Undergraduate Developmental Science Summer Internship

Each year, the Yale Child Study Center (YCSC) in partnership with the Department of Pediatrics offers an 8-week summer internship for rising junior and senior undergraduate students, spanning all areas of child health, both physical and behavioral. This research-intensive internship embeds students in projects ranging from basic and applied science to community-based research projects to clinical settings, and incorporating methods including analysis of archived data sets, wet lab techniques, and clinical observations. Fields of study include and cut across neuroscience, developmental, and clinical areas integral to YCSC and Pediatrics. Internships are 40 hours/week, and in addition to their research, interns are required to attend lectures and seminars where they are exposed to other areas of child health beyond the scope of their lab as well as skills and careers sessions and journal clubs.

At the end of the summer, interns present their research project as a conference poster to YCSC and Pediatrics faculty, staff, and students. Past research areas have included the neuroscience of parenting, adolescent risk-taking, interventions for vulnerable families, addiction, and social-emotional learning. The career pathways for our interns are generally to master’s and PhD programs, medical school, or research employment across the U.S. Many interns have their summer mentors provide letters of recommendation for their next career steps.

This is a competitive internship with a limited number of places. As such, students are required to attend all components of the internship in person (although accepted applicants attending institutions on the quarter system may be accommodated on an individual basis).

Interns are strongly encouraged to first seek funding for this summer internship opportunity from their home institution or other sources. Stipends of up to $4,000 for the 8-week session may be available for those who are unable to secure such funding from their home university. Advice on summer housing will be provided upon acceptance to the internship. Only undergraduate students who are U.S. citizens, or international students currently enrolled in U.S. undergraduate degree granting institutions, are eligible to apply. We are sorry that we are unable to offer this opportunity to high school students or to graduating seniors.

Applications must include the following documentation:

1. A one-page letter specifying your reasons for applying to this particular internship, including specific themes in child health that you are interested in gaining experience in, types of skills and research methods you are keen to learn, and potential YCSC and/or Pediatrics summer mentors you are interested in working with (you do not need to contact the potential mentors, just provide those you would be interested in working with)
2. Your resume (max. 2 pages)
3. Documentation of health insurance for the entirety of the summer period
4. Two letters of recommendation with the file name format as follows: YourLastName_YourFirstName_Internship_Letter_YYYY (e.g., Jones_Michelle_Internship_Letter_2025)

Items #1-3 above must but submitted in a single PDF file via the on-line application form posted on this webpage between December 15, 2024 and January 31, 2025.

Item #4 (letters of recommendation) must be submitted directly by the recommenders via e-mail to Linda Isakson. Any component (#1-4) of applications received after 11:59 pm on January 31, 2025 will render the application incomplete and the application will not be reviewed.