Opportunities for K-12 Students

Our department has developed and participates in multiple outreach programs for high school, middle school, and elementary students interested in neuroscience. 

NOTE: Due to COVID, in-person research opportunities may be possible, while Clinical and Operating Room observations are currently not possible until further notice.

Envision Internship Program

Envision is an internship program in partnership with UCSF Department of Neurosurgery and the non-profit organization Oasis for Girls to expose young high school girls of color (ages 14-18) from under-represented communities in San Francisco to careers in the medical field and to help them build important professional skills to enrich their future.

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Achieve Summer Internship

Achieve is an internship program in partnership with the UCSF Department of Neurosurgery, UCSF Health, and the non-profit organization SF Achievers for high school senior males of African-American descent from under-represented communities in San Francisco to explore careers in medical and health-science fields. 1-2 interns per summer are accepted from the current cohort of the SF Achiever Scholarship Program & SF Achiever Leadership Academy. Prospective interns apply through SF Achievers.

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Thrive Summer Internship

Thrive is an internship program in partnership with the UCSF Department of Neurosurgery, the Pediatric Brain Center, and the non-profit organization Pacific Center (Berkeley) for LGBTQ+ youth of color (males, females, trans, non-binary or fluid genders) (ages 16-21) from under-represented communities in San Francisco to explore careers in medicine and health-sciences. 1-2 interns per Summer are accepted from the Pacific Center BOLD program with access to Benioff Children’s Hospital. Prospective interns apply through Pacific Center.

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Summer Research Internship

We encourage you to reach out to clinical faculty based on your interests and also check out some of the other opportunities UCSF has to offer.

  • Look through our Neurosurgery Specialties website and choose which subjects you would like to become involved in. You can ask specific faculty noted in these sections about creating volunteering, interning, or shadowing opportunities, setting up a schedule, and other questions / logistics needed.
  • Please check the UCSF Directory to find contact info for faculty (take out their middle initial and degrees to search).
  • Include your interests and resume or CV upon requesting an opportunity.
  • Also, check out our volunteer programs at UCSF and Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland.
  • In general, it is a great idea to look into the Diversity Hub, with over 260 programs, the list is searchable / filterable.

Brain Camp

Led by UCSF medical students and faculty, Brain Camp is a free, week-long immersive experience for underserved high school students in San Francisco. The Camp features many hands-on activities and explores neuroscience, neuroanatomy, and behavioral science topics.

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HealthLink

Led by UCSF professional school students, HealthLink is a program designed to inspire and support high school students who are underrepresented in medicine and health professions. The program involves hands-on science and career workshops held during Saturday sessions, occuring monthly throughout the school year. 

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Neuroscience Day

Organized by the Department of Neurological Surgery, Neuroscience Day is an annual community outreach event. The one-day event features hands-on workshops in the operating rooms at the UCSF Helen Diller Medical Center at Parnassus Heights, offering a chance for the families of department staff to learn from our faculty.

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Additional Internships and Opportunities

UCSF Center for Science Education and Outreach (CSEO)

Internship / Outreach Programs: EAOP, Inside UCSF, MESA, Upward Bound

UCSF Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP)

Internship / Outreach Programs: EAOP Summer Opportunities - PITCH, UCSF Summer Science Camp, CURE Internship*, Brain Camp

UCSF SEP High School Intern Program

SFUSD high school students conduct original research under the direction of a UCSF scientist mentor, for 8 weeks in the summer.

UCSF High School Outreach Conference

An annual, one-day event at UCSF that brings together dental, nursing, medical, graduate, pharmacy, and physical therapy students to host over 300 high school students from the Bay Area. Applications open in February for the annual event in April.

UCSF HealthLink 

HealthLink is a partnership between UCSF professional school students, Bay Area public schools and community organizations. Our mission is to inspire and support high school students from communities that are underrepresented in the health professions through mentorship, workshops and hands-on activities in the health sciences. This program takes place over (8) Saturday sessions from October through May.

Summer Researchers in Global Health is a six-week summer internship for rising high school seniors that introduces students to global health concepts and immerses them in challenging, real-life projects. Each summer, qualified students from participating San Francisco Bay Area high schools learn from and work with expert global health researchers at the Institute for Global Health Sciences on the UCSF Mission Bay campus.

Hands-on science activities, lab experiments, and workshops that convey scientific principles while building self-confidence and developing the skills to problem-solve using math and technology.

Helix at Berkeley

Helix is a California registered non-profit that hosts a free, four-week summer medical program for high school minority populations who are underrepresented in the medical field in the Bay Area.

Annually, URI engages 16 interns in a meaningful research project, clinical shadowing at UCSF and Kaiser Oakland, didactics, leadership training, and extensive mentoring during the 8-week program, as well as through the medical school application process.

The Youth Steering Committee (YSC) is a young women's health and leadership program for a group of diverse high school girls from SF public and charter schools. The YSC works together for 9 months to explore young women's health issues and to create a health & leadership summit for other high school girls.

* paid internships

Career Search

UCSF Temporary Employment Program (UCSF TEP)

The Temporary Employment Program provides immediate clerical and technical support services to UCSF Departments and various off-campus locations. UCSF departments deploy Temporary employees to work on special projects, fill in for regular employees who are on vacation or sick leave, or to temporarily fill a vacant position during recruitment. Frequently temporary employees become successful candidates for career and limited appointment positions.

UCSF Careers (Job Search)

Must have college degree or equivalent experience for most of these opportunities.

UCLA Alumni Job Search Starter Kit

We know that you have a lot on your plate and creating your résumé may have fallen by the wayside. Your UCLA Alumni Association aims to provide you with tools to simplify your job search process, and help get you moving! Your Job Search Starter Kit provides you easy templates for a résumé, cover letter and email correspondences. Of course, we recommend you build upon these templates to showcase your individual skills and personality. Also included are Résumé Tips and a Career Development Plan to get your creative juices flowing.