12 Undergraduate Psychology Summer Internships in 2025
Psychology is a fast-developing field, with options to specialize in a wide array of domains ranging from cognitive and social psychology to neuroscience and developmental studies. An internship is the ideal pathway to holistically engage with your interests and discover areas of this field that spark your curiosity the most.
In this blog, we’ve compiled a list of 12 undergraduate psychology summer internships in 2024. These internships are immersive and offer real-world exposure, mentorship from researchers, and the chance to hone practical skills in clinical settings, research labs, and organizational environments. Whether you are interested in applying to graduate school or diving into practice, internships are a significant boost to your academic and professional profile!
1. Ladder University Internship Program
Location: Remote
Application Deadline: Multiple deadlines throughout the year, varies with the cohort
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including summer, fall, winter, and spring
Eligibility: Undergraduate students who can work for 5-10 hours/week for 8 weeks
Cost: $2,490 (financial aid available)
The Ladder University Internship Program is a world-class program founded by alumni of the prestigious Harvard University. It provides ambitious college students and young professionals with virtual internship experiences at start-ups and not-for-profit organizations all across the world. This program not only enhances practical skills but also fosters personal growth through one-on-one training and group sessions with fellow interns, creating a comprehensive learning experience in the medical field.
What sets the Ladder University Internship Program apart is its strong emphasis on mentorship. It allows students and young professionals to collaborate with seasoned professionals, engage with innovative research, and contribute to significant projects. As an intern, you will get to work closely with your startup manager and also be paired with a Ladder Coach, providing an additional layer of guidance and support.
For more information, read here.
2. Harvard Business School PRIMO
Location: Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Application Deadline: Usually, the first week of February
Dates: 9-10 weeks. June to August (tentatively)
Eligibility: Rising sophomores, juniors, or seniors who are in good standing at a 4-year undergraduate institution in the United States. International students enrolled at a U.S.-based institution are eligible to apply; they will need to work with their home institution for CPT work authorization if selected.
Stipend: $3,500 (tentatively)
The Program for Research in Markets and Organizations hosted by Harvard Business School is an exceptional opportunity for undergraduate students to develop research projects in psychology, organizational behavior, entrepreneurship, and more. You will have options to focus on corporate social responsibility, market design, leadership, and other domains—you will have to indicate at least three areas of interest in your application.
To participate, you will have to commit to the full duration of the program, which is 9-10 weeks. During this time, you will work with a Harvard Business School faculty member to advance your project. You’ll also get to attend academic writing and professional development programs and build skills in public speaking, presentations, resume development, and even graduate school applications. PRIMO fellows also attend and participate in academic presentations and are expected to make a project presentation in the last week of the program.
You can view past projects here.
3. Harvard University Moral Psychology Lab Summer Interns
Location: Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Application Deadline: February (tentatively)
Dates: June to August
Eligibility: Undergraduate students enrolled in U.S. institutions who can commit to 30 hrs/week of lab work
Stipend: $4,500
The Moral Psychology Lab at Harvard University offers 2-6 summer internship opportunities to undergraduate students in the U.S. As an intern, you will work closely with one or two senior members of the lab on current research projects. You will also participate in a wide range of research training and professional development programs throughout your internship, gaining experience in experimental design and ethical considerations in psychological research.
Please note that while the program does not explicitly mention computer programming requirements, its application form asks if applicants have experience with programming and statistical analysis.
4. Berkeley Early Learning Lab Internship
Location: UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California + remote options
Application Deadline: February
Dates: 8 weeks
Eligibility: Undergraduate students interested in developmental psychology and cognitive science. Applicants are expected to have completed coursework in developmental psychology and cognitive psychology and possess basic computer skills (programming skills are highly desirable) and experience working with children.
Stipend: Unpaid
UC Berkeley’s Berkeley Early Learning Lab’s summer internship program provides a hands-on research experience for undergraduate students interested in developmental psychology and cognitive and language development. Some focus areas at the lab include probabilistic learning, compositionality in language, word learning, and social cognition.
As an intern, you will be paired with a graduate student or postdoc mentor; you will work on research projects both in the lab and at local children's museums and are expected to provide support with data collection, stimulus creation, recruiting participants, and analyzing data while collaborating closely with lab members. In addition to that, you will also attend weekly reading groups and lab meetings and have the opportunity to participate in professional development seminars, gaining proficiency in R (for statistics), LookIt (an online testing platform), and Datavyu (video coding software).
Note: accepted interns are also required to pass a background check as the role involves working with minors.
5. PACE University Undergraduate Psychology Research Internship
Location: Pace University, New York
Application Deadline: Usually in January
Dates: Part-time. May to July (tentatively)
Eligibility: Rising seniors enrolled in an undergraduate program in psychology or a related field and motivated to earn an advanced degree in psychology or a related field. International applicants are eligible as long as they are enrolled undergraduates. Pace students are not eligible for this internship.
Stipend: Not mentioned
The Counseling Center at Pace University's New York City campus offers four undergraduate psychology summer internship positions each year, facilitating students to understand and experience the diverse functions of a professional psychologist in a university counseling center. The training at the Counseling Center largely includes didactic seminars, scholarly research, outreach and consultation, and exposure to clinical work.
Throughout the internship, you will attend weekly seminars on clinical interviewing, therapeutic techniques, professional issues, and diagnostic categories. You’ll also contribute to ongoing Counseling Center projects by taking on literature reviews, statistical database management, and/or scholarly writing tasks. Towards the end of your internship, you’ll get to develop an independent research project in your area of interest and present the same.
6. UPenn MindCORE Summer Fellowship Program
Location: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Application Deadline: March 2
Dates: June 2 – August 8
Eligibility: Enrolled as full-time freshmen, sophomores, or junior undergraduate students at an accredited institution. Graduating seniors are not eligible. Non-Penn applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, without exception. Non-Penn students who are in the U.S. on any type of visa are not eligible for the program.
Stipend: This is a paid opportunity, but exact figures are not available.
The MindCORE Summer Fellowship Program is a 10-week paid opportunity for Penn and non-Penn undergraduate students to develop a research project in their interest areas in Psychology and cognitive sciences. As a Summer Fellow, you will be paired with MindCORE faculty members in interdisciplinary mind and brain studies based on your specific research interest and mentor preferences.
The fellowship begins with a week-long introductory workshop on interdisciplinary research in cognitive sciences and is followed by nine weeks of mentored research. You will also receive intensive training in research ethics and have the opportunity to learn about lab demos. Towards the end of the summer, you will make a presentation on your research progress.
7. The Irvine Summer Institute in Neuroscience Program
Location: UC Irvine, Irvine, California
Application Deadline: January 31
Dates:
- May: Laboratory Placements
- June 9 – 20: Remote Programming
- June 22 – August 15: In-Person Programming
Eligibility: Undergraduate students who:
- Have a 3.0 grade point average (exceptions reviewed on a case-by-case basis)
- Are U.S. citizens or permanent residents
- Have completed 1st year of undergraduate studies by June
- Are enrolled as a full-time student
Stipend: $700 per week
The Irvine Summer Institute in Neuroscience Program—hosted at UC Irvine—is an intensive research opportunity ideal for students planning on pursuing a career in psychology and neuroscience. It gives you training on the necessary skills for graduate school and beyond.
The program only admits 20 students per year, who are funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF-REU) and the University of California Office of the President's UC-Historically Black Colleges and Universities (UC-HBCU) Initiative. The first two weeks are conducted online, where you will learn about literature review processes, research methods, coding, and data analysis. This is followed by eight weeks of in-person immersion at the UC Irvine campus, where you’ll participate in and contribute to scientific seminars, methods workshops, professional development workshops, and the final summer research symposium.
8. University of Wisconsin-Madison – Psychology Research Experience Program (PREP)
Location: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin
Application Deadline: February 15
Dates: May 27 – August 1 (tentative)
Eligibility: Undergraduate students who have completed their sophomore or junior year at an accredited college or university; U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Applicants from underrepresented backgrounds are encouraged to apply. For info here.
Stipend: $6,000 stipend for 10 weeks + $2,100 stipend for meal
The Psychology Research Experience Program hosted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is an intensive research program for undergraduate students interested in pursuing a career in psychological research. Students from historically underrepresented backgrounds, first-generation learners, and students from smaller institutions without broad research facilities are encouraged to apply.
What is unique about PREP is its focus on integrating data science methods into psychology and neuroscience research. As a PREP student, you will spend approximately 30 hours a week pursuing mentored laboratory research. For 10 hours a week, you’ll participate in intensive technical skills workshops in domains like R and Python, faculty presentations, and professional development and networking events.
9. SURE Program
Location: University of Texas-Austin, Austin, Texas
|Application Deadline: March (tentatively)
Dates: June to August (tentatively)
Eligibility: Undergraduates majoring in psychology at a college or university in the state of Texas; must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents
Stipend: $2,500
The Summer Undergraduate Research Program at UT Austin is a two-month full-time summer research program where university students can develop their research under the guidance of a faculty member and graduate student mentor from the Department of Psychology.
As a SURE participant, you will engage in seminars and workshops—including guest presentations by university faculty—and training on developing experimental design and scientific methods, psychological research ethics, statistical analysis, and graduate school applications. Toward the end of the program, you will present your research efforts to peers and mentors.
10. Internships at the American Psychological Association
Location: Virtual
Application Deadline: Depends on the specifics of the internship
Dates: Varies based on the internship
Eligibility: Students eligible to work in the US who reside in one of the states where APA is registered as an employer. Must be at least enrolled in a part-time institution. Students under 18 must submit an official District of Columbia work permit.
Stipend: aid and unpaid internships are available. Unpaid positions offer academic credit.
The American Psychological Association (APA) provides virtual internship opportunities for students interested in pursuing careers in psychology and psychiatry. As an intern, you will contribute to a variety of tasks that align with the organization’s needs and your interests and skills. Some of the opportunities at APA include supporting research surveys, writing, and web-based projects, as well as assisting staff with administrative tasks and special projects. The APA offers diverse internship roles in policy, research, communications, and financial services, along with industry-relevant workshops and discussions.
11. McLean Hospital College Mental Health Program Internship (MMHRSP)
Location: Belmont, Massachusetts
Application Deadline: Opens January 2, and closes on March 1
Dates: 10 weeks from June to August
Eligibility: Juniors or seniors in a two- or four-year college in Massachusetts. Applicants from underrepresented communities are encouraged to apply. See here
Stipend: Paid (amount unspecified)
The McLean Hospital College Mental Health Program Internship (MMHRSP) is a 10-week program that aims to improve representation in mental health research and careers, including areas like neuroscience, clinical psychology, and psychiatry. It offers undergraduate students the chance to participate in a paid research opportunity while benefiting from long-term mentorship, networking, and community engagement. During the program, you will work at a laboratory in McLean Hospital and gain mentored neuroscience research experience. You’ll also get to attend a scientific conference in the fall, workshops that teach strategies for scientific success, scientific networking events, and more.
12. Undergraduate Developmental Science Summer Internship by the Yale School of Medicine
Location: Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Application Deadline: January 31
Dates: June 2 – July 25
Eligibility: Undergraduate students who are U.S. citizens; international students currently enrolled in U.S. undergraduate degree-granting institutions
Stipend: Up to $4,000
The Undergraduate Developmental Science Summer Internship offered by the Yale Child Study Center is an intensive research opportunity for rising junior and senior undergraduate students interested in developmental science, including clinical and typical development, as well as basic and applied research.
As an intern, you will be assigned to a faculty mentor who will help you develop a research project based on your areas of interest. The project domains usually include neuroscience, developmental, and clinical areas. You will also attend lectures and seminars where you will be introduced to developmental science domains beyond the scope of the lab. Most interns also receive recommendation letters from their supervisors at the end of the program.
Looking for an immersive internship experience in the summer?
Check out Ladder Internships!
Ladder Internships is a selective, virtual internship program where students work with startups and nonprofits from around the world! The startups range across a variety of industries. As part of their internship, each student will work on a real-world project that is of genuine need to the startup they are working with, and present their work at the end of their internship. In addition to working closely with their manager from the startup, each intern will also work with a Ladder Coach throughout their internship. Apply now!