ASCO is now accepting proposals from U.S. medical schools to host the 2024 Oncology Summer Internship.

Launched in 2021, the ASCO Oncology Summer Internship (OSI) is an immersive, paid internship designed to introduce rising second-year medical students from populations underrepresented in medicine (UIM) to the field of oncology. The purpose of the OSI is to strengthen the oncology workforce by increasing diversity in the representation of oncology professionals.

The OSI utilizes a hybrid curriculum, which ASCO and select medical schools will deliver in collaboration:

  • May 13 – June 2, 2024: OSI Orientation Activities Hosted by ASCO

  • 4-week period in Summer 2024: In-person Shadowing & Networking Activities Hosted by Medical School

  • August – December 2024: Monthly Virtual Activities Hosted by ASCO 

  • Quarterly during the 2024 OSI cohort’s MS2: In-Person Engagement Hosted by Medical School 

Host Site Eligibility 

ASCO recruits host sites annually to partner with them to pilot the Oncology Summer Internship (OSI) at their medical school.  

Institutions interested in applying to serve as a host site must meet the following criteria: 

  • Must be an accredited MD or DO program in the United States. 

  • Must have sufficient oncology faculty at the institution or in the local area to provide shadowing experiences for each of their OSI students 4 days per week. 

  • The minimum faculty requirement is 12 oncology professional faculty. 

  • Must be able to implement the OSI in the Summer of 2024. 

  • Current MS1 students’ curriculum must allow for full participation in all internship activities. 

  • Must demonstrate a commitment to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of medicine. 

Host Site Application 

ASCO is accepting proposals from interested medical schools for the 2024 OSI through October 9, 2023. 

Step 1: Submit Pre-Application Questionnaire

U.S. medical schools who wish to apply as a 2024 OSI host site complete a brief questionnaire to establish eligibility. After completion of the form, ASCO staff will send an email with additional information and next steps. To initiate the application process, please complete brief interest form. 

Step 2: Eligible Sites Invited to Submit Proposal

If a site can commit to the OSI dates and meet infrastructure criteria, the site will be invited to apply through ASCO’s SurveyMonkey Apply application portal.

The deadline to submit an application to serve as a 2024 OSI host site is October 9, 2023.

View the application guide to begin preparing your materials. No applications will be accepted by email or in document form – only applications submitted through ASCO’s SurveyMonkey Apply will be considered.

Medical schools accepted to host the OSI will be invited to implement the program with ASCO support for 3 consecutive years. Following this 3-year period, sites are encouraged to continue implementing the OSI independently.

ASCO Support

  • ASCO will fund up-to (5) students at each site.

  • Sites may elect to independently cover the costs of additional participants at their school.

  • ASCO provides to the site $1200 per student participant to sites to host their social/networking events (sites will receive $1200 x their school's # of ASCO-funded OSI students).

  • ASCO provides the following to the student:

  • $5000 salary stipend to each student to support their living expenses during the 4-week clinical internship. 

  • Up to $1500 to each student to support their attendance at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting. 

Student Enrollment 

Student Eligibility

The OSI is intended to increase the diversity of the oncology professional workforce and is open to applicants who identify as from an underrepresented in medicine (UIM) population.

Student Application Process

  • ASCO provides all student recruitment materials and the student application.

  • Sites are asked to send application information to eligible students in Fall 2023.

  • Student application deadline: January 18, 2024

Student Selection Process

  • Sites will select their school’s participants from their student applicant pool.

  • ASCO will provide application data and sites may elect to incorporate additional, independent application components, such as interviews, to select candidates.

  • ASCO will notify students of application decision by February 2024.

Please contact ASCO Professional Development with questions.

The Oncology Summer Internship Program is funded through Conquer Cancer®, the ASCO Foundation, by these generous donors: Bristol Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, Inc., McKesson Foundation, Novartis Oncology, R & D Impact Foundation, and Conquer Cancer Mission endowment.

Bristol Myers Squibb Conquer Cancer Mission Endowment Gilead Novartis
McKesson Foundation R&D Impact Foundation