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Design and present a study in this 2-week psychology research program for high school students on UCLA’s campus.
Course Description
An explanation of behavior can sound convincing and still need testing. Turn a question about how people think or act into a study you can examine for yourself.
In this course you will compare social, cognitive, forensic, health, and abnormal psychology. Memory, conformity, judgment, coping, and decision-making offer different ways into the field. Lectures, research articles, and classroom activities introduce the scientific method and the ethical choices behind studying people.
With a group, develop an original research question and read the studies that help frame it. Design a method, collect class data, and interpret the results. Looking at what you measured and how you measured it helps reveal both the strength of a finding and the limits of the study.
Your group will explain the investigation in a research paper using APA, a standard writing and citation style in psychology. A presentation connects the question, methods, analysis, and conclusions with psychological theory. Career discussion and individual reflection give you room to compare research, clinical, and other paths while trying the evidence-based work involved in further psychology study.
This two-week full-day academy for high school students takes place at UCLA in Los Angeles, California. The program is developed by UCLA and offered in partnership with Summer Discovery. Students focus on one academy for the full program. Residential and commuter options are available.
What You Will Do
• Compare theories from social, cognitive, forensic, health, and abnormal psychology
• Read empirical research and evaluate questions, methods, and evidence
• Develop a novel group research question and literature review
• Design a method and collect class data ethically
• Analyze results and identify limitations in the research design
• Write a research paper with clear citations and present the group study
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Compare major psychological perspectives and apply them to behavior
• Design and evaluate an ethical psychological research study
• Analyze data and communicate findings in a research paper and presentation
You’ll leave with your group research project, including its research paper and presentation, and a certificate of completion.
Why Psychology Skills Matter
Psychological thinking becomes useful when students can connect a claim about behavior to a theory, a method, and evidence. Comparing perspectives helps them see that the same action may have several plausible explanations. Designing a study then forces them to define what they would actually observe or measure.
Research work strengthens source evaluation, ethical reasoning, data interpretation, and academic communication. Students learn to notice limits rather than treating one result as universal. Collaboration adds the challenge of reaching agreement on a question, method, and conclusion. These skills support future study in psychology and social science, and they are valuable anywhere people must evaluate behavior, evidence, and competing explanations.
Who Should Attend?
For students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade.
If you’re curious about people and want to know how researchers test an explanation, this academy lets you try a small study as well as explore the field. Thought, emotion, mental health, and social behavior all offer questions worth asking.
You’ll read research, work closely with a group, collect and analyze class data, and write in an academic format. The experience suits students who want to look carefully at evidence rather than stop at an appealing theory.
Recommended by More Than 4 out of 5 Students
Based on students surveyed in Summer Discovery’s 2026 UCLA high school program.
Your Summer at UCLA
UCLA gives high-school students the opportunity to explore an academic interest while experiencing university life in Los Angeles, a city where entertainment, technology, business, science, and culture constantly intersect. The campus has its own community and rhythm while connecting students to a wider environment built around creativity and new ideas.
Students learn alongside peers, navigate a large campus, and gain independence through everyday choices and responsibilities. Time outside class expands the experience through friendships, campus life, and opportunities to notice which subjects and settings hold their attention. For families, UCLA offers a valuable combination of substantive academics, personal growth, and clearer direction about what a student may want to study, experience more deeply, or pursue next.
Summer Discovery Certificate of Completion
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification of completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive