Why do internships in high school?
Before we jump into a long list of psychology internships for high school students, it is important to understand why these opportunities could matter for your future. According to PRISM, a consultancy, 70% of students attending a US News top 50 University have completed at least one internship while in high school. These opportunities serve as a way to distinguish yourself in the admissions process by showing that you have gone out and verified your future goals through experience. Doing internships will help you enter college with a clearer idea of the professional environments you enjoy or don’t enjoy, which will make it easier for you to recruit into a job you love after graduation. Students who have done at least one internship in high school also typically have an easier time recruiting into college internships and pre-professional organizations such as finance or pre-law clubs.
How to Find Psychology Internships for High School Students
The best way to find psychology internships for high school students is through online search tools and lists. The StandOutSearch database provides the largest free resource that lists almost every internship program for the high school age group and allows you to search by interest area. MIT Admissions also provides a helpful list of High School Internships.
However, official programs tend to be very competitive, so if you are serious about finding a psychology internship in high school, you should also prepare a cold outreach strategy. You can read more about how to form a cold outreach strategy to find a high school internship at the end of this article. We also include email templates to make finding an internship or research position through cold outreach less daunting.
10 Psychology Internships for High School Students
Most of the psychology internships for high school students below have an acceptance rate of 20% or lower, given that there are many more high school students looking for internships relative to official programs that provide them. We recommend choosing at least five opportunities to apply to. If you see an opportunity that excites you, take a moment to write the deadline on your calendar!
Ages: 15-19
Location: Virtual
Timeline: Summer, Spring, Fall, or Winter
Deadline: Various Deadlines
StandOut Connect is a program created thanks to investment from UChicago’s Polsky Center for Innovation that matches high school students with internships in their interest area. Students interview with potential mentors who are leaders and innovators within their area of interest until they are hired for a two-month internship. Many students then receive optional return offers to continue with their internship for as long as they would like.
Ages: Rising Junior or Senior
Location: New York City
Timeline: Fall
Deadline: January to August
BRAINYAC provides high-schoolers with an immersive, hands-on summer research experience in a Columbia laboratory. Each student is matched with a Columbia neuroscientist, a mentor who guides the student through a research project. Interns come away from the experience with an enhanced understanding of how laboratory research leads to transformative discovery, exposure to a professional academic environment, and a stronger connection to science as a career.
Ages: 16 - 18
Location: Massachusetts
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: TBD
Interns work on the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) campus in departments ranging from radiology, transport, materials management, research labs, and more. The program is a paid 7-week, 30 hour-per-week job experience focused on professional development, healthcare career exposure and exploration, community health, and health equity.
Ages: 14 - 18
Location: New Britain, Connecticut
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: TBD
Interns get the opportunity to work alongside healthcare providers in the Hartford Hospital to learn more about the world of healthcare.
Ages: Sophomore or Junior
Location: New York City
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: June 12
The College Now STEM Research Academy at Lehman College is a two-part program designed to provide students with an opportunity to develop the essential skills to be strong scientific thinkers by engaging in authentic inquiry-based research activities. Students can take an Intro to Psychology course: a survey of the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Topics to be covered include research methods and applications in Psychology’s significant areas of study: thought, memory, learning, personality, social processes, human development, psychological disorders, and the biological bases of behavior.
Ages: 16 - 19
Location: New Britain, CT
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: None
Jerome Home and Arbor Rose welcome high school students who are seeking opportunities to learn and grow in the healthcare field. Focus areas of service include undergraduate students in human services, social work, recreation therapy, and music therapy. Students will have an individualized training program outlined for them and will have the opportunity to experience and partner with varying professionals in the healthcare field.
Ages: 16 - 18
Location: New Jersey
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: March 15
The Laboratory Learning Program is a full-time, free research experience in the sciences or engineering for high school students. Students are included in ongoing research programs where they are closely supervised by Princeton faculty and research staff. The participation dates are customized according to the schedules of the research personnel and the specifics of the project.
Ages: Rising Junior or Senior
Location: Baltimore, MD
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: March 1
A summer program designed to introduce high school students from underrepresented backgrounds in the Baltimore area to careers in neurological sciences. Participants engage in hands-on research under mentor supervision, receiving educational support and encouragement to pursue careers as researchers or clinician-scientists. The program offers two options: a nationwide virtual research opportunity and an in-person internship for local students in Baltimore. Both options provide compensation for students' participation.
Ages: 15 - 17
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: Rolling; December 15 - March 18
The Research Mentorship Program is a competitive summer program that engages qualified, high-achieving high school students from all over the world in interdisciplinary, hands-on, university-level research. Students will be paired with a mentor (graduate student, postdoc, or faculty) and choose a research project from a long list of disciplines offered by the program each year.
Ages: 16 and above
Location: New York City
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: March 15
The Summer Neuroscience Program (SNP) is a two-week course for NYC public high schoolers led by Rockefeller graduate students. Participants take a look at ongoing neuroscience research in an effort to understand how the brain works and how it relates to our daily life. We aim to introduce students to modern neuroscience, while empowering them to explore in their own unique ways the mysteries that remain. Students will even get to dissect a brain!
Cold Outreach Strategy for High School Internships
If the opportunities listed above don’t turn out to be a fit, the next step to finding a psychology internship for high school students is to launch a cold outreach strategy. This may seem intimidating at first, but the guide below should make it much more simple. As an added note, please exercise caution when reaching out to professionals you don’t know. It is always safest to interview or meet virtually.
How to Find Companies to Reach Out to for a High School Internship
Use LinkedIn to find small companies where you can help with skills such as social media, coding, content/grant writing, or graphic design. Smaller companies that need more hands on deck will be the most likely to hire high-school-aged students. Try to find personal connections with the professionals you reach out to, such as being from the same state originally or liking the same sports team.
How to Find Professors to Reach Out to for a High School Research Position
You can use online university staff directories to find professors to reach out to for research positions. Note that if you are looking for a remote research position with a professor, you should be aware that these opportunities tend to be harder to come by. Professors typically have high school students help with more manual laboratory tasks such as washing beakers or running equipment and usually do not have very much use for interns at a high school education level within a remote setting. The exception is if you are doing computational research, which generally requires introductory knowledge of Python or R to parse large datasets. You should be able to learn Python or R on your own for free within a few months using resources such as Coursera’s R Programming Course or Python for Everybody.
How to Structure and Send Outreach Emails
For a successful cold-outreach strategy, aim to send at least 50 emails to potential internship providers. Be sure to include a link to your resume, which should be no more than one page while you are in high school. UChicago provides a helpful free resume template and guide. We recommend including your resume as a Google Drive link because including it as a PDF will sometimes negatively impact the deliverability of your email. However, be sure to check that the sharing settings on the document allow anyone with the link to view its contents. It can also be a good idea to include work samples in your resume, such as the link to a website you designed, a social media account you manage, or your GitHub profile.
Email Template for Finding a High School Internship
If you are unsure how to structure your outreach emails to potential internship providers, here are some basic templates you can customize to your needs.
Template for Finding an Internship
Subject: Student Reaching Out
Dear Mr./Ms.____,
I hope you are having a great day! My name is [your name], and I am a rising [grade] at [your school]. I read about your company on LinkedIn and found the concept quite interesting. For context, [briefly state how the company relates to your interests or experience].
I was wondering if you might be looking for interns. I know I would have a great deal to learn from working with you, and I would love to contribute in any way I can. I have included my resume here. Thanks so much!
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Template for Finding a Research Position
Subject: Student Reaching Out
Dear Professor/Dr. ____,
I hope you are having a great day! My name is [your name], and I am a rising [grade] at [your school]. I recently read your paper on [restate the abstract] in [name of publication] and was quite intrigued by [part you found interesting]. I was wondering if I might be able to intern for you over this summer. [Elaborate on your relevant skills and experience and why you are passionate about the field].
I have included my resume here. Thanks so much!
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Conclusion
Whether you are applying to established programs or launching a cold outreach strategy, the name of the game when looking for a high school internship or research position is perseverance. These opportunities can be extremely difficult to secure, but most high school students find it worth it in the end to get a head start on building their careers. If you found this article helpful, don’t forget to save it for later or share it with a friend. Good luck on your internship search journey!
Comments