15 Medical Programs for High School Students in Mississippi
- Stephen Turban
- Mar 24
- 9 min read
Medicine is a field where knowing what it’s like to learn and work in health environments makes a difference. If you’re a high school student who wants to go beyond classes and explore healthcare, medical programs can give you that exposure. These programs often mix lab activities, clinical workshops, discussions with professionals, and research experiences. Whether you’re learning basic lab techniques or observing healthcare settings, you begin to understand how medical teams approach problems and care for patients.
What medical programs are available for high school students in Mississippi?
Mississippi offers a range of medical programs through universities, hospitals, research institutes, and community health organizations. You can find opportunities that focus on biomedical research, clinical exposure, public health topics, or health science fundamentals. Many of these programs include mentorship, guided projects, and practical learning. You’ll strengthen your college applications with specific experiences that you can talk about in essays and interviews.
With that in mind, here are 15 medical programs for high school students in Mississippi!
Location: Remote , you can participate in this program from anywhere in the world!
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available.
Application Deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort.
Program Dates: Varies by cohort: summer, fall, winter, or spring. Options range from 12 weeks to 1 year.
Eligibility: You must be currently enrolled in high school and demonstrate a high level of academic achievement.
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a rigorous research program tailored for high school students. The program offers extensive 1-on-1 research opportunities for high school students across a broad range of subject areas that you can explore as a high schooler. The program pairs high school students with Ph.D. mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project. At the end of the 12-week program, you’ll have developed an independent research paper! You can choose research topics from subjects such as psychology, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more. You can find more details about the application here.
Location: Jackson, MS (local partner schools)
Cost: Free (partnership with local high schools)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Small cohort via high school partnership
Dates: Weekly sessions during school terms
Application Deadline: School year/partner school enrollment period
Eligibility: Local high school students (varies by partnership)
Discovery U High School Programs (University of Mississippi Medical Center) gives local students a chance to spend time around biomedical research during the school year. The setup is usually one day a week in a lab environment, where you will learn what research teams do and how scientific work is organized. Depending on the placement, your tasks can include basic lab exposure, observing procedures, helping with organization, and learning how experiments are planned. It is not a fast-paced summer internship.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies by program format (financial aid available)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; cohort size not publicly disclosed
Application Deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort
Program Dates: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: High school students with prior Python experience or completion of the AI Scholars program
Veritas AI’s AI + Medicine is for students who want to learn healthcare through the lens of coding and data. You work with machine learning models on problems that resemble medical imaging and disease prediction, and you spend time understanding what the outputs mean, not just getting a model to run. The program is project-based, so you are usually building something concrete over a few weeks, then explaining it in plain language. It works well for students who like medicine but also enjoy Python and want to explore the tech side of healthcare without doing a traditional lab internship. Here is the program brochure and the application form.
Location: Jackson, MS
Cost: Free through school partnership
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective (limited placements)
Dates: Academic year / ongoing
Application Deadline: Varies by school/mentor placement
Eligibility: High school students in participating school districts
Base Pair Research Mentorship (University of Mississippi Medical Center) is a more hands-on lab mentorship program for students in partner school districts. You will be paired with a researcher and get exposure to how biomedical labs operate, from basic lab habits to research thinking. Students who do well often build enough skill to present their work or contribute to longer projects. The experience is sustained mentorship, which is what actually builds confidence in research.
Location: Mississippi (statewide; community-, school-, and systems-based)
Cost: No cost to youth participants; no stipend
Acceptance Rate: Not applicable
Program Dates: Ongoing, year-round (varies by initiative and partner organization)
Program Deadline: No fixed deadline
Eligibility: Mississippi teens and young adults; educators, healthcare providers, school districts, and youth-serving organizations may also participate, depending on the program
Teen Health Mississippi Programs are statewide education and support programs focused on teen sexual and reproductive health, healthy relationships, and access to youth-friendly services. This is not a medical internship, but it is still a health program that affects real outcomes in Mississippi. The work here is about prevention, education, and decision-making, which is a major part of public health. If you are interested in community health, health education, or policy, this is the kind of program ecosystem you should understand. It shows how health systems try to reduce risk and improve well-being before problems become emergencies.
Location: Jackson, MS (residential)
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive
Dates: June 14–20
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors from rural Mississippi towns (population under 20,000), with a GPA of 3.0 or higher, must be 16+ years old
Mosaic Summer Enrichment Program is a week-long residential experience that exposes rural Mississippi students to health careers through hands-on workshops, campus tours, and direct contact with UMMC medical students and healthcare professionals. You will stay on campus and work through clinical and health science activities that show you what medical training looks like. The program targets students already taking dual enrollment classes, which means you need to be academically prepared and show a serious interest in healthcare. It focuses on rural health careers and requires parent attendance at orientation.
Location: Hattiesburg, MS
Cost: $40 registration (includes lunch and camp T-shirt)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Limited cohort; early registration recommended
Dates: Typically one day in June (e.g., June 12)
Application Deadline: Varies (spring)
Eligibility: Rising 9th–12th graders
Health Professions Summer Camp (University of Southern Mississippi) is a practical, low-pressure way to explore different healthcare roles in a single day. You will rotate through activities that introduce you to allied health and clinical pathways, and you will get to speak with faculty and students who are in those programs. The value here is range. You might walk in thinking only about being a doctor, then leave realizing you are more interested in occupational therapy, nursing, medical lab work, or physical therapy.
Location: Starkville, MS
Cost: $2,600 and a $100 application fee (Scholarships are available)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective (limited spots)
Dates: June 7–19
Application Deadline: Opens Dec 1 (deadline typically in April)
Eligibility: Current high school juniors interested in health/science careers
Rural Medical and Science Scholars (Mississippi State University) is a short residential program that gives you a realistic look at health science pathways in Mississippi. You will be in a college-style setup, working through health and science topics, practical workshops, and guided activities that connect science to healthcare work. A major part of the experience is seeing how medicine looks outside big coastal cities. You get exposure to public health problems, rural care challenges, and the kinds of careers that keep local communities running, from clinical roles to health systems work.
Location: Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi (on-campus, residential)
Cost: Not specified
Acceptance Rate: Competitive (hundreds of applications for a limited number of spots)
Program Dates: Varies by session
Program Deadline: Application typically opens in late January and closes in early February
Eligibility: High school students ages 10 to 17
This program gives you an on-campus introduction to veterinary medicine and animal health careers. You spend time in labs, work with faculty and vet students, and learn how veterinary science connects to public health, pathology, and research. The experience is hands-on and structured, so you are not just listening to talks. You are seeing how the field actually operates, and what kinds of work vets do beyond pet clinics.
Location: University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), University, Mississippi
Cost: $700 (Residential) / $400 (Commuter); no stipend (CREATE scholarships may cover full cost for eligible students from select counties)
Acceptance Rate: Limited to 20 students, making it competitive
Program Dates: June 7 – June 12 (1-week program)
Program Deadline: Registration due by May 15
Eligibility: Rising 9th–12th grade students in good academic and conduct standing; CREATE scholarship eligibility is limited to residents of Pontotoc, Union, or Lee counties attending public schools
Health Professions Summer Program (University of Mississippi, Ole Miss) is a short, intensive week where you explore health careers through a case study-style format. You will learn about topics like anatomy, physiology, and disease through activities. You also get exposure to a range of healthcare roles, which helps if you are still undecided. The program is useful because it shows you how healthcare works as a team system.
Location: Oxford, MS
Cost: $400 (Commuter) / $710 (Residential)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Moderately selective; limited spots
Dates: June 9–13 (Session 1); July 14–18 (Session 2)
Application Deadline: May 1 (Priority)
Eligibility: Rising 10th–12th graders
Rebel Quest Pharmacy Camp (University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy) is the most direct way to figure out if you actually like the chemistry side of medicine. A lot of students say they want to be doctors, but end up hating the patient management side; this camp shows you the alternative. You will be in the compounding lab making products (creams, gels), solving "pharmacy mysteries" using medical math, and learning how drugs are formulated.
Location: Jackson, MS
Cost: Not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Academic Year Program (AYP) and Summer Intensive Program (SIP)
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: Current 9th–12th grade students
MPP Academy High School Pre-Med Readiness Program is a structured pipeline that prepares you for medical careers through year-round coursework and clinical skills training. You can choose between an academic year program that runs alongside high school or a summer intensive on a university campus. Both include pre-med content and labs where you practice medical procedures using simulation equipment. The program is designed for students from underrepresented backgrounds and teaches actual clinical skills, not just career exploration. You complete courses in medical terminology, anatomy, and clinical procedures, and you earn a certificate of completion.
Location: Tougaloo, MS
Cost: Not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive
Dates: June (typically 4-week program)
Application Deadline: Mid-March (typically)
Eligibility: Current 9th, 10th, or 11th graders with a GPA of 3.0 or higher
Jackson Heart Study SLAM Program is an intensive four-week academic enrichment program that combines advanced coursework in science, math, and reading with exposure to cardiovascular health research. You will work through college-prep level material while learning about the Jackson Heart Study, a major research project on heart disease in African American populations. The program is academically rigorous and requires strong grades, two teacher recommendations (one from math or science), and demonstrated interest in health careers. Students who perform well may be invited back for SLAM II or SLAM III in later years, building a multi-year mentorship relationship.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Program Dates: June 16 – July 25
Application Deadline: Typically in early spring
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors from all backgrounds
PIPS is a highly selective 6-week virtual research experience designed for students interested in pediatrics and biomedical sciences. You will be paired with Stanford faculty mentors to work on pediatric research projects. The program emphasizes practical skill-building in experimental design, hypothesis testing, and data interpretation. You also attend professional development workshops and faculty-led seminars focused on pediatric healthcare, research ethics, and the role of translational science in medicine.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $1,895 - $2,195
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Multiple start dates offered year-round
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students aged 13 and older
Harvard Medical School Pre-College HMX Program is essentially a set of serious online medical science courses packaged for motivated high school students. The learning style is structured and content-heavy, with videos, interactive modules, and graded checkpoints. Instead of a broad overview of healthcare careers, you will learn about specialized topics like immunology, genetics, physiology, and pharmacology. You are not doing lab work, but you are building the kind of conceptual foundation that makes later research or pre-med coursework easier.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.
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