Outreach Opportunities

Stand-by Volunteer Sign-up

Sign up as a stand-by volunteer to receive the best matching outreach opportunities with your interest and field of expertise!


SEP Classroom Partnership

Applications for the 2023-2024 Classroom Partnership Program are now open!

Classroom Partnership Program: The SEP Classroom Partnership Program brings together UCSF volunteers and San Francisco K-12 teachers to co-plan and co-teach a series of three investigative science lessons during the fall and winter quarters. The commitment is approximately 20 hours, which can be flexibly scheduled from November to March.

STEM Storytime: Looking for a little less of a time commitment, but still want to do outreach to public schools? STEM Storytime is a one-time visit where UCSF volunteers read a selected STEM picture book to a classroom of students, lead a short demo or activity related to the book, and host a brief Q&A with the students. Selections of grade-level appropriate STEM picture books are made by SEP.

Apply here: https://www.tfaforms.com/396238

More information here: https://sep.ucsf.edu/programs/volunteers/


SFUSD Classroom Speaking Opportunities

Life Academy and Rudsdale Newcomer Highschool are looking for life scientists to speak in their classrooms. Check in with SFUSD if this program is currently being offered. 


Mission Graduates - Math Tutoring

Are you comfortable with being a Math Tutor at the high school level? If so, Mission Graduates would love to have you work 1:1 with our high schoolers this upcoming Spring Semester! A volunteer Math Tutor provides support and guidance for students in high school-level math courses, such as Algebra, Geometry, Precalculus, and AP courses. The role would entail a one-on-one relationship with our students, and the meeting days would be up to the tutors and students based on their schedules. More details here: https://www.missiongraduates.org/volunteer/individuals/


Bay Area Science Festival

BASF is a celebration of the unique science and technology of the BayArea. Scientists from our local universities, companies, and museums will share their stories, passion, and fun science activities, as they highlight the excitement of science in the Bay Area! More details here: https://www.bayareasciencefestival.org/


CURE High School Intern Program

The CURE High School Summer Internship gives African American and LatinX high school juniors a paid research experience and college application support. We look for faculty, postdocs or graduate students to be mentors for these students. Postdocs or graduate mentors will receive a $500 stipend.


SFUSD High School Intern Program

UCSF seeks hosts for underrepresented (Black/African American, Latinx, Native/Indigenous, AAPI) San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) high school summer interns interested in learning about the health sciences and its related careers. The interns are paid by SFUSD, and the UCSF Center for Science Education & Outreach office handles the onboarding process for the interns.


UCSF-Lowell Science Research Program

This program is a collaboration between the UCSF MSTP and the Biomedical Sciences (BMS) graduate program and San Francisco’s Lowell High School that seeks to introduce high school students to the world of science, teach them laboratory techniques, and inspire a passion for research and discovery. The hope is that over nine weeks, student interns learn about the scientific process while helping further the research being performed. At the end of the nine weeks, student interns present their work from the summer at a symposium hosted by the internship program. 


AI4ALL

The UCSF AI4ALL three-week program will host talented U.S. high school students who want to learn about Artificial Intelligence applications to Biomedicine with a focus on machine learning approaches. This free program, co-led by Drs. Marina Sirota and Tomiko Oskotsky, target students from backgrounds underrepresented in AI. Students engage with UCSF faculty and participate in group research projects guided by UCSF graduate students and staff. The program concludes with a Final Symposium. The program is looking for people to help mentor the students, as well as people to give presentations on their current research.


San Francisco United School District Summer Series

The SFUSD is hosting a variety of opportunities geared toward informing high school students about career paths and the skills necessary to pursue one. This summer, the SFUSD is looking for volunteers to assist in the following three events: Mock Student Interviews, Learn & Earn Career Panel, Health Careers/Personal Journeys Panel.


NexGeneGirls Summer Internship

NexGeneGirls brings rigorous in-person research internships and leadership development to high school females of color from historically excluded communities in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Mission Graduates - Writing Partners Program

Every summer, Mission Graduates pairs Writing Partners with high school students to work one-on-one on writing their personal insight questions (PIQ) for college applications and scholarships, meeting weekly for 6-8 weeks or throughout the academic year. Writing Partners are able to cultivate meaningful relationships with youth and provide them with much-needed support in such an important chapter of their lives. Mission Graduates is looking for volunteers who are experienced in the process of writing and submitting applications; as postdocs, we can offer these students a wealth of knowledge and personal experience from our own lives, and have a unique chance to pass that knowledge onto the next generation! 


UCSF First Gen Mentorship

The First Generation Mentoring Program was created to help UCSF First Gen students connect to faculty, staff, postdocs, residents, and alumni as we know it can be difficult to build mentoring relationships. Mentors can bring a fresh perspective, normalize struggles, help students navigate through their academic and professional endeavors, and serve as a source of inspiration and support.


Annual Oakland Unified School District Biotech Topics and Careers Conference

The 2022 Annual Oakland Unified School District Biotech Topics and Careers Conference is held on September 24, 2022. Volunteers hold workshops and serve on the career panel. The conference will be formatted as 3 x 45 min sessions on various topics in biotechnology (very broad definition) followed by a Careers in Biotechnology Panel.


Letters to a Pre-Scientist

Letters to a Pre-Scientist pairs middle school students with real STEM professional pen pals from all over the world in a school-based letter exchange program. STEM professionals are paired 1:1 with a student, or “pre-scientist” for the duration of the school year and exchange four rounds of letters. You’ll help plant seeds that support students to discover possibilities in STEM!


BOBA - Mentoring SFSU Students

BOBA (Brain Outreach Bay Area, the outreach team of the neuroscience DEI committee) has an exciting outreach opportunity to be a mentor for undergrad students from San Francisco State University who are applying to graduate school! As a mentor, you will help 1-2 students by providing feedback on the personal statement for their Ph.D. application. The time commitment is about 3-4 hours over the course of the fall. You will primarily help the student with their personal statement but this will also be an opportunity to get to know the students and answer their questions about life as a Ph.D. student or postdoc.


Excolo Seminars’ STEM Seminar Initiative

Excolo Seminars was founded by an undergraduate research intern in the Marson Lab, Jeffrey Perera. The general population’s view on researchers is generally limited to data that is published (numbers, figures, findings, methods, and approaches) and not the inspiring stories that bring to light one’s come up, personal background, and the notion that careers and success in these academic fields are possible. For an industry that is struggling with diversity and inclusion, teachers and principles are captivated. He has started working with underserved schools across the nation to allow scientists to zoom into (or attend in-person) classes and give seminars focused on their rise to success.As a seminar speaker, you will give one 60-minute seminar on your story in science. The last 15 minutes of the talk will be a networking opportunity for the high school audience. Please find more information on https://www.excoloseminars.org/.

SFUSD Intern Hosting

SFUSD places paid high school interns at UCSF during fall quarters, who are available 10-15 hours per week and are already onboarded with basic lab skills and ready to work.