PHocus – Public Health Summer Experience for High School Students

Applications are now open for the Rutgers School of Public Health’s annual summer experience, PHocus (Public Health Outbreaks, Community, & Urban Studies).

PHocus is an interdisciplinary educational program that enables students to explore public health and learn the fundamentals of epidemiology, the basic science behind the field. Students will participate in a variety of activities, including learning about population health and community disease, and having conversations with public health leaders, researchers, and practitioners.

The summer experience is open to high school students entering 9th - 12th grades in the Fall of 2021. High school students who graduate in 2021 may also apply.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, PHocus will be held virtually via Zoom from July 12-16, 2021. The summer experience will run from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. EST each day, with participants also completing short independent assignments after each day’s scheduled session.

“PHocus is an opportunity for young people to learn about the field of public health and the many career paths that lay within,” says Laura Liang, associate dean of academic affairs at the Rutgers School of Public Health and founding co-director of PHocus. “The field of public health will only continue to grow as we address the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

To apply for PHocus, the early decision deadline is April 9, 2021, and the regular deadline is May 10, 2021. You can learn more about or apply to PHocus here.