Teachers and High School Students Program (TAHSS)

Please share this opportunity with students so that they can sign up for one of our Mandatory Information Sessions. To apply for the program, you must first attend an Information Session that will be held via Zoom and take place on January 24 at 8pm or January 26 at 5pm. If you are unable to attend either of the information sessions, please contact us (SciEd@tufts.edu or Valerie Solon)

Below are links to the flyer and informational packet for distribution.

STEM+M Connect Summer Program Flyer 2024

STEM+M CONNECT Information Packet 2024

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. 

This year, we are excited to announce an update to our program as a result of a collaboration with the Tufts Mini Connect & Medical School’s summer program. Formerly entitled the Teachers and High School Students Summer program or “TAHSS”, the new program name is STEM+M CONNECT. Through this collaboration between Tufts University School of Medicine’s Office for Multicultural Affairs (OMA) and the Center for Science Education (CSE), Tufts STEM+M CONNECT offers high school students a unique one-month paid summer experience that combines a residential experience of Tufts Mini-Med School with a multi-tiered mentoring program. We invite you to share this summer opportunity with others!

The programming is designed for highly motivated students from backgrounds underrepresented in STEM and medicine (STEM+M). Our goal is to CONNECT you with other students, Tufts undergraduate mentors, and Tufts Faculty to build friendships and networks to support your exploration of career pathways! The program is funded by Tufts University School of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health and other generous donations. 

More information can be found on the STEM+M CONNECT Program website.

  • Application process:

    • Attend a Mandatory Information Session (January 24 at 8:00pm or January 26 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 (SciEd@tufts.edu or Valerie Solon).
      • After the information session you will be given a personal link to the application to be filled out online.
    • Fill out your application (due February 29 at 11:59pm)
      • You will need:
        • A cover letter
        • A resume
        • Your official high school transcript (sent by the school administrator or guidance counselor)
        • Recommendation forms from two adults at your school (one must be your science or math teacher) due by March 15
    • You may be contacted for an interview
    • Final acceptance letters will be sent by April 15
  • Program Requirements:

    To be eligible, you must:

    • Be a current sophomore or junior
    • Be able to commute daily to the Tufts University Boston Health Sciences Campus
    • Be a US citizen or permanent resident (Green Card holder)
    • Be interested in STEM and/or health sciences
    • Attend a Mandatory Information Session on Zoom
    • Complete our online application (available after informational sessions)
    • 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, your family, home, neighborhood, or community) position them to contribute to a future workforce that will address the range of health challenges facing our increasingly diverse patient population and their communities.

    Program Information:

    STEM M CONNECT Program Weeks 2024

    The CONNECT programming begins the week before the residential experience in Mini Med School and continues the week after, with follow-up experiences throughout the next year.

    CONNECT has FIVE key strands:

    • Let’s Have Fun – Bonding activities to build relationship between high school students and mentors (games, movies, field trips and more)
    • The Hidden Curriculum – Workshops about professional and life skills that are rarely explicitly taught
    • Celebrating Diversity in STEM +M – Scientist spotlights of various BIPOC professional role models
    • Let’s Learn Some Science – Activities such as reviewing biology concepts prior to Mini Med School and tours of lab spaces
    • Individual Mentoring – Structured weekly check-ins with undergraduate STEM Mentors

    Mini Med School Highlights

    As part of the Tufts Mini Med School program the students live on Tufts University campus for two weeks in July. A few highlights of the program include Basic Biosafety Level 1 training, hands-on microbiology and anatomy labs, simulation center patient cases, guidance by medical student TAs, lectures on biomedical topics and career opportunities, patient presentations, and filmmaking capstone projects. For more details, please look at the Mini Med School webpage here.

  • 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.  In 1999, 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.

    Finally 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.

    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.