Applications Open! Enroll for Summer 2027 at 2026 Tuition Pricing Until Sept 30
Map a healthcare career from training to daily practice in this 2-week program for high school students on Georgetown University’s campus.
Course Description
Healthcare is a system of interconnected professions, not a single career track. Students compare clinical roles such as physicians, physician associates, nurses, and dentists with research, administration, policy, pharmaceutical, and health-technology pathways. For each, they examine daily responsibilities, working relationships, qualifications, and long-term career outlook.
The course follows the training behind the title. Students trace undergraduate, graduate, and professional steps, then consider how research advances medicine and how administrators and policy professionals shape care at scale. Discussions, projects, possible guest lectures, and videos connect formal pathways with the choices students can begin making in high school and college.
Each student develops a personal career pathway project. Guided planning asks them to identify a profession of interest, relevant majors, education and training, volunteering or internship possibilities, and the strengths they want to build. A capstone presentation turns that research into a realistic next-step plan rather than a premature commitment.
This two-week course takes place at Georgetown University. The course is available to residential and commuter students. Beyond class, students connect focused academic work with campus life, growing independence, and clearer direction about what students may want to study or pursue next. The program is developed by Georgetown University and offered in partnership with Summer Discovery.
What Will You Do?
• Map the healthcare ecosystem and compare professional roles
• Trace education and training for physicians, nurses, and physician associates
• Explore dentistry, biomedical research, administration, policy, and health technology
• Compare daily responsibilities and long-term career outlooks
• Research majors, volunteering, internships, and preparation options
• Create and present a personal healthcare career pathway
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Compare clinical, research, and administrative healthcare careers
• Explain the education, qualifications, and responsibilities of a selected profession
• Develop a researched personal action plan for continued healthcare exploration
Students leave with a completed career pathway project and clearer next steps for exploring the diverse world of healthcare.
Why Healthcare Skills Matter?
Exploring healthcare careers early helps students distinguish roles that may sound similar but involve different responsibilities, training, and kinds of patient or organizational impact. That clarity can make future course choices and career exploration more purposeful.
Pathway planning also develops research and self-assessment. Students compare reliable information, identify requirements, and connect personal interests with concrete next steps. These habits matter whether they pursue clinical care, science, policy, business, or another field that requires sustained preparation and collaboration. Together, the work reinforces careful reasoning and the ability to revise a conclusion when new evidence changes the picture.
Who Should Attend?
This course is for high school students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade and are considering medicine or want to understand the wider healthcare industry before choosing a direction. It fits interests in patient care, research, nursing, dentistry, policy, administration, pharmaceuticals, or health technology.
Participants should be ready to research training pathways, ask questions, compare options, and reflect on their own interests and strengths. No clinical experience is required. Students who want an informed view of healthcare careers, including paths beyond becoming a physician, will benefit most.
Recommended by More Than 4 out of 5 Students
Based on students surveyed in 2026 about Summer Discovery High School programs at Georgetown University campus.
Why Georgetown University?
Studying on Georgetown University’s campus gives high-school students the opportunity to explore an academic interest while experiencing campus life in Washington, D.C. Its historic campus and surrounding neighborhood sit near embassies, institutions, and organizations that shape national and international conversations, giving the summer a distinctive sense of place.
Students learn alongside peers with similar interests, navigate a new environment, and gain independence through everyday choices and responsibilities. Time outside class helps students experience the broader rhythm of university life while considering what subjects, communities, and possible directions feel right for them. For families, the program offers a combination of substantive academic exploration, personal growth, and clearer insight into what a student may want to study or pursue next.
Summer Discovery Certificate of Completion
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive