About

The Stanford Medical Youth Science Program (SMYSP) is a five-week, tuition-free summer enrichment program for high school students with strong interests in science, health, and medicine. Hosted by Stanford Medicine’s Office of Diversity in Medical Education, SMYSP supports academically motivated high school juniors from Northern California who are first-generation college-bound and from low-income households. The program is designed to broaden access to medical professions for students historically underrepresented in these fields.

The 2026 session runs from June 22 to July 26, 2026, with a mandatory orientation on June 18. Accepted students engage in a full-time schedule Monday through Friday, spending 30–40 hours per week in academic, clinical, and community-oriented activities. Program components include hospital internships at Stanford Health Care, anatomy and pathology laboratory workshops, and academic planning sessions focused on college admissions and financial aid. Mentorship is provided by Stanford faculty, health professionals, and medical students.

Admission is highly selective, limited to 24 students who reside in Northern California and demonstrate financial need. While the program is tuition-free and provides a $1,250 clinical research stipend to all participants, it is a non-residential program; students must live with a family member or guardian and provide their own transportation to campus. The application for the 2026 cycle requires a $50 fee (waivers available) and must be submitted by March 23, 2026. Decisions are released in early May following a holistic review of academic records, teacher recommendations, and essays. Because SMYSP combines structured academic learning with real-world health experiences and mentorship, it serves both as an introduction to health professions and as a college-readiness pipeline, supporting participants in navigating preparation for postsecondary study in scientific or clinical fields. Although less known than other Stanford flagship programs like SIMR, SMYSP offers a genuinely first-class experience to some of the regions’s most deserving premed-minded students.