The Health Careers Opportunity Program at Marquette University is a federally funded program that provides opportunities for disadvantaged students who are interested in health professions. Our programs range from recruitment efforts at local middle schools to retention of students enrolled in professional programs at Marquette.
For more information on Marquette University’s Health Careers Opportunity Program, please explore the links below or contact us directly.
- Summer Science Enrichment Program for high school students
- Summer programs for disadvantaged college students
- Professional education
- Youth Empowered to Succeed (YES)
Pre-college Medical Career Programs brochure 
A History of Diversity and Achievement
HCOP is sponsored by a federal grant through the Department of Health and Human Services, which provides academic and support services for disadvantaged students.
Any disadvantaged student who is accepted into the program can receive a wide range of services including tutorial assistance, personal counseling and academic advising. Many HCOP students also give back to the program by coordinating programs, working as peer advisers and serving as mentors in the high school programs.
Qualifying for Assistance
Students may qualify for assistance by being from:
- educationally disadvantaged or
- a financially disadvantaged background as determined by government guidelines.
Dedication to Diversity
Marquette University is among the nation's leaders in educating disadvantaged students. Federal funding for Marquette's HCOP program began in 1981 with the School of Dentistry and in 1992 with the Department of Physical Therapy. Since 1996, the SOD has partnered with PT and the College of Health Sciences in a joint HCOP effort. Since 1981 our HCOP programs have graduated more than 680 health professionals from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Marquette's Department of Physical Therapy has also received numerous national awards from the American Physical Therapy Association for its minority initiatives. These include the Student Outreach for Cultural Diversity Awareness Award, three Minority Scholarship Awards for Excellence, the Minority Initiatives Award and the Minority Achievement Award.
Health Careers Opportunity Program:
Increasing Diversity in the Health Professions brochure
Programs
Marquette's HCOP curriculum includes:
- Biomedical Science
- Clinical Laboratory Science
- Dentistry
- Physician Assistant Studies
- Physical Therapy
- Pre-dental
- Pre-medicine
- Speech Pathology and Audiology
- Sports Medicine (Athletic Training)
