Code.Tulsa: Igniting Tech Futures enables MIT students to both learn from and support tech-based community development strategies at work in the Tulsa region.
Students live at the University of Tulsa (TU) over the summer, interning with Native Nations and local nonprofits to support a variety of data science, AI, and coding projects, as well as a STEM boot camp for high school students who are members of federally recognized tribes. This program is open to MIT undergraduates, who are not graduating in the spring.
Students will serve as full-time, summer interns for local organizations like Black Tech Street and the Urban Coders Guild, and for the Cherokee Nation and a Muscogee Creek Nation. Past projects have ranged from the development of a patient data system for the Muscogee’s new health center, to building a Virtual Agent for the Cherokee Nation’s online social service portal, to developing a white paper on sociotechnical frameworks for whole community AI adoption. Program participants will also support a one-week summer STEM bootcamp for Native youth at Tulsa University developed by MIT undergraduates.
Code.Tulsa applications for Summer 2025 are now closed. Check back for applications for future programming!
Code.Tulsa: Igniting Tech Futures through Social Impact Focus
| Host Site | Issue | Internship Description |
| The Muscogee Creek Nation | Health Access | Public Health Data Analyst Intern |
| Black Tech Street | Tech for the Public Good | Applied Socio-Technical Theories of AI Research Intern |
| The Cherokee Nation | Tech for the Public Good | Cherokee Emerging Technologies Intern |
| The Urban Coders Guild | STEM Education Access | Summer Curricula Research & Development Intern |
Code.Tulsa: Igniting Tech Futures Internship Host Sites – Summer 2025
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 for all members of the Tulsa community.
Urban Coders Guild provides Computer Science education 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dates & Deadlines
Code.Tulsa applications will open in late January, and close on February 28th.
The program duration will be from June 1st, 2026 – mid August.
Will I be paid?
You will be provided a grant stipend of $7500 by MIT PKG Public Service Center for your participation in the internship (and the week-long boot camp), as well as provided housing by the University of Tulsa.
Code.Tulsa Boot Camp
Program participants will support a one-week summer coding bootcamp for Native youth on the TU campus, with the option of serving as an instructor, supporting curriculum design, or managing back-end operations.
What are the benefits?
- Our host sites benefit from your technical expertise, and your passion for making a positive social impact.
- You benefit from the opportunity to develop real-world technical project implementation skills, while learning firsthand about leveraging technology for community development.
The host sites at a glance
| Host Site | Cherokee Nation | Muscogee Nation | Urban Coders Guild | Black Tech Street |
| Innovation | X | X | X | X |
| Interpersonal Skills | X | X | X | X |
| Address community identified needs | X | X | X | X |
| Develop research methodology skills | X | X | X | X |
| Researching community resources | X | X | X | X |
| Research on Native Nations in Tulsa | X | X | ||
| Direct community outreach and support | X | X | X | X |
| Interactions with public officials | X | X | ||
| Reflect with other change-makers | X | X | X | X |
| Support healthaccess | X | |||
| Analyze educational access equity data | X | X | ||
| Design STEM curriculum | X | X | ||
| Leverage AI for social services | X | X |
