UCLA-wide Opportunities

UCLA Re-Application Program (RAP)

The UCLA Re-Application Program (RAP) is a 11-month post-baccalaureate program from September to August. RAP is designed to assist promising California residents from educationally and economically disadvantaged backgrounds who were previously unsuccessful in gaining admissions to a U.S. Medical School.  Enrollment in RAP is free of cost and scholars will be provided a stipend, however, scholars are responsible for their own living expenses during the program, and any associated costs and fees for post baccalaureate courses as part of their individualized re-application plan. 

UCLA/DREW Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP)

The Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP) is a free program for 1st and 2nd year educationally and economically disadvantaged undergraduate and community college students to explore their interests in medicine, dentistry, and nursing. Scholars participate in a six-week academic enrichment program where they develop competencies for becoming successful applicants to health profession programs, through specialized academic content, simulation activities, and mentorship. Our scholars become future leaders that will change the face of medicine, nursing, and dentistry and improve health care delivery, policy and research in underserved communities. 

UCLA Pre-medical Enrichment Program (PREP)

The Pre-Medical Enrichment Program (PREP) is a free, six-week intensive summer program for educationally and economically disadvantaged 3rd and 4th year students and recent college graduates that are interested in strengthening their readiness to study medicine. Scholars engage in personal and professional development to enhance their passion for medicine and develop a community of peers to support them along their journey.

UCLA Health - Volunteer Services

UCLA Health volunteers are exceptional individuals who give back to their community. Over 3000 people volunteer monthly throughout 250 departments at UCLA Health. These men, women and teenagers donate their time and share their talents throughout our hospitals, research facilities and patient care areas, bringing a special personal touch to our patients and families.

UCLA Undergraduate Academic Advancement Program (AAP)

Built on principles of social justice, AAP has a threefold mission:to advocate and facilitate the access, academic success, and graduation of students who have been educationally underserved in higher education; inform and prepare students for graduate and professional schools; and  to develop the academic, scientific, political, economic, and community leadership necessary to transform society. The successful integration of our three-fold mission strengthens our commitment to access, equity and excellence. To achieve this mission, AAP encourages students to explore their talents and abilities, to believe in themselves, to set the highest standards for themselves, to aspire to academic and personal excellence, to utilize the full range of campus resources, and to develop a sense of community and social responsibility.

UCLA Undergraduate Academic Advancement Program: HIGH AIMS

HIGH AIMS provides academic, career, and mentoring support to AAP students who are interested in gaining admission to health profession schools. It is also designed to provide them with effective strategies to be successful in gateway science courses. It is a cohort program that will admit and support students for two years. Students must be in their first or second undergraduate year. Students will be required to participate in internships, research, Saturday Career seminars, program meetings, community service activities and workshops. HIGH AIMS is administered by the Academic Advancement Program’s (AAP) Office of Graduate Mentoring and Research Programs.

UCLA SCOPE

Students for Community Outreach, Promotion, and Education (SCOPE) consists of FIVE unique programs that each target specific communities. We work together to empower the greater Los Angeles community through meaningful service that minimizes disparities in education and healthcare. SCOPE’s Youth Empowerment Program (YEP) strives to improve the greater LA community by building personal relationships through meaningful mentorship. Whether it be helping out with homework or discussing a difficult day at school, YEP volunteers are intimately engaged with their student's needs. YEP ensures that diverse elementary school students, including those from underserved or disadvantaged backgrounds, are provided with a consistent role model in order to facilitate their educational success, self-esteem, and future aspirations.  

Allied Healthcare Careers Programs

The UCLA Allied Healthcare Careers Program offers education on career pathways in the healthcare field to students across various high schools in Los Angeles County. This pipeline program teaches students about opportunities in healthcare that offer promising career growth in areas facing critical workforce shortages. Allied health professionals support physicians and nurses by playing supportive roles in prehospital care, service delivery, rehabilitation, and disease prevention. Recruiting these positions from our community aims to support our goals of building a robust future healthcare workforce.

Turner-UCLA Allied Health Internship

The Turner UCLA Allied Health Internship is implemented by the UCLA Community Engagement Program, in partnership with Bobby and Lauren Turner, to provide learning opportunities for high school students and recent graduates in finding out more about careers in the entry-level, allied health professions. The one-week-long, summer internship program is designed to address workforce shortages and offers career education for students with interest in exploring health disparities. For our students interested in pursuing careers in healthcare, we offer a range of shadowing opportunities from entry-level, clinical, and administrative positions. We want to highlight rewarding careers in healthcare that do not require traditional four-year college education or medical school. Our goal is to expose students to the many opportunities in healthcare, with hopes that students will be inspired to pursue some of our scholarship opportunities for the short-term allied health training profession.

Mattel Youth Ambassadors

The Mattel Youth Ambassadors are a dynamic group comprised of high school students ages 16-18 who support the Mattel Children’s Hospital and patient experience programs. You will gain valuable leadership skills while giving back to the community. Our Youth Ambassadors are ambitious and interested in improving the health and well-being of others, while learning about the healthcare environment, and medical career options. Meet fellow students who share your ambitions, and have fun along the way! This virtual program is comprised of regular meetings, virtual activities, and service to the hospital. There is a fundraising goal, art projects and participation in monthly meetings throughout the year.  Our dynamic meetings offer leadership skills, physician round table discussions to explore the medical field, and opportunities to expand knowledge of the healthcare environment.

UCLA Health - Volunteer Services

UCLA Health volunteers are exceptional individuals who give back to their community. Over 3000 people volunteer monthly throughout 250 departments at UCLA Health. These men, women and teenagers donate their time and share their talents throughout our hospitals, research facilities and patient care areas, bringing a special personal touch to our patients and families.

CDU Pathways and School Partnership Programs

Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science provides unique academic programs to expand the educational capacity of underrepresented youth to ensure their long-term success, health, and well-being. CDU currently offers Pre-K to 12th grade student’s pathway to careers in medicine, science, research and health through our various CDU Pathways Programs (formerly known as Pipeline Programs) which include: Pathways to Health Careers (PHCA), CDU 3-Year Bachelor’s Program, Public Health Professions Pathways Program (PHPP), Los Angeles Pediatric Society, CDU Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP), Saturday Science Academy II, Community STEMM Academy, Pipeline Alumni Project: Reconnecting with Generations of SSA II Alumni, Community Health Youth Advocates (CHYA), and the The Junior White Coat Ceremony. 

Long Beach Polytechnic High School Program 

Long Beach Polytechnic High School (LBPHS) is the only school that participates in this program. Students with an interest in biomedical research enroll in a semester-long, for-credit honors program in which they receive instruction in experimental design, patient safety and ethics; and mentored research at one of the CTSI medical-research sites—either UCLA, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center or the Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. High school seniors taking honors courses or advanced placement courses are eligible to enroll.  The program accepts 10-17 students each year.  The course is 21 weeks long, six hours per week consisting of activities at LB Poly and activities at one of the three medical centers.  Activities at LB Poly include journal club, seminars, and biomedical ethics discussions. The course concludes with student presentations of each project at a poster presentation which is held at Cedars-Sinai.

Young Black Scholars

Comprehensive college preparatory program for African American and other minority high school students. More than 30 workshops, programs, seminars, and conferences throughout the academic school year Workshops and one-on-one activities help scholars and parents prepare for college admissions and selection.

    Contact: Dr. Charles Flippen (CFlippen@mednet.ucla.edu) to support the annual YBS Medical Summit for high school students at Geffen Hall
    Visit site: https://www.100bmla.net/young-black-scholars

Mentors Empowering and Nurturing Through Education (M.E.N.T.E.)

The goal is to increase the number of underrepresented low-income high school students applying and enrolling into a four/ two-year university/college while helping them become well-rounded conscientious members of their community.

    Visit site: https://communitypartnerships.ucla.edu/project/mente/

Latinas Guiding Latinas

A non-Profit organization designed to provide K-12 students from the East Los Angeles and El Monte area with additional resources to develop their prospects for higher education.  Driven by the motto, “Education is the key…Unity is our strength,” we are determined to enhance college readiness, academic success, and personal growth for our mentees.

    Visit site: https://communitypartnerships.ucla.edu/project/latinas-guiding-latinas/

 UCLA MED PEP

Medical preparation and education pipeline program designed to support low-income Latino and other URM students through their community college experience and transition to four-year universities and health professional programs. The program’s components include personal, academic, and leadership development; conference and research participation; and peer mentoring support Run by the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture (CESLAC) at UCLA Health, a leading research center in California provides reliable data on Latino health.

    Visit site: https://www.uclahealth.org/ceslac/medpep

Family Medicine Bridging the Gap UCLA Pipeline Project

Mid Valley Comprehensive Health Center Family med residents go to high school classrooms monthly ~160 9th graders at Robert Fulton College Preparatory School in Van Nuys and Van Nuys High School (medical careers magnet program) Residents teach students about primary care and family medicine while helping them build leadership skills and plan for college. The program aims to increase the number of minority students who become family physicians and give back to their communities.

    Visit site: gouclafamilymed.org/family-medicine-bridging-gap/
    Program director: Yohualli B Anaya, MD, MPH

 UCLA Partnership for Progress Program (P4P)

King/Drew Medical Magnet High School Medical, Nursing or Dental student paired with high school student 5 sessions, monthly on Saturdays.

• Meet your mentee
• Project Santa Claus: Mentor-mentee volunteer
• Applying to college and SAT prep. Free books
• Clinical skills workshop
• Community service presentation
• Coordinators: Opemipo Akerele, Nabil Munshi, Erika Mae Bernardino

The BRUIN Experiment

The Bruin Experiment was established in 2014 by UCLA undergraduate students. Our mission is to cultivate scientific curiosity in middle school students of the Los Angeles Unified School District, and further, to inspire our mentees to begin thinking about college. We recruit mentors during the fall quarter through an application and interview process, and we spend winter and spring quarters with our mentees at site in preparation for the annual TBE science fair. Our organization also emphasizes building a community between mentors through social events and weekly meetings.

        Visit site: https://www.thebruinexperiment.com/
        Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/thebruinexperiment/

UCLA SCOPE

Encompasses multiple programs that focus on community service, outreach, education, and empowerment in Los Angeles communities; pipeline programs include: Youth Empowerment Program (YEP): Mentors Los Angeles youth at elementary schools

        Visit site: http://www.uclascope.org/youth-empowerment-program
        Contact: yep.scope@gmail.com

Pathways for Students Into Health Professions (PSHP): undergraduate training program geared toward pre-health students and their pathway into the health field

        Visit site: http://ucla-pshp.org/
        Contact: pshp@mednet.ucla.edu

The Glendale Learning Program (GLP)

Empowers students at Woodrow Wilson Middle School through tutoring and mentorship. The goal is to not only inspire students to gain the confidence to succeed academically but also to cultivate a lifelong love for learning. It is the program’s wish that its students are inspired to pursue higher education, and are knowledgeable of the career paths it can lead to.

        Visit site: http://fwsm-orl-in-fail.it.ucla.edu/studentorg/36/

Casa Heiwa & Angelina Mentorship Program (CHAMPs)

Provides tutoring and mentorship for youth residents of the Echo Park community. The goal is to provide exposure to new opportunities and encourage their mentees to pursue secondary education.

        Visit site: https://champsatucla.wixsite.com/champsatucla