Two concrete routes with different selection processes
The following program information was checked September 16, 2026. Follow the exact eligibility instructions for your situation; neither a psychology major nor a remote label answers every requirement.
Expected window: mid-November 2026 to mid-February 2027
NIH Summer Internship Program, 2027
Full-time research includes behavioral and social sciences. The standard college route requires U.S. citizenship or permanent residency, the stated enrollment conditions and age 18 by September 30, 2027. Stipends depend on educational level; housing is not supplied. Exact application dates are not yet stated.
Who this may suit: Research-oriented applicants who can meet the eligibility and full-time site requirements. Review special age and enrollment cases on the source page.
Read employer or provider source ↗Source checked
Portal describes paid and academic-credit routes
American Psychological Association internships
APA describes remote opportunities subject to U.S. work eligibility and approved-state residence. Remote does not mean every state or country. Academic internships require at least part-time enrollment; apply through the portal, not by email.
Who this may suit: Investigate education, policy, research-support, publishing or communication work, and check the state's eligibility before preparing an application.
Read employer or provider source ↗Source checked
What to prepare—and where to submit it
NIH asks for coursework and grades, a CV or resume, a personal statement and two references. Completing a profile is not the same as submitting the SIP application. Individual principal investigators select interns; NIH recommends contacting relevant investigators and directing them to your completed application.
APA permits applications to up to three internships, with a separate application for each. It asks applicants to combine the resume, cover letter and any requested writing sample into one document. Use its portal and the role's instructions rather than sending a generic email application.
Start with the hardest input to obtain: references, a requested academic document or a writing sample that needs revision. A focused application to a suitable project is preferable to naming every psychology topic in the personal statement.
Undergraduate experience can involve research support, not therapy
APA's education internship description identifies undergraduate tasks such as organizing data, reviewing literature, editing and preparing presentations. Those are useful contributions with a different scope from graduate or clinical work. Ask which tasks match your training and who reviews them.
For a research-support application, prepare a small evidence table: question, source, study population, method, result and limitation. For an education or communication role, a clear article summary or instructional document may be more relevant. Use published information or synthetic data for a portfolio; real participant and client records belong under the organization's approved processes.
The important distinction is the assignment. Scheduling, observation, literature work and independent clinical service are not interchangeable. A suitable undergraduate placement should make the boundary and supervision clear.
Sources[3]
A research inquiry should identify the work that interests you
Use the structure below after reading a relevant project or paper. The bracketed fields need real details. For NIH, use it only after completing the application and following the program's contact instructions; for another lab, check whether it accepts direct inquiries.
Research-mentor inquiry
Make your preparation inspectable
For a literature sample, separate the authors' result from your interpretation. For a data sample, keep yes, no and missing responses distinct. In the optional synthetic exercise below, nine of fifteen respondents use a planner, but five invited students did not respond. The exercise demonstrates a definition and a limitation, not a population finding.
Choose one route now: prepare a research statement and references for the NIH window, or inspect the current APA roles and location rules. At the same time, investigate supervised opportunities through your university's research channels. Keep paid, credit and volunteer arrangements separate when assessing affordability.
A strong undergraduate application shows what you can contribute at your present level: careful reading, clean records, clear writing or a method you can explain. It does not need to imply clinical authority or research independence you have not yet earned.