Summer Springboard
Psychology & Neuroscience
ON THE CAMPUS OF DUKE UNIVERSITY
UNLOCK THE MYSTERIES OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND THE MIND THROUGH HANDS-ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE AND CLASSIC EXPERIMENTS
Psychology & Neuroscience @ Duke University
Explore the mysteries of the mind and the connection between the brain and human behavior.
Engage in hands-on activities like brain dissection and real-world experiments to address complex behavioral questions.
Gain insight into treatment approaches for various mental health conditions affecting millions.
Connect and interact with clinical psychologists, neurologists, and expert researchers in the field.
Learn to develop original psychological theories and design experiments to test them through research methods.
Discover what a career in psychology looks like, whether as a researcher, academic, or clinician.
Summer Springboard
Psychology & Neuroscience
About This Course
A psychology program for teens on a university campus in North Carolina
Curious about the brain? Want to discover and learn the fundamentals of brain biology and the functioning of the central nervous system? By attending this Summer Springboard course, students will be able to explore and familiarize with perception, decision-making, neuroethics, neurotechnology, and many other topics. Learn how the development of the brain affects emotions, physiology, and cognition, as well as develop a foundation for future study paths and careers in medicine, biology, biomedical science, psychology, and more.
Through psychology simulations and hands-on neurology workshops, students will investigate the connection between the brain and human behavior. Whether their interest lies in the biological workings of the brain and nervous system or in understanding human thoughts and actions, students will have the chance to engage with professionals experienced in both psychology and neuroscience.
Throughout the program, students tackle fundamental questions about how people work by studying classic psychology experiments and exploring topics like social dynamics, emotions, personality, mental illness, beliefs, and the mind-brain relationship. As a capstone, they design and run their own experiment to test a psychology theory and present their findings to the class.
TOPICS YOU'LL EXPLORE
Hands-on Learning
Students will actively engage with key psychological questions using hands-on scientific tools. Through classic psychology experiments, they’ll gain firsthand experience exploring how people think, feel, and behave. They’ll dive into topics like social dynamics, emotions, personality, mental health, beliefs, neuroscience, and the mind-body connection. For their capstone, students will create their own mini psychology theory, design and run an experiment to test it, and present their findings to the class—putting learning directly into practice.
Career Exploration
Students will have the exciting opportunity to explore real-world applications of neuroscience and psychology by visiting leading neuroscience centers. Students have previously visited the Department of Psychiatry and Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies at UNC to see real-world applications of psychological science. They built microscopes, toured labs, and learned how brain research is conducted. Through hands-on activities and experiments, students explored careers in psychology, neuroscience, and mental health, gaining insight into how professionals study the mind and behavior. Their capstone project gave them practical experience in designing and testing psychological theories, helping them consider future paths in science and healthcare.
RESOURCES
Course Infosheet
Click here to view or download the printable infosheet for this course.
Program Catalog
Click here to request our catalog to learn more about our summer programs and courses.
Campus Page
Click here to view the website page for this campus and learn more.
“I learned so much more about psychology and neuroscience and the program really helped to reinforce my desire to pursue psychology in college. This also served as a great opportunity to also get a college experience and I think it really helped to prepare me and make me feel more ready for college..”
-Alyssa R. | Alumni Student
Summer Springboard
Psychology & Neuroscience
Meet Your Instructor
Hope Peterson-Sockwell is a postdoctoral research associate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). She received her B.A. in Psychology, M.S. in Biomedical Sciences, and Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Wake Forest University. Her research involves building brain networks from functional MRI data and exploring how different populations of people change their brain states while they complete cognitive tasks. She has taught courses in psychology, biological psychology, and neuroscience at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem State University, Iona University, and UNC. Outside of the lab and the classroom, she is also involved in scientific outreach, from organizing the annual Triangle Brain Bee to bringing neuroscience games and lessons to local classrooms. Hope believes learning should be hands-on and engaging, fostering curiosity through interactive experiences, and she is passionate about creating inclusive spaces in STEM where every student feels empowered to explore and grow. She is excited to work with students who are eager to dive into the fascinating world of psychology and neuroscience to understand how the brain shapes who we are.
HOPE PETERSON-SOCKWELL
“I think that this program was really great way to introduce me to college life-the staff were so great, the classes were interesting, and the students were very fun.”
-John C. | Alumni Student
Summer Springboard
Psychology & Neuroscience
Dates & Tuition
| 2025 Dates |
|---|
| Session 1: June 29 – July 11, 2025 |
| Session 2: July 13 – July 25, 2025 |
Click here to enroll in this course using our online enrollment form.
| Tuition |
|---|
| Residential Tuition: $5,698 |
| Commuter Tuition: $2,998 |
Tuition Protection Plan: Allows for cancellation for any reason up until the day of the program.
| Location |
|---|
| City: Durham |
| State: North Carolina |
| Campus: Duke University |
Summer Springboard programs are not run by our campus partners (with the exception of Cal Poly and NYSID which are run in partnership with SSB). Universities and their affiliated departments and partners do not control and are not responsible or liable in any manner for any part of the Summer Springboard program.