BTG CHIP is a paid community-based summer internship program that helps students gain a broader understanding of the factors that affect health in underserved and economically disadvantaged communities. The internship offers students in the health and social services fields an opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration. Students are matched with approximately 100 nonprofit community partners in Philadelphia, Erie, Pittsburgh, and the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, and in New Jersey. Student teams collaborate with community site personnel, community members and faculty to design projects based on community-defined needs and on the students’ professional disciplines and interests. 

 

2025 Program Dates​

 

Philadelphia Consortium

June 16 to August 1, 2025*

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Erie 
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

May 27 to July 11, 2025

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Pittsburgh 
University of Pittsburgh

June 9 to August 1, 2025

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Lehigh Valley

June 16 to August 1, 2025

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New Jersey
Cooper Medical School of Rowan University

June 16 to August 1, 2025

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*Thomas Jefferson University medical student's schedule varies from these dates. 

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Program Basics

• Students are recruited and interviewed for BTG CHIP during the winter and are notified of acceptance during the spring. 

• Whenever possible BTG students are placed at community sites in interdisciplinary teams.

• The matching of student interns with community sites is based on the site’s needs and the student’s professional discipline and interest. 

• Student interns perform a wide range of tasks for a diverse set of populations. This enables participating community organizations to provide additional services that support health education and healthy behaviors in the context of each organization’s mission. 

• Student interns are matched with a community preceptor and an academic preceptor. The community preceptor serves as a site mentor for the interns and as an advocate for the community. The academic preceptor serves as a resource and provides support for the student experience. 

• In addition to the community site activities, student interns spend one day each week in curricular sessions where community members, health and social service professionals, and program faculty help them build skills and develop a deeper understanding of key issues regarding vulnerable populations.

 

Click HERE to check your program's eligibility requirements. 

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