Student Questions
- How many days a week is the program?
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The program is held Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
- What is the attendance policy?
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You can miss 2 excused absences only if you communicate with the team ahead of time.
- Will there be homework?
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There will be no outside work.
- Do we have to bring our own computers?
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Computers will be provided for each student every day.
- Do we have to pay for any supplies?
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Supplies will be provided.
- Is transportation provided?
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A bus pass will be provided for each student for the duration of the program.
- How are research projects assigned?
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We send descriptions of the projects to students the week prior to the start of the program. On the first day, the mentors explain the projects in more detail. Then, each student ranks their top three preferred projects. Based on the ranking, the program directors assign each student to a project. Every effort is made to assign students to their first or second choice.
Mentor Questions
- When does the PHSA take place?
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PHSA typically starts the last week of June and runs Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for 4 weeks.
- Who are the PHSA students?
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We enroll a cohort of 10 to 15 students from Pittsburgh's public high schools. The students are rising 11th and 12th graders. Students must apply and be admitted to the program.
- What does PHSA entail?
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The learning activities consist of lectures from Pitt Public Health staff and faculty on core public health concerts, guest speakers, field trips, interactive activities and mentored research projects. Students work on the research projects in faculty mentors' departments and labs.
- What is the time commitment for being a mentor?
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In total, it is about 30 hours of mentoring over 4 weeks.
- When do mentoring sessions take place?
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During the first week of the program, the students have approximately 2 sessions with mentors to get acquainted with the research projects. During weeks 2 and 3, the students have multiple sessions during the morning (from 1.5 to 3.5 hours) to work on projects. This research time will be mixed in with other activities, so mentors should pay attention to the 4-week schedule to know when with their students. Projects are typically finished by the beginning of the fourth week to allow time for poster printing.
- How many students will I mentor?
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Mentors with lab-based projects typically have one student. Mentors supervising non-lab projects typically have two students. You can let the PHSA staff know if you prefer one or two students.
- What if I am not available for a scheduled mentoring/research session?
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We know that faculty may not be available for all mentoring sessions. Having a mentor team allows other team members to assume mentoring as needed. Co-mentoring with another SPH faculty member or post-doc can be a great way to divide mentoring responsibilities. Also, we encourage you to get your students or staff involved.
- Is assistance available for managing mentoring responsibilities?
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Yes, PHSA has funding to hire a limited number of student assistants to help with mentoring. Contact the program directors for details.
- How will students be assigned to me?
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We rely on the students' ranking of their top three preferred project to assign students to mentors.
- What kind of research project should the students work on?
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You should develop a project that is within your area of expertise. As you develop your project, the program directors are happy to discuss if your project idea is feasible to complete within the time frame or answer any questions about suitability for high school students. Students have limited time to complete the project and are not expected to work on the project outside of program hours. We will ask you to have a description of the project available prior to the start of the program so that students can rank their projects on the first day.
Here are some examples of research projects from previous years to give you an idea:
