SHPEP

SHPEP at the University of Louisville

SHPEP at UofL introduces prospective medical, dental, nursing and pharmacy scholars to the academic rigors of health professions education. Scholars will use team-based learning to integrate and apply the basic and social sciences centered on two major themes: diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Scholars will also work in inter-professional collaborative teams to develop and implement treatment plans with dental/medical/nursing/pharmacy applications.

Hybrid Program Dates

Programs take place during the summer months of June-July.

It is important to note, that scholars must be available to attend the full six weeks of the program. The majority of the program will take place during the day; however, there will be some evening and weekend program activities.

UofL SHPEP Program provides scholars with a variety of academic and professional experiences such as: 

• Introduction to biomedical sciences (scholars will attend classes in organic chemistry, physiology, and biochemistry)
• Guided hands-on activities
• Academic and career advising
• Exposure to health equity and policy
• Shadowing opportunities
• Simulation labs
• Team-based learning modules and application
• Access to the University of Louisville Schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health & Information Sciences, and Sullivan University College of Pharmacy
• Career exploration workshops
• Personal development workshops
• Networking opportunities
• And more!

Application

Applications to the SHPEP program open on November 1 and close on February 5. Please use the following link to access the online application system: https://www.shpep.org/school/university-of-louisville/

Eligibility

• Must be a high school graduate and currently enrolled as a first- or second-year student in college/university
• Have a minimum overall college GPA of 2.5
• Be a U.S. citizen, a permanent resident or an individual granted deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) status by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
• Must not have previously participated in the program 

UofL SHPEP 2025 Information Sessions

These 60-minute information sessions will cover in-depth information for SHPEP 2025 at the University of Louisville and includes information for scholars' Q&A. Register for information sessions here.

SHPEP Student Development Assistant (SDA) Position

Student Development Assistant Information – Summer of 2026

The 2026 Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP) will be a six-week hybrid program that supports 80 pre-health scholars interested in dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, and medicine. The primary goal of SHPEP is to strengthen the academic proficiency and career development of students and prepare them for a successful application and matriculation to health professions schools. The Student Development Assistants (SDAs) will play a vital role in helping to obtain the aforementioned goals, and the overall success and support of the program and participants.

Student Development Assistants must be willing to serve as a role model, mentor, and advisor to student participants. The SDA role/team serves as an imperative piece of the successful implementation of SHPEP programming and scholar experience. The detailed list of duties is below. 

If you are interested, please click here to fill out our SDA Interest Form. The SDA selection process will begin in February 2026.

SDA Job Duties

Supervision and Communication

• Serve as the first point of contact for participants, i.e., manage scholar GroupMe, disseminate information, assist with connecting scholars to available resources, etc.
• Track scholar attendance during all sessions and track attendance during bus transportation
• Reach out to scholars if they are late or absent from a session and/or designated meeting time
• Assist scholars with course content, technical challenges, and responding to scholar requests
• Serve as chaperones on weekend activities, service events, bus rides, etc.
• Enforce program rules/regulations/restrictions

Mentorship

• Support and foster relationships between scholars within the cohort and the SDA team
• Help supervise, tutor, and mentor a group of ten scholars through the cluster system
• Be willing to talk about your journey to your health professional program
• Attend all programmatic components
• Serve as tutors during scheduled group study times and ensure scholars understand information learned during classes

Programming

• Plan social activities for participants, and lead at least one small group activity per week
• Have icebreakers or activities ready when presenters cancel or are running late
• Suggest and assist with optional programming initiatives (i.e., mock interviews, volunteer opportunities, study sessions, etc.)

Administrative Duties

• Assist with scholar registration, check-in in and out
• Monitor participants to check for health issues; transport to emergency/urgent care centers if needed
• Serve in an on-call rotation
• Report scholar misconduct
• Communicate with the SHPEP Leadership team when/if issues arise
• Assist with orientation activities and course content
• Help support scholars in their engagement in the program
• Any other duties the SHPEP Leadership team deems would be beneficial to add to help with the impact and integrity of the program
• Other duties as assigned

SDA Required Experience

• Has received or will receive a baccalaureate degree prior to June 1, 2026
• Must be entering or attending a health professional school (i.e. dentistry, medicine, nursing, or pharmacy) and/or taking a gap with the intention of attending a health professional school
• Able to support the program for the full duration
• Enthusiastic about mentoring and supporting scholars and the SHPEP Program

Preferred Experience (consideration is still given to those without preferred experience)

• Entering or finishing the first year of health professional school
• Former participant of a summer pipeline program (i.e. SHPEP/SMDEP, MCAT-DAT, PEPP, Gear Up, etc.)

Program Contacts:

Jessi Duff Lord, jessica.duff@louisville.edu

Please email shpep@louisville.edu with any questions.