Summer Medical and Dental Education Program
(SMDEP) is a FREE (full tuition, housing, and meals) six-week summer academic enrichment program that offers freshman and sophomore college students intensive and personalized medical and dental school preparation. For more information: http://www.smdep.org/
In 1988, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation established the Minority Medical Education Program (MMEP) to increase the number of highly qualified medical school applicants from minority groups that were underrepresented in medicine—primarily African Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians. MMEP supported six medical schools in offering a free, six-week medical school preparatory program. The Association of American Medical Colleges assumed the role of National Program Office for MMEP in 1993.
Over the years, MMEP’s intensive academic preparation program expanded to 11 campuses. In addition, the program broadened its initial focus on specific minority groups to include students who were from rural areas, economically disadvantaged, and came from groups that have historically received substandard health care regardless of their racial or ethnic background.
In 2003, the program changed its name to the Summer Medical Education Program (SMEP), reflecting the inclusion of students representing a wide range of economic, cultural, racial, and ethnic diversity. The Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP) builds on the lessons learned from those earlier programs. It expanded to include pre-dental students who face challenges similar to those of pre-medical students, and it focuses on students in the first two years of their college education because the experience of previous programs indicates that this is when students derive the most benefit.
Program Offerings Include:
- Academic enrichment in the basic sciences (organic chemistry, physics, biology) and pre-calculus/calculus
- Career development
- Learning-skills seminar
- Limited clinical exposure
- A financial-planning workshop
Program Sites:
- Case Western Reserve University
- Columbia University
- Duke University
- Howard University
- University of California-Los Angeles
- UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical and New Jersey Dental
- University of Louisville
- University of Nebraska
- University of Virginia
- University of Washington
- University of Texas-Houston
- Yale University
“When I found I was accepted to SMDEP, I was so excited! SMDEP brought a refreshing confidence in me, a realistic approach towards my goal as a medical doctor, and a hopeful outlook on life. I encourage anyone who wants to be a dentist or a medical doctor to apply to this program.”
—Silvia Rotela, Broward College of Florida (SMDEP 2007)
“The whole SMDEP experience, from meeting other aspiring health professionals to volunteering in a health fair, will always be a part of my life. After this life-changing experience, I went to UC Santa Cruz, as a junior transfer student, and started the first pre-dental organization on campus.”
—Edward Heath, UC Santa Cruz (SMDEP 2006)
“Through my participation in SMDEP, I learned many of life’s most important lessons such as compassion, dedication, and humility from the people I met, experiences I had, and classes I took.”
—Biyanka Patel, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (SMDEP 2008)
For more information: http://www.smdep.org/