If you are considering a career in neuroscience, medicine, or cognitive science, exploring these fields during high school can provide valuable clarity. University-led neuroscience programs provide high school students with a structured opportunity to explore brain science in the same environments where it is taught at a higher level.
These programs often introduce students to lab techniques, neuroanatomy, imaging tools, and behavioral research methods. Some also touch on computational modeling and data analysis. This hands-on exposure helps you understand how brain science is studied and what skills are expected in college-level neuroscience programs.
Because the programs are hosted by universities, students benefit from access to faculty, campus labs, and research settings similar to those used by undergraduates. This experience adds depth to college applications and helps students decide whether neuroscience is the right path.
With that in mind, here are 15 university-led neuroscience programs for high school students worth exploring! For more opportunities to build your academic profile, you can check out this blog for some of the top Ivy League programs available!
15 University led Neuroscience Programs for High School Students
1. Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR)
Location: Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Cost: The program is fully funded! Interns are paid a minimum stipend of $500.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Extremely competitive
Dates: June 8 – July 30
Application Deadline: February 21
Eligibility: Current Juniors and Seniors graduating in the next two years, who are US Citizens or Permanent Residents and 16+ by the start date.
SIMR offers a rigorous Neurobiology track where students investigate molecular and cellular mechanisms of brain function. You will actively participate in research, utilizing techniques like immunohistochemistry, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, or confocal microscopy. The curriculum emphasizes technical competence in lab protocols and the statistical analysis of experimental data using professional software tools. You will work directly with faculty mentors to formulate hypotheses and test them against empirical evidence. The program concludes with a poster presentation, requiring you to defend your findings, similar to a professional scientific conference.
2. Johns Hopkins Internship in Brain Sciences (JHIBS)
Location: Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD + a virtual experience
Cost: No costs; $15/hour stipend offered in-person. The virtual experience is unpaid.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective, only 8 students selected in-person.
Dates: 5-8 weeks from June – August
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: U.S. high school juniors and seniors, with a preference for students from Baltimore City public schools, for the in-person program
Hosted by the Department of Neurology, JHIBS provides a dual focus on clinical neurology and basic neuroscience research. As an in-person intern, you will understand the theoretical underpinnings of neuroscience while also rotating through clinics to observe neurological examinations and diagnostic imaging. The virtual track covers the same theory, as well as computational approaches to studying brain circuitry. You will engage in scientific reading and presentation exercises designed to improve your ability to communicate complex physiological concepts. The experience is designed to simulate the workload and intellectual rigor of a pre-med undergraduate track.
3. Duke University Neuroscience Experience (DUNE)
Location: Duke University, Durham, NC
Cost: No cost to attend, interns are provided a stipend.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective.
Dates: June 15 – August 7
Application Deadline: February 8
Eligibility: Current high school sophomores and juniors who attend a public or charter high school in Durham, NC. Must be at least 16 years old by the start of the program.
Duke University’s Neuroscience Experience (DUNE) is a summer research program that places you directly inside a real neuroscience lab rather than in a classroom. Over the course of the program, you work closely with faculty and graduate student mentors on ongoing research questions, giving you a hands-on view of how science is actually done at the intersection of neuroscience, biology, and technology. You spend your time designing experiments, collecting and analyzing data, and interpreting results, using tools and methods that scientists rely on in the field. The experience emphasizes cross-disciplinary thinking, so you see how engineering, computation, and biology come together to study the brain and behavior. By the end of DUNE, you have a concrete research project under your belt and a clearer sense of what working in neuroscience feels like day to day.
4. Columbia University BRAINYAC
Location: Zuckerman Institute, New York, NY
Cost: No cost to attend, interns are provided a stipend.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: Summer. Exact dates vary by the mentor you are assigned to.
Application Deadline: Typically opens in October
Eligibility: NYC-residing high schoolers in grades 10-11 from select partner programs – S-PREP, Lang Youth Medical, Double Discovery Center, Columbia Secondary School, and BioBus.
BRAINYAC provides a structured entry into high-level neuroscience research. You will undergo extensive training in laboratory methodologies before entering the lab to work on projects ranging from ion channel biophysics to decision-making circuits. You will develop proficiency in pipetting, experimental design, and data interpretation within a “wet lab” environment. It’s a great opportunity to work alongside a Columbia neuroscientist on a custom research project, providing exposure to a professional academic environment.
5. University of Pennsylvania Neuroscience Research Academy
Location: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: $10,050. Financial aid is available.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Moderately selective
Dates: July 11 – August 1
Application Deadline: Priority deadline January 29, final deadline April 2
Eligibility: 9th – 11th grade students with a minimum 3.5 GPA who have completed one year of high school biology and one year of high school chemistry.
University of Pennsylvania’s Neuroscience Research Academy is a residential program that introduces you to how neuroscience is studied at the college level. You move step by step from how individual neurons function to how networks support memory and behavior, building a clear biological foundation along the way. A central part of the program is the journal club. You read real research papers, break down the experiments, and question how scientists reached their conclusions. You also take part in hands-on activities like sheep brain dissections to compare neuroanatomy across species and workshops that explore ethical questions in neuroscience.
6. Stanford Clinical Neuroscience Immersion Experience (CNI-X)
Location: Both virtual and in-person at Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Cost: $1,725 for virtual sessions, $3,325 for in-person sessions.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: In-person – Session 1: July 6 – 17 | Session 2: July 20 – 31; Virtual – Session 1: June 8 – 19 | Session 2: June 22 – July 3
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: Sophomores, juniors, and seniors can apply
CNI-X places you at the intersection of neuroscience and clinical psychiatry, focusing on how brain research turns into real approaches for treating mental health conditions. You study how mood and behavior are shaped by neural circuits, using a neurobiological lens rather than surface-level psychology. You work through case studies and interactive sessions that cover behavioral neuroscience, neuroimaging, forensic psychiatry, and design thinking. The emphasis is on understanding how disorders are conceptualized in research and clinical settings and how evidence moves from lab to treatment.
7. UCI Brain Camp
Location: University of California, Irvine, CA
Cost: $2,995
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: July 20 – 31
Application Deadline: January 9
Eligibility: Grades 6 – 12
Hosted by the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at UC Irvine, this camp is an immersive experience into various neuroscience topics. You will get to explore topics like neuropathology, neuropharmacology, neuroanatomy, electrophysiology, brain imaging, and much more. The curriculum covers experimental design and data analysis, ensuring you understand how to quantify behavioral observations. Workshops introduce you to the software and tools used to visualize neural structures. It acts as a comprehensive toolkit builder if you’re looking to understand advanced neuroscience methodologies.
8. Wake Forest University Summer Immersion – Neuroscience Institute
Location: Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
Cost: $3,500
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Moderately selective
Dates: June 7 – 12 OR June 14 – 19
Application Deadline: Rolling from November 1
Eligibility: Grades 9 – 12
Wake Forest University’s Summer Immersion Neuroscience is a focused program where you study how the nervous system is built and how it works. You spend time in anatomy labs working with human and animal brain specimens, learning how different regions of the brain are organized and what they control. You also explore neuropharmacology, looking closely at how neurotransmitters work and how drugs change signaling between neurons. The program includes visits to research facilities, where you see tools like MRI and MEG used to study the brain in real settings.
9. University of Chicago: Explorations in Neuroscience
Location: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Cost: $9,300
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective, small cohort size
Dates: June 15 – July 2
Application Deadline: Typically early January
Eligibility: Students in 9th, 10th and 11th grade
University of Chicago’s Explorations in Neuroscience is a college-level course that pushes you to understand how neurons actually communicate and how brain circuits turn signals into behavior. The focus is on systems neuroscience, looking at how sensory information is processed and used rather than memorizing anatomy. You spend time reading real scientific papers and learning how to break them down, question methods, and synthesize results. The work involves analyzing data and understanding the physics behind neural computation, not just concepts at a surface level.
10. Georgetown University Pre-College: Psychology
Location: Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
Cost: $3,995 for college credit, $1,895 for enrichment
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Multi-length courses available throughout the year
Application Deadline: Rolling, varies by batch.
Eligibility: High school students (ages 13+)
Georgetown University’s Pre-College Psychology course looks at human behavior through a strong neurobiological lens. You study how the brain drives sensation, perception, sleep, memory, and learning, and how drugs and neurological disorders change the way the brain functions. The course asks you to think like a scientist. You analyze real examples, discuss causes and treatments of neurological conditions, and learn how researchers study behavior. You also spend time designing your own experiments, giving you a practical sense of how questions about the mind are tested and answered in academic psychology and neuroscience.
11. Brown University Pre-College: Neuroscience in Action
Location: Remote
Cost: $4,656
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective / Cohort size varies
Dates: July 7 – 25
Application Deadline: May 8
Eligibility: Students in grades 9 – 12 who have completed at least one high-school-level biology course.
Brown University’s Neuroscience in Action course gives you a clear, structured introduction to how the brain processes information. You start with how neurons compute signals and communicate with each other, then move into how these systems support sensation and behavior. The course is mostly asynchronous, so you work through modules at your own pace while engaging with virtual lab tours, research case studies, and guided projects. You learn how neuroscientists design experiments, test hypotheses, and interpret results, building comfort with the scientific method and modern research tools.
12. Harvard University Pre-College Program: Neuroscience
Location: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Cost: $6,100 + $75 application fee
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective (12–20 per course)
Dates: Session I: June 21 – July 2; Session II: July 5 – 17
Application Deadline: Early January 7, regular February 11
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors aged 16 years or older
Harvard University offers several intensive two-week pre-college programs on topics such as Introduction to Neurobiology, the science of sensation, and Behavioral Neurobiology. You’ll get to attend lectures covering topics such as the neurobiology of sensory systems or the molecular basis of addiction. The courses usually require a final project or paper, pushing you to synthesize complex biological data and present your findings with academic precision. You will engage with current research papers to understand the frontiers of the field.
13. UCSD Research Experience for High School Students (REHS)
Location: UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Cost: $1,500
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Extremely selective, fewer than 20 students selected per year
Dates: June 8 – July 31
Application Deadline: March 15
Eligibility: San Diego high school students in grades 10–12
REHS at the San Diego Supercomputer Center focuses heavily on computational neuroscience and bioinformatics. You will work directly with mentors to analyze large neural datasets using programming languages like Python or MATLAB. The training emphasizes the software and coding skills necessary to handle “Big Data” in modern biological research. You might investigate gene expression in the brain or model neural network dynamics. Here are some examples of projects available, which notably include Computational Modeling of Neurons and Processing of EEG Data, as well as Molecular Mechanisms of Diseases: Cancer, Autism, Alzheimer’s disease.
14. Boston University RISE Internship/Practicum
Location: Boston University, Boston, MA
Cost: $6,415
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: June 28 – August 7 for residential, June 29 – August 7 for commuter
Application Deadline: February 4
Eligibility: High school juniors
The RISE Practicum in Computational Neurobiology uses computer simulations to map neural pathways, teaching programming for biology. The internship track places you in a lab for independent research, where you might use techniques like optogenetics or electrophysiology to study neural circuit function. Both tracks require a final poster presentation, ensuring you can communicate complex computational or biological findings effectively. You will be expected to read primary literature and participate in lab meetings.
15. Washington University in St. Louis High School Summer Scholars
Location: Washington University in St. Louis, MO
Cost: Varies from $4,075 to $12,135 depending on format and course credit
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 7 – July 11
Application Deadline: April 1
Eligibility: Current high school juniors
Washington University in St. Louis’s High School Summer Scholars program lets you take real undergraduate neuroscience-related courses alongside college students. You can enroll in classes like Biology of the Brain, Introduction to Psychology, or Foundations of Neuroscience and work through the same material and expectations as the university’s undergraduates. The coursework is data-driven and method-focused. You analyze empirical results, think about statistical significance, and use the scientific method to evaluate research claims. You also have access to the university’s research libraries and academic resources to support your work.
One more option – Horizon Academic Research Program
If you’re looking for a competitive mentored research program in subjects like data science, machine learning, political theory, biology, and chemistry, consider applying to Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs! This is a selective virtual research program that lets you engage in advanced research and develop a research paper on a subject of your choosing. Horizon has worked with 1000+ high school students so far and offers 600+ research specializations for you to choose from. You can find the application link here!
Image Source – Washington University in St. Louis