15 Psychology Programs for High School Students
- Stephen Turban
- 2 hours ago
- 10 min read
If you are a high school student interested in psychology, participating in structured programs can help you explore your interests in greater depth and develop important skills for college. These programs often combine coursework, projects, and collaboration, allowing you to apply what you’ve learned and engage with peers who share your interests. They also help you build key skills such as communication, critical thinking, and analysis, which are valuable across any academic or career path.
What are the benefits of a psychology program?
Psychology programs allow you to study how people think, feel, and behave through guided projects, research, and discussions. You might learn about topics like behavioral science, neuroscience, cognitive development, or mental health, and contribute to ongoing research under the guidance of experts. These experiences also allow you to connect with mentors, researchers, and peers who can support your growth and future academic goals.
To help you with your search, we have narrowed down 15 psychology programs for high school students.
If you are looking for psychology internships, check out our blog here.
15 Psychology Programs for High School Students
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies; financial assistance offered
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Multiple sessions, including summer, spring, fall, and winter cohorts, are scheduled each year
Application deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort—January deadline for Spring cohort, May deadlines for Summer cohorts, September deadlines for Fall cohorts, and November deadline for Winter cohorts.
Eligibility: High school students; accepted students typically have an unweighted GPA of 3.3 out of 4.0
This is a rigorous research program meant for high school students who want to explore an area and topic of interest in absolute detail. Here, you will get to work one-on-one with a Ph. D.-level mentor on an independent research project. You will finalize a research question with support from your mentor and also work with a writing coach to present your findings. At the end of the program, you will have developed an independent research paper! You can choose a research topic from a wide range of subjects, including psychology, mental health, and neuroscience. You can find more details about the application here, and check out students’ reviews of the program here and here.
Location: NIH campuses in the U.S.
Stipend: Paid; amount is adjusted annually and is based on educational level. Check details here.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: Eight weeks starting typically in June
Application deadline: February 18
Eligibility: U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are 18 years or older by September 30 and enrolled at least half-time in an accredited educational institution
The NIH Summer Internship Program places you in full-time research roles within active NIH labs and research groups. You will work under a Principal Investigator and contribute to ongoing research projects across biomedical, behavioral, and social sciences, including psychology and mental health research. The experience mirrors real research training and provides exposure to a professional setting. You will also attend structured programming on research careers and healthcare pathways. You will present your work at the end of the program during the NIH Poster Day.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies depending on program type; financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Multiple cohorts; spring and fall cohorts run for 15 weeks, and the summer cohort runs for 10 weeks (June – September).
Application deadline: Varies based on cohort
Eligibility: High school students with a strong academic background (>3.67/4.0 GPA); accepted students are usually 10th/11th graders.
Horizon’s trimester-long research program is designed for high school students interested in exploring a discipline of choice. As a participant, you can choose to engage in either quantitative or qualitative research—an option rarely offered in high school-level research programs. Once you select a particular subject track, the program pairs you with a professor or a Ph.D. scholar who will serve as a mentor throughout the program. Over 10 weeks, you will work on completing a 20-page research paper, which you can submit to journals for publication as a high school student. The program also offers a letter of recommendation and detailed feedback that you can use to work on future projects.
Location: Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 8 – July 9
Application deadline: February 10
Eligibility: High school students who are 16 or older
This program places high school students in active research and research-support environments within Barrow Neurological Institute, a major neuroscience center. As a participant, you will work alongside researchers on ongoing projects and gain exposure to how neurological and translational research is conducted in a professional setting. You may contribute to lab-based work using advanced techniques or support research through science communication, publications, or institutional operations. You will also learn how to read scientific literature, ask research-driven questions, and communicate findings clearly, and gain early exposure to the fields of neuroscience and research.
Location: Virtual + in person at Child Mind Institute, San Mateo, CA
Stipend: $1,750
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Summer Academy: June 22 – July 23 + Year-Round Programming: August – March (Virtual workshops and mentorship)
Application deadline: Priority deadline: January 15; Final deadline: February 28
Eligibility: High school students enrolled in Los Angeles County schools with an overall GPA of 2.5 or higher
The Youth Mental Health Academy is a paid 14-month program for California high school students interested in exploring mental health careers. You will spend most of your time exploring topics like mental health disorders, treatment approaches, and research methods through project-based lessons and discussions. In the summer, you will develop a capstone project focused on a mental health issue of your choice. The program continues through the school year with virtual workshops on college preparation and career readiness. A second-summer internship in a community or research setting is built into the program structure.
Location: Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Cost/Stipend: No tuition; $95 application fee, with need-based fee waivers available. No stipend available.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 22 – August 14 (dates subject to change)
Application deadline: Typically, early spring
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors who are U.S. citizens/permanent residents and will be at least 14 years old by June 1
The Stanford SHTEM Internship is an eight-week research internship designed by the Stanford Compression Forum for high school students interested in interdisciplinary work. You will join a research group and spend 20–30 hours per week working directly in the lab on research projects focused on the intersection of humanities and tech. Projects span fields like psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, computer science, engineering, and design, and you will work on them within small teams of 2–5 students. Throughout the program, you will be mentored by Stanford faculty, researchers, and affiliated staff.
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 1 – 5 and June 8 – 12
Application deadline: February 2
Eligibility: Students in grades 9 – 12 who live either in the U.S. or on U.S. armed forces bases/diplomatic posts
This two-week program is designed to introduce students to clinical and research careers in psychology and psychiatry. You will attend virtual sessions led by licensed clinicians and clinician-scientists and learn from their experiences in psychotherapy, neuropsychological testing, and community psychiatry. You will complete assigned readings before sessions, discuss career pathways and training during the sessions, and understand the practical realities of working in mental health fields throughout the program. You might have the option to continue accessing professional mentorship beyond the program.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: June 15 – July 23
Application deadline: February 9
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors
The UCLA Neuroscience High School Virtual Summer Program offers high schoolers a six-week introduction to the field of neuroscience through a combination of live seminars, guided discussions, and collaborative activities. You will attend talks led by clinicians and researchers, and observe Neurology Grand Rounds to see how current neurological research is discussed in clinical settings. You will also take part in a journal club, where you will read and analyze current neuroscience papers, and complete virtual lab activities that introduce core research tools. Throughout the program, you will work toward a final research project on a neuroscience topic of your choice and present your findings at the end.
Location: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Cost: $6,100 + $75 application fee; financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 19 – 31
Application deadline: Rolling deadlines till April 1
Eligibility: High school students; light programming skills (Matlab or Python) are preferred.
Language in the Brain, a pre-college course offered by Harvard University, is designed to introduce high schoolers to how the brain processes language. You will learn the core methods researchers use to study speech and language in the brain, including how language works across different languages. The course also looks at how bilingual, multilingual, and polyglot brains differ in structure and function. A key part of the program is a visit to an MRI facility, followed by a workshop where you will work with real brain imaging data and analyse it to understand how language networks interact with other cognitive systems. The course ends with presentations, where you discuss your findings with peers.
Location: Wake Forest University Reynolda campus, Winston-Salem, NC
Cost: $3,500; need-based financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: July 12 – 17 | July 19 – 24
Application deadline: Rolling enrollment
Eligibility: Students currently in grades 9 – 12
The Wake Forest Summer Immersion Psychology Institute introduces high school students to the study of the brain, behavior, and perception through instruction and exercises. You will explore topics like emotion, addiction, sensory processing, and cognitive bias through guided labs and structured discussions. The program includes activities such as a sheep brain dissection, sensory perception experiments, and exercises focused on neuroplasticity. You will also engage in observational research within a team of peers and present your findings at the end of the program.
Location: University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
Cost: Commuter $5,675 | Residential $13,274; need-based scholarships are available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Varies; ~80 students in the past cohort
Application deadline: March 9
Dates: June 15 – July 31 + Mandatory Preparation Webinar: May 28/May 30
Eligibility: High school students in grades 10 and 11 (outstanding 9th graders accepted on a case-by-case basis) with a minimum 3.80 academic weighted GPA; priority given to California residents.
The Research Mentorship Program at UC Santa Barbara is a six-week summer experience designed for high school students. Here, you will work full-time on an original research project, guided by a UCSB faculty member, graduate student, or postdoctoral student. You can conduct your research in STEM, humanities, and social sciences, including fields like neuroscience and psychology. You can expect to spend around 35 to 50 hours weekly in the lab and on the field, analysing data, writing a research paper, and presenting it at the Research Symposium. You will also enroll in two university-level courses, one focused on formal research writing and another on presentation techniques, and receive eight college credits.
Location: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Cost: $6,100 + $75 application fee; financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 19 – 31
Application deadline: Rolling deadlines till April 1
Eligibility: High school students
This Harvard Pre-College course allows high schoolers to examine how neuroscience and psychology research are often presented in popular media. You will read and compare papers to identify what is accurately reported, what is exaggerated, and what is missing. The course covers core concepts and methods in psychology and neuroscience to support this analysis. You will also work on a final project, for which you will critically analyze a popular science article of your choice. This course can help you strengthen critical thinking skills while learning how psychological research is produced and communicated.
Location: Remote
Cost: $4,980; need-based financial aid is offered.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrolment
Dates: July 7 – 23
Application deadline: Priority deadline: February 11; Regular deadline: March 12
Eligibility: Students in grades 9 – 11 with an interest in psychology, neuroscience, or social sciences
The Foundations of Psychological Research course at UChicago introduces you to the methods involved in designing, testing, and evaluating in psychological research. You will attend virtual sessions that cover the core research methods and concepts that shape experimental psychology. You will work closely with an experimental psychologist and examine how studies are structured, from hypothesis to methodology. During the course, you will also learn how to develop your own research plan. The program culminates in a final project, for which you will design a psychological study to address a specific research question, applying the methods you learned during the program.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $1,795; scholarships available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrolment
Dates: Multiple courses throughout the year; check upcoming session dates here.
Application deadline: Varies by session; applications typically close one week before the start date.
Eligibility: Students, ages 13 and up
The Psychology in Our Everyday Lives course by Rice University introduces high schoolers to how psychologists study behavior and how data helps translate brain processes into real-world outcomes. The course also covers different areas within psychology, allowing you to learn about various specialties and career paths. The course includes a capstone project where you will create a three-minute video analyzing a real-world issue through the lens of psychology. Throughout the course, you will work with a mentor who will offer support and feedback for your assignments. You will earn a Certificate of Completion from Rice University upon completing the course.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $3,200; need-based financial aid is available.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Program dates: July 6 – 17
Application deadline: March 13
Eligibility: Students in grades 8 – 11
The Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes allows high schoolers to explore areas of interest through virtual summer courses that span various fields, including psychology. The Topics in Psychology course allows you to explore topics in memory, perception, social psychology, cognitive development, and mental health. You will develop technical and academic skills along with critical thinking abilities by participating in small research projects, collecting and analyzing data, and learning the limitations of different research methods. Additionally, the course covers the work of key psychologists.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a graduate of Harvard College, where he earned an A.B. in Statistics. 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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