INSIGHT High School Program

Preference is given students entering their senior and junior year; however, exceptionally strong applicants from earlier years will be considered as well.

Yes, you can apply to the INSIGHT program, so long as you are accepted and planning to attend a college or university in the fall of 2025.

The UW INSIGHT Program schedules a variety of activities from 9 AM to 2 PM PST Monday through Friday.

For 2025, the program will be virtual*

While every day will be different, students can expect to spend some time every day in the online classroom and working in groups. Interactive activities, seminars, and socials will also be scheduled throughout the program. An official calendar will be provided to accepted students close to the start of the program.

This program is very different from the UW INSIGHT Summer Research Program for graduate and undergraduate students. Students in the UW INSIGHT High School Program are not paid, and instead, pay tuition for attendance. 

We recognize that most students apply for several summer programs, so we try and give students as much notice as possible.  Out of fairness to others, we cannot give anyone early notice.  All students will be notified of their application status as soon as possible.

Accepted students are expected to commit to the UW INSIGHT High School Program for the entire duration of their session. You are welcome to apply, but if accepted it is your responsibility to discuss with your teachers the possibility of taking your finals early.

The UW INSIGHT Program will not be able to accommodate late starts, long vacations, or early departures that significantly affect student attendance and participation.

The UW INSIGHT Program is a full-time summer program. Given the rigor and expectations, we will not be able to accommodate those who plan to attend class or work during business hours.

(An exception to this would be those exceptionally motivated students working or taking classes part time and who are doing so on the evenings or weekends only.)

Accepted students are expected to commit to the UW INSIGHT Program for the entire duration. Understandably, unforeseen personal circumstances might arise that cannot be anticipated, but the UW INSIGHT Program might not be able to accommodate overlapping programs, vacations, late starts or early departures that significantly affect attendance and participation.

The UW INSIGHT High School Program is a full-time summer program. Given the rigor and expectations, we will not be able to accommodate those who plan to attend class or work part time during business hours.

(An exception to this would be those exceptionally motivated students working or taking classes part time and who are doing so on the evenings or weekends only.)

If your question was not addressed here, or within the content of the UW INSIGHT website, please contact insightHS@uw.edu and we will be happy to assist you as best we can.

• “It’s a great program that can build a basis of knowledge about the healthcare system and in general how many departments in this system operate. You will also learn about important strategies to prevent public and self-related injuries that you may use in the future. This is a great way to start off a career in medicine/public health.”
• “It was a really good program to familiarize yourself with research at an easier to understand level and also provided a lot of information on healthcare and public health, which is good for students interested in that field.”

• “This was a good program that covered a lot of helpful topics and provided interesting information in the form of guest lecturers. This was a great way to spend time during the summer, but most importantly, a great research program to put on my college application.”

• “I really enjoyed participating in the INSIGHT program and learned a lot about research, policy briefs, different medical fields in public health, and more. I did not know much about research, but this experience was definitely fulfilling. I’m interested in majoring in public health in college, so this program also gave me an insight into what I would be studying. I’m also thankful that I got a lot of support and help throughout the research process from my TA and everyone else. Thank you so much!”
• “I appreciate the opportunity to have even been a part of this program. It has taught me so many things about future career paths, life lessons, and ways to support my community. My TA, Esther Solano, made this program a lot easier by walking me through some of the issues or problems I had and was just really pleasant.”
• “I really loved this program. It was very well run and provided interesting and new content at every turn. I would recommend all of my friends to try this program, even if they aren’t interested in public health and medicine. Overall, I was very pleased with the last four weeks.”
• “Overall, although I picked three speakers that resonated with me the most, all of the presenters provided really excellent presentations with stellar interactive sessions.”

• “Thank you for all that you guys have done to support us! We’re all so grateful—this virtual program wouldn’t have been the same without our daily homeroom meetings  getting to know you all!”
• “Thank you so much for organizing the program! I loved it and you guys did an amazing job adapting to and successfully pulling it off in a virtual environment!”
• “Through this program, I learned that public health is so much more than studying diseases. It has to do with every factor that affects human health and that’s one of the most captivating topics I’ve ever had the ability of learning. Thank you, more than words for this.”
• “I learned so many valuable things from this program… I learned about the many options within healthcare to go into and the difference you can make within each one. Public health is an extremely interesting and important field.”
• “I learned about just how vast the careers within the healthcare community are, and that career paths are not always as straightforward as I initially thought.”
• “Previously I thought I only had a couple options if I wanted to consider a career in healthcare. This has helped boost my confidence in the future.”
• “Listening to the guest speakers gave me hope that I will find a career that I enjoy and fit in with.”
• “Dr. Mooney, thank you for the opportunity to work on research into pedestrian fatalities. Thank you for teaching us so much about epidemiological research and data analysis.”

• “I am a college counselor for high school students, and over the years a number of my students have had a highly comprehensive experience in the INSIGHT Summer Program. These students expressed to me the immense amount of knowledge and skills they acquired in both the biomed research and public health arenas. They also thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to meet and work cooperatively with like-minded students. I highly recommend the INSIGHT Program to students with interest in medicine and research.”