University, Oklahoma City, OK
Program Dates: July 13 – 18, 2025
Cost: $600
Eligibility: High school students in 9th–11th grade with one of the following:
- A 21 ACT
- 1040 on the new SAT
- 1020 on the new PSAT (including Reading, Math, Writing)
- or 20 on the preACT
- If you haven’t taken these tests, you can apply with a teacher or counselor recommendation
Application Deadline: No information available
David Wilkinson is a freelance writer for Horizon and currently resides in the United States.