Code.Tulsa

The Priscilla King Gray (PKG) Public Service Center is developing a new initiative, Code.Tulsa: Igniting Tech Futures. Students will live at the University of Tulsa (TU) over the summer of 2025, interning with Native nations and local nonprofits to support a variety of data science, AI, and coding projects, as well as a STEM bootcamp for youth enrolled in federally recognized tribes. This program is open to MIT undergraduates only, who are not graduating in Spring 2025.

MIT students will help marginalized communities in Tulsa leverage the benefits of technology to improve community wellbeing, both now–by enhancing tech infrastructure, and in the future–by supporting STEM education for local youth. 

Students will serve as full-time, summer interns for Black Tech Street, the Cherokee Nation IT and Muscogee Creek health departments, and for the Urban Coders Guild, a pre-college STEM education program for marginalized youth. Projects will range from the development of a patient data system for the Muscogee’s new health center, and building a Virtual Agent for the Cherokee Nation’s online social service portal, to analyzing educational equity data and designing STEM curricula for the Urban Coders Guild. Program participants will also support a one-week summer coding bootcamp for youth enrolled in federally recognized tribes at Tulsa University.

Code.Tulsa applications for Summer 2025 are now closed. Check back for applications for future programming!

Host SiteIssueInternship Description
The Muscogee Creek NationHealth Equity and AccessPublic Health Data Analyst Intern
Black Tech StreetTech for the Public GoodApplied Socio-Technical Theories of AI Research Intern
The Cherokee NationTech for the Public GoodCherokee Emerging Technologies Intern
The Urban Coders GuildEducation EquitySummer Curricula Research & Development Intern

Black Tech Street is at the forefront of reimagining Greenwood as the world’s leading Black innovation economy, rooted in the legacy of Black Wall Street. Through the Greenwood AI/AS Center of Excellence (G-ACE), Black Tech Street is pioneering the development of AI-powered societies, integrating technology into every facet of community and economic life.

Urban Coders Guild exists to provide Computer Science education access and opportunities to youth from historically underserved, underrepresented and otherwise under-resourced communities.

The Cherokee Nation is the largest tribe in the United States with more than 450,000 tribal citizens worldwide. The Cherokee Nation is committed to protecting its inherent sovereignty, preserving and promoting Cherokee culture, language and values, and improving the quality of life for the next seven generations of Cherokee Nation citizens.

The Muscogee (Creek) Nation is the fourth largest tribe in the U.S. with 100,766 citizens. The government side of the tribe is made up of an executive branch, a legislative body and a tribal court system. MCN is a diverse entity overseeing many facets, such as: cultural tourism, gaming, businesses, and a higher learning institution.

Dates & Deadlines
Will I be paid?
Code.Tulsa Boot Camp
What are the benefits?
The host sites at a glance