The Summer Undergraduate Mentorship Program (SUMP) of the Hispanic Center of Excellence (HCOE) at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Einstein) is a six-week program that offers students from underrepresented groups in medicine and/or economically disadvantaged background a unique opportunity to become exposed to the realities and options within the medical profession through a “shadowing” experience with a physician mentor. Besides shadowing a doctor, the program offers a broad and comprehensive curriculum, including medical lectures, hands-on workshop participation and literature review under the supervision of a research mentor and medical librarians at Einstein.
All students are expected to complete a written research project and give a PowerPoint presentation on their project to their peers, family, physician mentors and invited Einstein faculty at the program's all day colloquium and graduation. The topics for the projects may be based on a student's clinical experience and/or any related medical issue of interest. Projects are encouraged to be presented in context of core curriculum content that will highlight Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports findings on health disparities and Hispanic and minority health. The goals of the program are designed to motivate students to pursue careers in medicine, build confidence, advance leadership skills and foster working mentorship relationships.
Lectures and workshops will cover a variety of topics that include practical information such as the medical school application process, studying skills, mock interviews, current issues in medicine and special interest topics such as cultural competency and the patient-physician relationship. The lectures will be conducted by Einstein faculty and affiliated faculty from partner institutions. There will also be informal lunches with medical students, residents and faculty that will provide a forum for sharing experiences. We encourage students and their parents to attend a special evening workshop on financial aid and the medical school application process.
SUMP requires a full time commitment Monday-Friday over six summer weeks. The student will be expected to attend fourteen hours of lecture per week and spend at least six hours per week with their assigned mentor. Participants in the program will be awarded a stipend at the end of the program.
Eligibility Requirements:
Students will be considered if they are US citizens, Permanent Residents or individuals granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status by the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services from an underrepresented group in medicine and/or have an economically disadvantaged background.
- Must have completed at least 2 science courses prior to the beginning of the summer program.
- While a GPA of 3.0 is generally required, a GPA of less than 3.0 may still considered after a comprehensive application review.
- Students must complete the online application, provide an official college transcript and obtain a letter of recommendation from a faculty member before the deadline.
- If accepted, medical clearance will be required prior to starting the program.
- Live in the Bronx or nearby metropolitan area.
Application Deadline: April 1st, 2025
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
No Housing is Available
Since SUMP's establishment in 2002, 90 of our students have been accepted to medical school and many others have pursued science or health-related graduate degrees in physical therapy, physician assistant, podiatry, engineering, clinical psychology, social work, nursing, dentistry, and public health. Some SUMP Alumni have chosen to pursue careers in non-health related areas, including education and finance, and many others have opted for gap year(s) prior to enrolling in medical school or other graduate programs.
