15 Mental Health Summer Internships for Undergraduates
- Stephen Turban
- Sep 10
- 10 min read
Updated: Oct 13
If you’re an undergraduate student interested in psychology or mental health, you’ve probably already taken courses that touch on topics like counseling, research, or human behavior. But figuring out if this is something you want to pursue as a career is different from just studying it in class. That’s where internships can help.
A mental health internship is a direct way to see what professionals actually do in the field, whether it’s assisting with research, supporting counseling programs, helping with advocacy, or working with community organizations. These internships give you practical experience in real settings, while also helping you understand the different paths available in mental health.
They also make a strong addition to your resume or graduate school applications. Having experience in a hands-on role shows that you’ve explored the field beyond academics and taken steps to test your interest in real environments.
To help you get started, we’ve gathered a list of 15 mental health summer internships for undergraduates! If you’re looking for more reputable internships, click here!
15 Mental Health Summer Internships for Undergraduates
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies by format
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including fall, spring, summer, and winter
Application deadline: Varies depending on the cohort—Summer: May | Winter: November | Spring: January | Fall: September
Eligibility: College students and young professionals who can work for 5–10 hours/week for eight weeks
The Ladder University Internship Program is a selective, virtual internship designed for college students and young professionals to gain hands-on experience working with startups. Over 8–12 weeks, you work directly with founders and startup teams on real-world projects in fields like business, marketing, data science, healthcare, sustainability, and tech, including AI and machine learning. You’re matched with a company based on your interests and interview notes, and you receive weekly guidance from a company coach. You also receive a reference letter from your startup mentor upon completion. Apply now!
Location: Virtual, hybrid, or in-person at APA’s Washington, D.C. office, depending on the role
Stipend: Paid and unpaid internships are available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Exact information is unavailable
Dates: Varies by internship
Application Deadline: Varies by internship. Summer internship program applications are typically due in early spring
Eligibility: Students enrolled at least part-time in an academic institution who are eligible to work in the U.S. and live in one of the states where APA is already registered as an employer
American Psychological Association (APA) Summer Internships give you the chance to work on mental health–related projects as an undergraduate student. If selected, you’re placed in a department such as education, policy, research, or communications. Your tasks may include supporting mental health initiatives, reviewing research, writing content, or helping with outreach and operations. You attend workshops, join meetings, and receive guidance from a supervisor who helps you meet learning goals.
Location: Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Stipend: $1,000
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive admissions
Dates: June 2 – July 12
Application Deadline: January 17
Eligibility: Undergraduate students ideally studying developmental psychology, cognitive science, moral psychology, or a related field, and who have prior experience with children. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, green card holders, or student visa holders.
Cornell’s Developmental Moral Psychology Lab Summer Internship Program is a six-week, in-person research internship for undergraduates interested in psychology and mental health. You’ll work about 30 hours per week on Cornell’s campus, joining a team that studies how moral reasoning develops across the lifespan. You take part in multiple stages of research, including literature reviews, study design, participant recruitment, data collection, and coding. You also complete an independent project, where you choose a research question and develop it with guidance from faculty and lab mentors.
Location: University of California, Berkeley, CA
Stipend: Unpaid, but a need-based stipend of $2,700 may be provided to students who need to offset living costs
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive admissions
Dates: June 2 – August 1
Application Deadline: January 17
Eligibility: Undergraduate students who have done coursework in psychology, linguistics, or cognitive science with an interest in language acquisition and/or cognitive development.
UC Berkeley’s Language and Cognitive Development Lab program is a nine-week, in-person research experience for undergraduates, graduating seniors, and recent grads. You’ll work about 30 hours per week on campus, studying how language, cognition, and social understanding develop in children. You’ll help design experiments, prepare study materials, recruit participants, collect and analyze data, and present findings. Some research takes place in schools or children’s museums, giving you experience in real-world settings.
Location: Yale University, New Haven, CT
Stipend: Up to $4,00 for students unable to secure funding from their home university
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive; limited spots available
Dates: June 2 – July 25
Application Deadline: January 31
Eligibility: Rising junior and senior undergraduate students who are U.S. citizens or international students enrolled in U.S. undergraduate degree-granting institutions
Yale School of Medicine’s Undergraduate Developmental Science Summer Internship is an 8-week, full-time research program for rising junior and senior undergraduates. You’ll work 40 hours per week at the Yale Child Study Center and Department of Pediatrics, contributing to research in neuroscience, developmental science, and clinical practice. Your tasks may include analyzing archived data, using wet lab techniques, or observing in clinical settings. You’ll also attend lectures, seminars, journal clubs, and career sessions to build broader knowledge in child health and mental health research. Past projects have explored topics like adolescent risk-taking, parenting neuroscience, addiction, and social-emotional learning.
Location: Various locations nationwide
Stipend: $4,000
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 25 students are accepted
Dates: 9 weeks in the summer
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: Students enrolled in an accredited U.S. or Canadian undergraduate degree-granting institution with at least one semester remaining in their degree program after the summer fellowship.
APA Summer Undergraduate Psychology Experience in Research (SUPER) Fellowships give you the chance to design and complete your own summer research project in psychology. You work with a faculty mentor who guides you through every stage, from writing your proposal to finishing your final report. You also meet regularly with your mentor for feedback and support. The fellowship includes virtual meetings with other students, researchers, and APA staff. You’re encouraged to collaborate with graduate students, postdocs, and lab teams to build your research and analysis skills. You must commit at least 20 hours per week for nine weeks during the summer.
Location: University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Stipend: $2,500
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Exact information is unavailable
Dates: June 5 to August 5
Application Deadline: March 31
Eligibility: Undergraduates majoring in psychology at a college or university in Texas who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents
UT Austin Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) is a two-month, full-time mental health research internship for undergraduates studying at colleges in Texas. You’ll work 40 hours per week in the Department of Psychology, joining a faculty-led research project with support from a graduate student mentor. Your work may include designing experiments, collecting and analyzing data, and contributing to lab discussions. You’ll also attend guest lectures, lab meetings, and present your research to the university community at the end of the program.
Location: University of California, Berkeley, CA
Stipend: $2,400
Acceptance rate/cohort size: <10%
Dates: June 2 – July 25
Application Deadline: February 12
Eligibility: Undergraduates interested in developmental and/or comparative psychology who have prior experience working with children
UC Berkeley’s Social Origins Lab Summer Internship is an 8-week, in-person research program for undergraduates and recent grads interested in developmental and comparative psychology. You’ll work about 30 hours per week in Berkeley, joining a team that studies how social and cognitive abilities develop across species and cultures. Your tasks may include helping design studies, collecting data in places like museums or camps, coding and analyzing results, and improving ongoing research. You’ll work with graduate students, postdocs, and other interns, and take part in weekly professional development events.
Location: Virtual/Columbia University, New York, NY
Cost/Stipend: Unpaid, but students without funding from their home university can apply for a stipend up to $2,000
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Around 25 students
Dates: 8 weeks starting in June
Application Deadline: January 31
Eligibility: Rising senior undergraduate students interested in global mental health
The Columbia-WHO Center for Global Mental Health Undergraduate Summer Internship is an 8-week, full-time research program for rising senior undergraduates interested in global mental health. You’ll be matched with placement-based projects that fit your interests and work closely with faculty mentors from fields like psychiatry, psychology, epidemiology, social work, or medical anthropology. Your work may include literature reviews, data analysis, manuscript writing, and public speaking. You’ll attend daily seminars focused on ethics, equity, and mental health interventions.
Location: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Stipend: Interns receive a stipend
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Around 20–23 students
Dates: June 2 – August 8
Application Deadline: March 2
Eligibility: Full-time undergraduate students (except graduating seniors) enrolled in an accredited institution. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
MindCORE Summer Fellowship is a 10-week paid research program at the University of Pennsylvania for undergraduates interested in cognitive science and interdisciplinary mind and brain studies. You start with a one-week workshop that introduces key concepts and methods in cognitive science. After that, you spend nine weeks working on a research project under the guidance of a faculty mentor whose work matches your interests. During the program, you take part in faculty seminars, ethics training, technical workshops, and lab demos.
Location: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Stipend: $5,000
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 2–6 students are accepted
Dates: June 10 – August 16
Application Deadline: January 23
Eligibility: Current undergraduate or graduate students with an interest in social, emotional, and cognitive development, and/or language acquisition
Cushman Lab’s Social Cognitive Science Summer Internship Program is an in-person, 8-week research internship for undergraduates interested in mental health and social cognition. You’ll spend about 30 hours per week at the Cambridge lab, working closely with senior lab members on active studies in social cognitive science. Your responsibilities include running experiments, collecting data, and joining regular lab meetings. You’ll also take part in academic and social activities with the research team, gaining exposure to both the scientific process and collaborative lab culture.
Location: University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI
Stipend: $6,000 + $2,100 meal stipend. Housing and travel costs are covered by the program
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Exact information is unavailable
Dates: May 27 – August 1
Application Deadline: February 15
Eligibility: Rising sophomore, junior, and senior undergraduate students with a demonstrated interest in a career in psychology or a related discipline
PREP (Psychology Research Experience Program) is a National Science Foundation–funded summer research internship at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. You’ll spend 10 weeks working about 30 hours per week in a psychology lab, paired with a faculty mentor and graduate student. Your research will focus on one of six subfields, including clinical, developmental, cognitive, or social psychology. Alongside your lab work, you’ll complete intensive data science training through bootcamps in R, Python, and other technical tools. The program ends with a research symposium where you present your findings.
Location: NYU Langone’s Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/affiliated clinical and research institutions
Stipend: Unpaid
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Exact information is unavailable
Dates: 12 weeks in the summer
Application Deadline: Typically in February/March
Eligibility: Undergraduates enrolled in NYU schools and colleges who are part of the minor in child and adolescent mental health studies (CAMS)
Child & Adolescent Mental Health Summer Internships for Undergraduates at NYU Langone are 12-week, part-time placements designed to give you hands-on experience in clinical, educational, or research settings focused on youth mental health. You’ll work under the mentorship of faculty or professional staff from the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry or an affiliated site. You commit at least 15 hours per week to your placement and attend a weekly didactic session every Wednesday. These sessions cover theory, research, and practice in child and adolescent mental health, helping you connect your fieldwork to broader academic concepts.
Location: Depends on mentor locations
Stipend: A stipend will be provided
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: Typically 8 weeks in the summer
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: Students enrolled at least half-time in an accredited community college, college, or university who are 18 years or older by the start of the program
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Summer Internship Program (SIP) is an eight- to ten-week, full-time research experience for undergraduate students interested in neuroscience and mental health. You’ll be matched with an investigator and preceptor in the NIMH Intramural Research Program, working on a project that aligns with your interests in basic or clinical research. Your training includes hands-on experience with lab procedures, data collection, and analysis, depending on your placement. You’ll also attend seminars, workshops, and professional development events hosted by NIH.
Location: Pace University, New York City, NY
Stipend: Unpaid
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 4 interns are accepted
Dates: May 20 – July 24
Application Deadline: Typically in January
Eligibility: Rising undergraduate seniors (excluding Pace students) enrolled in a psychology course or related fields
PACE University’s Undergraduate Summer Internship places you in the Counseling Center at the New York City campus, where you explore the day-to-day responsibilities of a psychologist in a university setting. You attend weekly seminars on clinical interviewing, ethics, diagnosis, and therapy approaches, while also contributing to research through literature reviews, data management, and program evaluation. Under the supervision of licensed clinicians, you design and present an independent research or quality improvement project. You also observe clinical operations and attend staff meetings, giving you insight into how mental health services function within higher education.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.
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