The Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Center is accepting three to five University of Michigan undergraduate or graduate students as interns who will work with CHEAR faculty for the summer of 2026. CHEAR interns will spend 10 weeks immersed in hands-on health services research through interactive workshops and didactic sessions, research mentorship, and engage in a research project. Areas of interest for summer 2026 include:
• Complications of inflammatory bowel disease and related surgery
• The U.S. opioid epidemic
• Improving the affordability of health care
• Reducing the use of low-value care
• Pharmacy spending for children with complex needs
• Medicaid payment policy
• Weight management
• Program for Equity in Adolescent & Child Health
Students submitting an application to the CHEAR Internship will also be considered for funding through the regular IHPI/HSR Summer Student Fellowship and Internship program. This award is made possible by the generous support of Dr. Susan B. Meister.
Eligibility Requirements:
Any student (undergraduate, master-level, or doctoral student) who is enrolled at the University of Michigan during the summer of 2026 is eligible to apply. Some opportunities are limited to students with specific levels of training or skills.
CHEAR interns sponsored by the University of Michigan must have on-campus employment eligibility. Please consult the International Center, [email protected], if you have questions about your status.
Doctoral Students applying to the program must comply with Rackham's Additional Funding in Excess of Stipend Policy (Section IV). Please review all the funding guidelines on Rackham's website. Doctoral students applying to the IHPI/HSR Fellowship program, including the CHEAR summer internship program, should have their department complete the following IHPI/HSR Fellowship Program – Department Authorization Form (to be submitted by DGS, Academic Advisory, or Graduate Coordinator). This form should be completed before the student applies to the program.
Project Selection And Development Requirements
Please review the specific descriptions of projects posted on the IHPI website, and if interested, send your contact information, a resume or CV, and a three to four-sentence description of your interest to [email protected] no later than Friday, January 30. If a CHEAR faculty member would like to move forward with developing an application, they will reach out directly to the applicant by Friday, February 6. Together, the student and faculty member will work together to further develop an application which will be submitted by the student by the IHPI deadline of February 27.
Program and Participation
Students are expected to work on their project for 25-40 hours per week for a 10-week period during May-August. Students are expected to determine their schedule with their mentor and adhere to this schedule throughout the duration of the summer project. Should students not fulfill these requirements they may risk a loss or reduction in their stipend.
At the conclusion of the summer program, students will submit a brief essay describing the project outcomes and what they learned during the summer, and a thank you note to the funder. Students are expected to participate in an end-of-program in-person presentation session to share details of their
project with their fellow students and mentors. Students are also expected to participate in IHPI's educational activities, including weekly lunch-and-learn sessions and skill-building seminars, and other IHPI sponsored events. A schedule of activities will be provided at the start of the program.
Award Information
Accepted students will receive a $5,000 stipend in three monthly payments of $1,666 during the course of the program. Stipends are distributed by the Office of Financial Aid.
Application Process
Step 1: Projects will be posted by faculty for students review. The project list will be available on IHPI's website on January 19.
Step 2: Students are responsible for submitting the following items to [email protected] no later than January 30th.
• Name
• Interest topic
• CV or resume
• 3-4 sentence description of why they are interested in the CHEAR internship
Step 3: If selected to move forward in the application process, a CHEAR faculty member will reach out to the applicant no later than Friday, February 6
Step 4: February 7 - February 27: students and CHEAR faculty should finalize the student's participation on the project, the details of the project, and the student's personal statement and application. Students must have the CHEAR faculty member sign their personal statement, indicating that they agree to the scope of the project. If applicable, master-level or doctoral-level students interested in the Health Equity Summer Research Award must submit that specific application form by Friday, February 27, at 11:59 p.m.
Final Project Applications Must Include:
Once the student and CHEAR faculty member have agreed on their participation in the project, the student will submit a formal application to the program. Applications are available in Competition Space between January 19 and February 27. You can use this link to access the application. If the link doesn’t take you to the application, use the search bar to find the application for the 2026 CHEAR Summer Student Internship program.
- Student resume or CV.
- A personal statement (500 - 1000 words) about the student's interest in the program. The statement should follow the format below, and connect their education, experience, and interests and career goals to the Health Services Research Award program, in general, and the CHEAR Summer Internship program, specifically. Students should then describe the proposed project's focus and relevance related to health services research or health policy, goals for the project, and the dates for the 10-week timeframe when the student will be working on the project.
- Education and Experience: describe your education and experiences (job, internship, or personal experiences) that have contributed to your interest in public health, health policy, or health services research.
- Interests and Goals: describe your educational and career goals, and how the CHEAR summer internship program and your proposed project will help you pursue these goals.
- Project Proposal and Timeline: describe the project, the aspects of the project you will be working on, the goals of the project, how it relates to health services research or health policy relevance, and the 10-week timeframe that you will be working on the project.
3. Sign-off from the project mentor (CHEAR faculty member) confirming that the student and faculty mutually agree on the proposed project, indicated by the faculty member's electronic signature on the student's personal statement.
Criteria for Selection
Applications will be evaluated based on a demonstrated interest the field of health services research or health policy and a clear relationship between the proposed project and the student's professional interests and career goals. Please contact CHEAR Summer Internship Team at [email protected] with any questions.