Who We Are & What We Do
Atlantis is the global leader in healthcare experiential education in and surrounding the college years. We have run programs for more than 15+ years, and Atlantis alumni, after participating in Atlantis and graduating from college, have gone on to attend almost all medical schools in the U.S. We operate short-term programs (1-10 weeks) over school breaks, aimed at U.S. undergraduates, and taking place primarily in the U.S. and Europe. Medical schools want 3 things: healthcare exposure, GPA/MCAT, and certain competencies; Atlantis gives students the best version of the 1st, frees them to focus on the 2nd, and cultivates/shows the 3rd to medical school admissions committees.
In 2024, Atlantis was acquired by CEA CAPA Education Abroad, leading provider of study abroad programs, international internships, and career development opportunities designed to meet the needs of students from a wide range of majors and career interests.
Some of Our University & Hospital Partners
We design custom group programs for universities, exposing students to a wide range of world-class hospital environments. However, pre-health students from any university can apply to Atlantis.
Universities
Hospitals
Mission
We help build a world where healthcare professionals love their jobs and their patients can sense that.
We do this via programs that (a) help put the right people in healthcare and (b) help these people thrive in their field.
Our Story
Being the Leader Should Mean Being an Innovator
Atlantis is the global leader in healthcare experiential education in and surrounding the college years. And with that comes the responsibility to innovate. The following are all innovations spearheaded by Atlantis in our programs: our 360 Shadowing methodology, our European shadowing focus, our Service-Research Projects model, our Uniqueness Projects approach, our partnership with Uplift for financing, the inclusion in some of our programs of a pre-med Harvard Medical School HMX course which brings with it the potential to earn a certificate from Harvard Medical School, and the topics we have presented at academic conferences, specifically about innovation on healthcare experiential education (see here and here, for example). These innovations ultimately better enable our programs to fulfill our mission: to help build a world where doctors love their jobs and their patients can sense that.
Meet The People Who Make Atlantis Possible
Dave Dunlap
President
Carlo Brennan
Regional Director
David Saavedra
Regional Director
Joel Felcher
Vice President of Sales
Ally Lipman
Director of Admissions
Lesley Parthree
Vice President of Marketing
Lindsey Molusky
Director of Institutional Relations
MD With Years Of Experience Advising Elite Pre-meds Explains Atlantis
Authoring Guidelines in the Field
Atlantis co-authored, with the Forum on Education Abroad, the leading non-profit representing the study abroad world in the U.S., the Guidelines for Undergraduate Health-Related Experiences Abroad. These are the general principles that all healthcare study abroad programs are invited to follow.
A Leader in Pre-Health Education
Atlantis has presented at several conferences, including the 2021 annual meeting of the ASPPH, one of the top healthcare academic conferences in the world.
NEAAHP Presentation
Atlantis has also presented at several regional pre-health advisor conferences, including NEAAHP 2021.
Specialization in Medicine…And Also In Education
If you needed heart surgery, you wouldn’t seek a generalist doctor, since there are benefits to specialization. Similarly, almost everything we do is in healthcare, which is part of the reason we’ve been able to contribute to the success of our alumni the way we have.
A very large share of pre-meds in the U.S. study abroad for a few weeks or a few months during their undergraduate years, but they often do so in generalist study programs, which is what many universities offer. These are often great programs in themselves, but they miss an opportunity to also contribute to students’ healthcare path. Atlantis brings the best of study abroad, while also contributing to (A)students’ healthcare paths, and (B) society’s need for doctors who are committed and passionate for their fields.
More than Just Pre-Med
Interested in pre-health shadowing and study abroad but want to look beyond the pre-med track? Atlantis programs, while centered on the MD/DO/PA perspective, are still relevant for other pre-health fields. Also, Atlantis can build custom programs for universities focused entirely on a non-pre-med healthcare track.
More than Just Shadowing
- Atlantis also runs Service-Research Projects which are non-shadowing programs centered on a project done with an elite healthcare organization.
- Although the above are focused on pre-med/pre-PA students, one other group that can benefit from them are public health students in both undergraduate and graduate school.
Alumni Keep Contributing After Atlantis
Here’s an example of an Atlantis alumna (Siobana N., Atlantis ‘19, Emory University ‘21), who worked independently on research with a healthcare entity in Europe. Siobana met Dr. Gasparri, one of the principal authors of the paper, while shadowing in the Breast Surgery field in Milan. This article was published on New Frontiers in Breast Surgical Oncology.
Alumni Also Partake in Elite Research in The U.S
For example, Victoria Haak, Atlantis alumna, did work, separate from Atlantis, as a cancer researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.
Alternatively, See a More In-Depth Version of The Above Table
Compare A Typical Med School Applicant With an Atlantis Alum
4.96
/5Go Overseas
9.72
/10Go Abroad
Atlantis Alumni Have
What Med Schools Want
97%
Of alumni accepted into med/PA school referenced Atlantis on their application and the vast majority said Atlantis impacted their admittance
81%
Of alumni accepted into med/PA school said Atlantis impacted their passion for medicine
93%
Of our pre-health alumni progressed on the AAMC competencies that medical schools use to assess candidates