Tufts University School of Medicine

Teachers and High School Students Program (TAHSS)

The TAHSS program will be offered in-person once again during the summer of 2023! The program dates are June 29 – July 21, 2023. The call for online applications begins on November 21, 2022. There will be COVID-19 protocol for which to comply, for example all participants must provide documentation of full vaccination.  Please visit the Tufts COVID-19 website for additional COVID-19 protocol for Tufts' General Visitors.

The Teachers and High School Students (TAHSS) Program was founded in the fall of 1989 with the goals of exposing interested high school students of varied backgrounds to health care and related professions, and providing support in their academic and personal development. Today, TAHSS continues as a key Tufts University School of Medicine community outreach program for high school students in the Greater Boston area. The program is supported by the Dean's Office and aims to stimulate and support interest in careers in the biomedical sciences among high school students.

In the past, the School of Dental Medicine has partnered with us providing TAHSS students superb mentorship experiences in research and clinical practice, further strengthened with the development of a dedicated enhanced curriculum, and with the involvement of dental students as instructors. The revised curriculum offered students placed in the dental medicine track a clinical experience, including shadowing dental faculty and medical students.

While all applications will be considered for TAHSS, the program aims to provide an opportunity especially to students from socioeconomic and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds, and students under-represented in medicine communities.

  • Access the application here: TAHSS Program Application and Instructions

    Please review the instructions and submit the following documents:

    The completed application with all supporting materials must be submitted to TAHSS@tufts.edu. All documents must be in our office by January 17, 2023. Students will be notified of their status by March 15, 2023.

    Interviews: Students are granted interviews by invitation only. If at any time during the process, you find that you are no longer interested in the TAHSS Program, please contact us by email: marlene.jreaswec@tufts.edu or by phone: 617-636-0992.

    Orientation: Thursday, June 29, 2023
    End date: Friday, July 21, 2023

    All students accepted to TAHSS are expected to attend the four week program in its entirety, and will receive a stipend. Students will sign an agreement noting that they will not be involved in competing activities during the program.

    All students are assigned to mentors by the committee.

    No overnight housing accommodations are provided.

    Additional questions please contact:
    Marlene Jreaswec, Program Manager
    Office for Multicultural Affairs
    Tufts University School of Medicine
    136 Harrison Avenue
    Boston, MA 02111
    617-636-0992
    marlene.jreaswec@tufts.edu

  • Program Requirements:

    • Applicants must also be at least 16 years old at the start of the program and in grades 10-12.
    • The selection committee grants student interviews by invitation only. If at any time during the process, you find that you are no longer interested in the TAHSS program, please contact us by email: marlene.jreaswec@tufts.edu or by phone: 617-636-0992.
    • Students are required to participate for the entirety of the four week-long TAHSS program.

    Program Information:

    • Students take Anatomy and Physical Diagnosis courses taught by medical students. Through these courses, they gain knowledge and exposure to graduate-level laboratory-based science.
    • Mentors will be assigned to students in various clinical and bench research positions throughout our Boston Health Sciences Campus.
    • Research and clinical experiences may span the Tufts Medical Center, School of Medicine, Public Health and Community Medicine Department, Friedman School of Nutrition, Tufts Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and School of Dental Medicine.
    • All TAHSS students complete an independent project, and are expected to present their findings at the end of the program.
    • TAHSS provides exposure to role models and health career opportunities, as well as information on the college application process and financial aid.
    • Students can establish lifelong connections with their mentors as well as with their fellow students, and mentors are also available to write letters of recommendation.
    • The mentoring and support for high school students continue after the conclusion of the summer program. Our office keeps in touch to inform TAHSS Alums of conferences and other program opportunities.

  • 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 National Institutes of Health (NIH) to start the Minority High School Research Apprenticeship Program. This program was launched to offer research experiences to local minority/disadvantaged students during the summer. The Teachers and High School Students Program is an extension of both programs.

    The final change came in 1999 when TAHSS became a combined initiative of Tufts University School of Medicine and an NIH-supported program, the National Center for Resources Minority Initiative: K-12 Teachers and High School Students.