If you’re looking for a structured way to explore psychology in high school, consider a summer university program in psychology!
Several top universities offer free university psychology summer programs for high school students, through which you will have the opportunity to learn about memory, emotional regulation, perception, attention, language, and other psychological elements. You will also get to explore psychological disorders, their causes, and treatments.
By participating in free university psychology summer programs for high school students, you can expect to learn about the various career pathways in the field and gain plenty of hands-on experience without spending a ton of money! Many university psychology summer programs come with little to no financial restraints, making them accessible to students from all backgrounds. You will also have the chance to learn from and network with renowned university professors, which can be a valuable opportunity as you apply to university.
Read on to learn more about the top 15 free university psychology summer programs for high school students!
15 Free University Psychology Summer Programs for High School Students
1. CUNY’s STEM Research Academy
Location: Various CUNY campuses
Stipend: Paid (Amount varies based on campus)
Program Dates: Depends on campus
Application Deadline: January 16
Eligibility: New York City public high school sophomores and juniors
The City University of New York’s STEM Research Academy is a two-semester-long research program for high school students. The program consists of a pre-college course on scientific research in the spring, followed by a six-week research experience in one of CUNY’s laboratories. The program is offered in ten different campuses, each of which explores different research areas. Program tracks are available in organizational psychology, cognitive psychology, and medical psychology. You will engage in plenty of hands-on work and culminate the program with a presentation of your findings at an exhibition.
2. Bethel College Summer Science Institute
Location: Bethel College, North Newton, KS; Virtual options available
Cost: $60 registration fee; No tuition costs
Program Dates: July 13 – 18 (in-person); July 6 – 11 (online); June 9 – 27 (Neuroscience of Music)
Application Deadline: April 15; May 15 (extended deadline)
Eligibility: Students in grades 10-12, preferably those who live within a 400-mile radius of Bethel College; High school graduates may be accepted, depending on space
During Bethel College’s Summer Science Institute, high school students learn about the process of scientific research in a one-week research program. As a participant, you will work in two research areas under the guidance of faculty members. One of the available choices is Psychology of Film. For your second option, you can consider choosing Instrumentation in Forensic Science, since the field is closely linked with psychology. At the end of the program, you will conduct a presentation of your work.
3. UC Santa Barbara’s Research Mentorship Program
Location: UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA
Cost: $5,175 for the commuter track; $12,474 for the residential track; Limited scholarships are available
Program Dates: June 16 – August 1
Application Deadline: December 15 – March 17; Rolling
Eligibility: Open to 10th and 11th-grade students who have a minimum GPA of 3.8
UC Santa Barbara’s Research Mentorship Program is a competitive research program with an acceptance rate of 4-6%. During the program, you will get to choose a project from a range of interdisciplinary topics and engage in research under the guidance of a mentor who is an expert in the field; psychology is one of the available research areas. Throughout the program, you will get hands-on research experience and learn about research elements like data analysis, field work, scientific writing, and presentation techniques.
4. University of Chicago’s DSI Summer Lab
Location: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Cost/Stipend: Free; Stipend of $4,800
Program Dates: June 16 – August 8
Application Deadline: January 12
Eligibility: High school students in the Chicago area; Students familiar with at least one programming language are preferred; International students can apply
The University of Chicago’s Data Science Institute Summer Lab is a research program that gives high school students the chance to work on a data science project, but with an interdisciplinary focus. As a participant, you will be paired with a mentor and conduct research in the intersection of data science with fields like biomedicine, social science, climate change, and more; you can opt for a focus on psychology here. The program ends with a final video presentation at a symposium.
5. Lumiere Research Scholar Program
Location: Remote
Cost: Varies by program type; 100% financial aid is available
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts in a year (summer included)
Application Deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort
Eligibility: High school students with a high level of academic achievement (GPA of 3.3/4); Prior knowledge not required
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a mentored research program for high school students who want to develop their own research paper. The program will pair you with a PhD mentor from a top university, who will offer 1-on-1 guidance through the entire research process. There are several research areas available, and you can choose to focus on a topic within psychology. You can apply for the program here.
6. MIT OpenCourseWare: Introduction to Psychology
Location: Online
Cost: Free
Program Dates: Flexible; Self-paced
Application Deadline: Not mentioned
Eligibility: Anyone can participate
MIT’s OpenCourseWare is a virtual platform that provides MIT coursework for free through online courses. One of these is the “Introduction to Psychology” course, which covers all the basic concepts of the field, such as emotion, perception, memory, personality, psychopathology, and social interaction. You will also explore complex topics like free will, consciousness, and nature versus nurture. This program is meant for independent study through a combination of lecture videos, reading assignments, discussion content, and exams.
7. Harvard University’s Online Course
Location: Online
Cost: Free; $219 to earn a verified certificate
Program Dates: 6 weeks; Self-paced
Application Deadline: NA
Eligibility: Anyone can participate
Harvard University’s Professional and Lifelong Learning platform offers a range of courses, in person and online, for those who want to expand their knowledge. High school students interested in Psychology can opt for the free online course “Building Personal Resilience: Managing Anxiety and Mental Health.” While the course focuses on improving your own mental health, you will learn the basics of applied psychology and cognitive behaviour therapy in the process.
8. Carnegie Mellon University’s Introduction to Psychology
Location: Online
Cost: Free
Program Dates: Approximately 14 weeks; Self-paced
Application Deadline: NA
Eligibility: Anyone can participate
Carnegie Mellon University’s Open Learning Initiative offers “The Introduction to Psychology” course, which covers the basic theories and concepts of the field, such as learning, memory, language, perception, psychological disorders, and treatments. Additionally, the program emphasizes scientific methods, research design, and topics related to the nervous system, lifespan development, and the sensory system.
9. Brain Research Apprenticeship in New York at Columbia (BRAINYAC)
Location: Columbia University
Cost/Stipend: Free; Paid (amount not specified)
Program Dates: 7 weeks in the summer
Application Deadline: Applications open in October, typically
Eligibility: High school sophomores and juniors who live in New York City and are enrolled in one of the Zuckerman Institute’s New York City-based partner programs (S-PREP, BioBus, Lang Youth Medical, Columbia Secondary School, or Double Discovery Center)
Brain Research Apprenticeship in New York at Columbia (BRAINYAC) offers high school students a hands-on research experience in the field of neuroscience. The program consists of a training period in the spring, followed by a paid research experience in a Columbia laboratory with a professional neuroscientist. You can choose to focus on a psychology-driven project, such as the effects of stress on the brain or the connection between neuroscience and mental health disorders. The program will conclude with a research poster and oral presentation.
10. Manhattan University’s Psychology Pre-College Camp
Location: Manhattan University, Bronx, NY
Cost: Tuition fee TBD; $100 registration fee; $1,800 add-on to live on campus; Financial aid is available
Program Dates: Not specified
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Current high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors
Manhattan University’s Psychology Pre-College Camp is a summer camp for high school students who are interested in psychology. The program explores the subdivisions of the field, including social, clinical, developmental, sports, and forensic psychology. The curriculum also looks at cognitive neuroscience and animal behaviour. You can expect to learn the basic concepts, challenges, and career pathways in each subfield.
11. Stanford University’s Clinical Neuroscience Immersion Experience
Location: Stanford University, Stanford, CA (Virtual also available)
Cost: $1,595; Scholarships are available
Program Dates:
- Session 1: July 7 – 18
- Session 2: July 21 – August 1
- Online: June 16 – 27
Application Deadline: Rolling basis; December 15 – March 1
Eligibility: High school sophomores, juniors, and seniors
As a Stanford University program, the Clinical Neuroscience Immersion Experience is a prestigious two-week intensive program that dives into neuroscience, psychiatry, and psychology, and the possible career options in the field. Through interactive lessons, you will learn about clinical neuropsychiatry, psychiatric epidemiology, brain stimulation, forensic psychiatry, behavioural neuroscience, and more. The highlight of the program is a capstone project and presentation for which you and your team will develop a solution to an issue related to one of the three fields.
12. Wesleyan University’s Social Psychology Online Course
Location: Online
Cost: Free
Program Dates: 3 weeks; Self-paced
Application Deadline: NA
Eligibility: Anyone can participate
Led by a Wesleyan University professor, this course will introduce you to classic and contemporary social psychology through a combination of videos, readings, and assignments. There are seven modules that address topics like perception, decision making, group behavior, personal attraction, prejudice, conformity, and other elements related to human behavior. You will also learn about the latest psychology research and consider the ethical issues of research in this field.
13. University of Chicago’s Understanding the Brain
Location: Online
Cost: Free
Program Dates: 5 weeks; Self-paced
Application Deadline: NA
Eligibility: Anyone can participate
The University of Chicago offers the course “Understanding the Brain: The Neurobiology of Everyday Life.” While it focuses on neurobiology, there is a strong link between this field and psychology. The coursework looks at how the nervous system influences psychological elements like behavior, perception, memory, emotion, and attention. With this course, you’ll be able to understand the basic concepts of neurobiology as well as the cognitive functions of the brain.
14. The Johns Hopkins Internship in Brain Science Program (JHIBS) – In-person
Location: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (virtual available too)
Stipend: $15/hour
Program Dates: 8 weeks in the summer
Application Deadline: December 1 – March 1
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors with a strong academic record; Must live in Baltimore City; Students from underrepresented backgrounds are encouraged
The Johns Hopkins Internship in Brain Science in-person experience is a highly selective program that allows only around eight high school students to work on a research project in the neurological sciences. As a participant, you will work on a hypothesis-driven research project in a laboratory or clinical setting. You will get significant hands-on work, 1-on-1 guidance from a faculty mentor, and the chance to participate in clinical rotations with Johns Hopkins neurologists. You will end the program with an oral or poster presentation of your findings.
15. The Rockefeller University’s Summer Neuroscience Program
Location: The Rockefeller University, New York, NY
Cost: Free
Program Dates: August 4 – 15
Application Deadline: March 15
Eligibility: High school students, 16+, and attending a New York City public school
The Rockefeller University’s Summer Neuroscience Program offers considerable overlap with psychology as it explores questions about how the brain works, how memories are formed, why some people experience depression, and why we sleep and dream. During the program, you will attend interactive lectures, read and present a scientific article, design an original neuroscience experiment, and even dissect a brain. You will also learn through visits to research facilities and networking opportunities with Rockefeller scientists.
Bonus Programs
16. Veritas AI
Location: Remote
Cost: Varies by program type; 100% financial aid is available
Program Dates: Multiple 12-15-week cohorts throughout the year
Application Deadline: On a rolling basis; Varies by cohort
Eligibility: Ambitious high school students from anywhere in the world
Veritas AI offers academic programs for high school students interested in artificial intelligence, data science, and machine learning. If you’re interested in psychology, you can opt for the AI Fellowship program, which allows you to work on an interdisciplinary project, or the Deep Dive: AI + Medicine, which explores the intersection of AI and healthcare. While this is not a university-led program, you will be paired with mentors from top universities.
17. Horizon’s Academic Research Program (HARP)
Location: Remote
Cost: Varies by program type; Financial aid is available
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts in a year
Application Date: Deadlines vary by cohort
Eligibility: High school students with good academic standing (>3.67/4.0 GPA); Most accepted students are 10th or 11th graders; Few tracks require formal prerequisites; More details can be found here
The Horizon Academic Research Program isn’t hosted by a university, but it will match you with a professor or PhD mentor from a reputed university, who will offer 1-on-1 guidance. As a participant, you can choose the cognitive psychology track, which focuses on topics like language, memory, attention, intelligence, and perception. By the end of the program, you will have developed a 20-page research paper through university-level coursework. Click here to apply!
Image source – The Rockefeller University