Carnegie Mellon University
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UnitedHealth Group Bridges to Healthcare Technology Program

The Bridges to Healthcare Technology Summer Program provides participants with hands-on experience working with real data, on real problems, in a stimulating, collaborative, and supportive environment.

The Department of Statistics & Data Science at Carnegie Mellon University is world-renowned for the quality and depth of its collaborations with disciplines ranging from astronomy to genetics to neuroscience to education to finance. College students in this program will engage with Carnegie Mellon and the AUC Data Science Initiative, as well as industry professionals from Optum, United Healthcare, and UnitedHealth Group (UHG) to build technical skills and data science proficiency while receiving Healthcare-related domain understanding, mentoring, and career support and advice related to the pursuit of opportunities in industry.

Students will work in small groups under the supervision of faculty and graduate students on real-world Healthcare challenges while building industry-valued technical, computing, and analytic competencies. There will also be mentoring and advising specific to navigating graduate school and industry employment opportunities, with specific emphasis on professional skill development.

Participants will also have the opportunity to learn more about Optum and UnitedHealth Group with an in-person experience at their Minneapolis headquarters.

How to apply

Applications will open in January 2025.

Contact

Email summerbridge@stat.cmu.edu with any questions.

Experience

Experiential Learning

  • Summer residential program at Carnegie Mellon University in partnership with The AUC Data Science Initiative and UnitedHealth Group
  • Learning explorations in data science and engineering
  • Research projects in connection with learning that analyze and develop products to address health disparities

 

Mentorship and a New Professional Network

  • Students will live on campus at CMU and learn from CMU professors
  • Students are paired with mentors from Shades in Technology community at UnitedHealth Group and Optum
  • Students will engage in a Technology Speaker Series that demonstrates the impact different technologies have on the healthcare ecosystem

UHG Connection Into a Relevant Career

  • Career exploration along with learning and development sessions guided by UHG Early Careers
  • Weeklong onsite event with UHG interns during week 8 (Minnesota Headquarters Experience)
  • Connection to future employment opportunities with UnitedHealth group in 2025 (internship and full-time)

Students do NOT need to have extensive healthcare domain knowledge to participate. Students will have opportunities to learn from guest experts in the field and gain first-hand experience in modern tools and techniques such as:

  • foundational data engineering (e.g. programming/building data pipelines)
  • data visualization
  • statistical models
  • machine learning algorithms
  • communicating with data

Students may need to learn computer programming languages (e.g., R, Python) to collect, maintain, and analyze large datasets. Students are also expected to be comfortable learning and applying statistical learning models. However, note that students are not expected to be proficient in programming or statistics & data science models/algorithms before starting the program.

Support

Participants will receive a stipend of $4000. This is provided to cover all living expenses during the program. It is our expectation that students are participating full-time in the program and are not taking on additional summer responsibilities (classes, employment) that would hinder their participation.

Housing Support: Students will be provided with free housing through CMU.

Eligibility and Frequently Asked Questions

The program is open to current undergraduates, graduate students, and recent graduates from U.S. institutions. There will be priority for students entering their junior or senior undergraduate year in Fall 2024 as well as all applicants considering Data Science and Technology careers in life sciences and healthcare who will be seeking full-time and/or summer internship opportunities in 2025.

Applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S. without company sponsorship, now or in the future, for employment-based work authorization.

There are no specific course prerequisites; we require some initial exposure to modern computing platforms, linear regression, and some calculus and/or probability. Experience in Healthcare is not required. We only require an interest in learning about modern statistical and data science approaches in data-rich fields of application.

There are no specific courses required, but it is anticipated participants will have taken at least one Statistics course and/or have had some exposure to linear regression and/or computer programming. We are mainly looking for students who are interested in learning more about Statistics, Technology, and are interested in career opportunities in the healthcare field.

No! We welcome applications from students from all areas of study. One of our objectives is to encourage students with curiosity of data analysis, even if they lack a strong background in that area.

You should discuss this with your home institution. We certainly believe that the content of the program is deserving of academic credit; you will be learning about statistical methods and computing, among other things. We are happy to help with any paperwork, etc. needed to facilitate students receiving credit.

We will consider your application, but keep in mind that preference will be given to juniors and seniors. Of course, we encourage you to reapply next year!

We will consider your application, but keep in mind that preference will be given to students entering the job market in 2025. Recent graduates intending to enroll or currently enrolled in graduate programs and entering the job market in 2025 are encouraged to apply.

No. You should not enter into the program with a specific expectation as to what the project topic or whom the advisor will be. The benefit of the program is the general exposure to active, experiential learning and collaborative research. We work with our sponsors to create interesting projects around the program's theme, and allow students to express a preference when they arrive, after they hear details of the projects.

Testimonials

Anna Muhovich "The Bridges to Healthcare Technology program excels in equipping students from all backgrounds with top-tier data analytics skills and a understanding of healthcare data and trends. The caliber of students who participate in the program continues to impress us and we’ve been able to seamlessly integrate them into intern or full time roles after they complete the program. The partnership with the CMU team stands out as they are fantastic partners to work with who are dedicated to student success and development. We look forward to what the future holds with this program!"

– Anna Muhovich, Senior College Recruiter at UnitedHealth Group

Alayna Prince"Participating in the Bridges to Healthcare Technology Summer Program at Carnegie Mellon was transformative for both my academic journey and career aspirations. The program equipped me with invaluable skills in statistics and data engineering, fostering a deep understanding of interdisciplinary approaches. It greatly influenced my decision to pursue a career in data science, igniting a passion for innovation and problem-solving. The most memorable aspect was the supportive community and access to world-class faculty, which encouraged collaboration and growth. This experience not only broadened my academic horizons but also solidified my commitment to pushing boundaries in technology and statistical fields."

– Alayna Prince, Senior Quality Assurance Specialist, Cardinal Health