8 Summer Psychology Programs for Middle School Students

Middle school is a good time to explore different subjects and career paths. To do so, you can opt for summer programs that impart a rigorous curriculum and hands-on activities. If you are interested in psychology, you can opt for a summer program in the field.

You learn about the brain, human behavior, and other habits through such courses. You also encounter contemporary knowledge in the field through interactions with professionals. So, to help you get started, we have compiled a list of programs to choose from.

8 Summer Psychology Programs for Middle School Students

1. Lumiere’s Junior Explorer Program

Location: Virtual

Cost: Varies. Financial aid available

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective

Dates: 8 weeks. Varies by cohort

Application Deadline: Varies by cohort

Eligibility: Students in grades 6 to 8

Middle schoolers interested in research can participate in Lumiere’s Junior Explorer Program. In this program, you are paired with PhD mentors from prestigious universities, such as Harvard, Oxford, MIT, and Princeton, who are specialists in psychology and related fields. Through the program, you learn to read and interpret academic literature, build research questions, and create outputs such as a high school-level research paper or case study, thereby building crucial research skills. You also benefit from feedback and writing coaching sessions that help improve your scientific communication skills. Students looking to publish their research in academic journals can opt for the Junior Research and Publication Program.

2. Middle School Psychology & Neuroscience @ Berkeley

Location: UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

Cost: $1,598 for commuter students. $2,998 for residential students

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified

Dates:Session 1: July 5 to July 10Session 2: July 12 to July 17Session 3: July 19 to July 24Session 4: July 26 to July 31

Application Deadline: May 15

Eligibility: Students completing grades 6 to 8 with a minimum 3.0 GPA

This program delves into psychology and neuroscience through lab-based experiments. You study human behavior, emotions, and actions through a practice-based approach. You also examine mental health strategies with expert guidance. As a result, you interact and network with psychology professionals. In addition to academics, you tour campus facilities and nearby landmarks. 

3. Veritas AI’s AI Trailblazers

Location: Virtual

Cost: Varies. Financial aid available

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified

Dates: 25 hours over 10 weeks on weekends during the spring cohort. 25 hours over 2 weeks on weekdays during the summer cohort

Application Deadline: Rolling deadlines

Eligibility: Students in grades 6 to 8

Students looking for an interdisciplinary program can consider Veritas AI’s AI Trailblazers program. The program helps you establish a foundational understanding of AI and machine learning. You learn a diverse set of topics such as Python, data analysis, regression, image classification, neural networks, and AI ethics. Once you have grasped these theoretical concepts, you apply them to a practical project. You can solve a real-world psychology problem using technology as part of your project. Past students have built a machine-learning model to classify music genres and a machine-learning algorithm to provide a custom list of educational resources based on selected specifications.

4. NYU’s College and Career Lab

Location: New York University, New York, NY

Cost/Stipend: None

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective

Dates: July 6 to July 31

Application Deadline: March 31

Eligibility: NYC students in 7th or 8th grade during the application period

The College and Career Lab is a way for you to explore various academic and career pathways. You will participate in college-style lectures and workshops in different subjects, including applied psychology and neuroscience. You also meet with industry professionals and receive guidance from mentors. The program begins when you are in middle school and ends when you complete high school. You attend a multi-week session in the summer and Practice Lab throughout the year.

5. Duke Pre-College Program: Psychology 101

Location: Duke University, Durham, NC

Cost: $3,905 for commuter students. $6,050 for residential students

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified

Dates: June 28 to July 9. Session 2

Application Deadline: To be announced

Eligibility: Students in grades 6 to 8 with a 3.0 or higher GPA, at least 11 years old, and completion of one year of middle school

Duke University offers several programs to middle and high school students based on their interests. You engage with rigorous academics in a collaborative environment. Middle schoolers can opt for the Psychology 101 track. In this course, you dive into learning, memory, emotion, perception, and social interaction through hands-on activities. You analyze human behavior and decision-making and apply your learnings to real-world situations.

6. Rice University’s Psychology In Our Everyday Lives

Location: Online

Cost: $1,795

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified

Dates: Multiple course lengths available throughout the year

Application Deadline: Varies by session

Eligibility: Students aged 13 years and older

This program explores the various fields and career pathways in psychology. You discover the application of research and statistics in psychology. Through this program, you study organizational psychology and human factors. You also learn about pioneers and events that shaped the field. Ultimately, you learn how psychology addresses real social needs. At the end of the program, you receive a Certificate of Completion.

7. Northwestern CTD’s Psychology of Leadership

Location: Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

Cost: $3,025 plus $2,405 residential fee

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective

Dates: June 28 to July 17

Application Deadline: One week before the start date

Eligibility: Students in grades 6 to 8 who meet the Magenta tier eligibility criteria

Northwestern’s CTD offers a range of programs for advanced middle schoolers. This course delves into how the brain responds to power and leadership. You will explore human behavior and learn topics like social perception, group influence, altruism, and prejudice. The program involves hands-on activities. You can expect to conduct research and engage in discussions.

8. Johns Hopkins CTY’s Cognitive Psychology

Location: Online or in person

Cost/Stipend: To be announced

Acceptance rate/cohort size: 16 to 18 students

Dates: To be announced

Application Deadline: To be announced

Eligibility: Students in grades 7 to 11 who meet advanced CTY level verbal score requirements

Johns Hopkins’s CTY offers a range of programs in diverse fields for students to choose from. The Cognitive Psychology program explains how we represent and process information from our surroundings. You discover various cognitive processes, namely, perception, learning, memory, forgetting, attention, problem-solving, reasoning, and language. You apply research methodologies to models, principles, and discoveries. The program involves group discussions, readings, and simulations, whereby you learn about your own cognitive illusions, predispositions, and capacities.

Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a Ph.D. 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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