HPREP at HMS

There are presently no open calls for submissions.

Health Professions Recruitment and Exposure Program


Applications open: Tuesday, September 4th, 2018

Application submission deadline: Tuesday October 2, 2018


The Health Professions Recruitment & Exposure Program (HPREP) is a free science and medicine outreach program hosted by Harvard Medical School that aims to recruit high school students (grades 9-12) from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds into science, medicine, and public health by equipping you with the excitement, knowledge, skills, confidence, and community necessary to pursue education and careers in these fields. By eliminating educational disparities and increasing representation of underrepresented and disadvantaged groups in science and health professions, we ultimately seek to improve health access and outcomes in communities that face health disparities.

HPREP combines interactive science lessons with one-on-one mentoring and career/academic guidance. We focus on cultivating the skills you need to transform your passion into a career in science or medicine.

The program is offered free-of-charge to accepted students. Lunch and light afternoon snacks are provided. We also provide round-trip MBTA fare, and there are convenient transportation directions to Harvard Medical School here (our building is Tosteson Medical Education Center (TMEC), 260 Longwood Avenue). Due to budget limitation, we can only cover bus/T fare at this time, not commuter rail tickets. 

Topics and activities from past HPREP seasons:

Microbiology, Viruses/Vaccines, Neuroscience, Human Organs, Scientific Reasoning, Sexual Health, Health Disparities, DNA Isolation, Genetics, Diabetes/Metabolism, Cardiovascular System, Molecules and Medicine

Career fair, Writing workshops, Life skills session, Diversity panel, Student science presentations

Upon fulfilling program requirements, students are presented with a certificate of completion at the closing ceremony in front of an audience of family, mentors, and members of the Harvard community.

For more information, visit our website at www.hprep.wordpress.com, or send us an email at HPREP@hms.harvard.edu

Session Dates

The 2018-2019 HPREP season consists of ten Saturday sessions (9:00 AM to 4:00 PM) on:

  • November 3, 2018
  • November 10, 2018
  • November 17, 2018
  • Thanksgiving break
  • December 1, 2018
  • December 8, 2018
  • December 15, 2018
  • Holiday break
  • January 12, 2019
  • January 19, 2019
  • January 26, 2019
  • Flex day in case of earlier snow cancellations: February 2, 2019
  • February 9, 2019 (Closing Ceremony)


We allow up to two (2) excused absences for extenuating circumstances.  Because we have so few spots in the program for so many qualified applicants, we want to ensure that each and every student takes full advantage of the program by attending every session. Please make sure that you can commit to attend all the sessions before applying to HPREP. Students with more than two absences will not receive a certificate of completion at the end of the program.


Ready to submit an application?

Great! To complete an HPREP application, you will need to provide some basic information about yourself and respond to essay prompts. Prepare your essay responses and then click the Submit button at the bottom of this page to start your application.

You will then be asked to register an account with our application system. Using this account, you can save progress on your application so that you can work on it in parts. You must create an account under your own name so that we can properly track and communicate with you about your application.

Although we strongly prefer electronic applications, instructions for submitting a paper application are available at https://hprep.wordpress.com/application/

We look forward to reading your application! For questions, please email HPREP@hms.harvard.edu

HPREP at HMS