About

The High School Student Stanford Summer Internship offered through Stanford Medicine’s Cardiothoracic Surgical Skills & Education Center (CSSEC) is a two-week, faculty-led program introducing high-school students to cardiothoracic anatomy, surgical disease, and technical skills training. The curriculum is structured around morning lecture blocks covering cardiac and thoracic structures, common operative pathologies, and procedural fundamentals, followed by afternoon skills-lab sessions focused on knot-tying, suturing, instrument handling, and anatomy-based simulation work. Although delivered in a virtual format, the program adapts Stanford’s surgical-skills curriculum into an interactive environment that exposes students to the fundamentals of cardiothoracic surgical practice.

Admissions requirements include academic records, short-answer responses, and a teacher recommendation; applicants must be at least 16 years old by the start of the program. Stanford does not publish acceptance rates or cohort size. The stated tuition is $4,500, with an additional $95 application fee. The program does not require prior research or surgical-skills experience, and students from a wide range of backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Over the course of the two weeks, participants engage in structured instruction on surgical anatomy, including cardiac chambers, valves, major vessels, pulmonary structures, and thoracic cavity organization. Lectures cover core concepts in cardiothoracic surgery such as coronary artery bypass grafting, valve disease, aortic pathology, and lung resections. Skills sessions introduce students to simulated technical tasks, allowing them to practice fundamental hand-skills and procedural reasoning under real-time guidance. Faculty and technical instructors lead demonstrations, provide individualized feedback, and answer questions about surgical education, clinical pathways, and medical training.

While the CSSEC internship is shorter than full-scale research residencies, it offers a distinctive introduction to surgical technique, anatomy, and simulation-based medical training within a major academic medical center. Its focus on technical skill development, structured faculty contact, and exposure to surgical education makes it a meaningful program for students interested in medicine, surgery, or applied anatomy who are seeking a highly focused, short-format experience.