Psychology & Neuroscience in New York
Explore the world of the mind and its powerful impact on human behavior
Summer Springboard program located on the campus of Fordham University
Program Highlights

Residential Tuition :
$5,598
Commuter Tuition:
$3,198
Session 1:
June 30, 2024
July 12, 2024
Session 2:
July 14, 2024
July 26, 2024
Barnard College, Columbia University
New York, New York
Course Overview
Through psychology simulations and hands-on neurology workshops, you will explore the relationships between the brain and human behavior. Whether you are interested in the physical aspect of the brain and central nervous system or more intrigued by human behavior and thought processes, connect with professionals that have a background in both psychology and neuroscience.
Excursions Examples – This past summer students toured the USC Dana & David Dornsife Cognitive Neuroscience Imaging Center to see an fMRI machine in operation. In addition, students visited a biofeedback clinic as well as a hypnotherapy center where clinicians used insights from psychology to further their work. Guest speakers included the Director of the Moral Psychology Research Laboratory from Harvard, a Cognitive Psychology professor from UCLA and a People Analyst from Google. Excursions this year in New York will be dependent on Covid and restrictions from the government or local organizations.
Meet your instructor

Dr. Maral Tajerian & Dr. Sebastian Alvarado
Psychology & Neuroscience
Dr. Maral Tajerian is a Neurophysiologist with a particular interest in Brain Plasticity. Following undergraduate biology and psychology training, Dr. Tajerian received a Master’s degree from the Department of Biology and a Ph.D. from the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University, Canada.
Dr. Sebastian Alvarado, CEO & Co-Founder of Thwacke Consulting and Assistant Professor at Queens College, worked in the private biotech sector for three years before pursuing graduate research. He completed his Ph.D. in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at McGill University and proceeded as an A.P. Giannini Fellow at Stanford University in Neurobiology.
Topics you'll explore
Hands-On Learning
Students will learn to tackle these fundamental questions with the tools of psychological science. Students will learn about classic experiments in psychology, with the goal of getting a hands-on, experiential understanding of how people work and how psychologists study them. They will explore social dynamics; emotions; personality; mental illness; the nature of beliefs; neuroscience; and the relationship between the mind, brain, and body. As a capstone project, they will construct their own miniature psychology theory, design/run an experiment to test it, and present findings to the class.

Career Exploration
Students will visit a neuroscience center. Similar to the Yale program where they visit the Harvey Cushing Center, Cushing was the the pioneer and father of neurosurgery, was born on April 8, 1869, graduated from Yale University in 1891, studied medicine at Harvard Medical School and received his medical degree in 1895. In 1896, he moved to Johns Hopkins Hospital where there were countless discoveries in the field of neuroscience. The Cushing Center serves as a museum dedicated to the life and work of Dr. Cushing. It contains a collection of brain tumor specimens from Dr. Cushing's patients, photos of the patients, a range of personal documents and memorabilia related to Cushing, and some of the highlights of the Medical Historical Library's special collections.
