A summer internship at Yale Child Study Center (YCSC)—which serves as the Department of Child Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine—is offered annually in partnership with the Department of Pediatrics. Rising junior and senior undergraduate students are eligible, with successful candidates placed with faculty members focused on various areas of child health and well-being. Applications for summer 2026 will be accepted beginning December 15, 2025, through January 31, 2026.
The eight-week, research-intensive internship embeds students in projects ranging from basic and applied science to community-based research projects to clinical settings, 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 both departments.
Summer interns work 40 hours per week providing research support while also attending 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. The program is co-directed by Yale faculty members Amanda Dettmer, PhD; Vince Faustino, MD; Linda Mayes, MD; and Helena Rutherford, PhD; with Kathy Ayala serving as assistant director.
To be eligible to apply, candidates must be a junior or senior undergraduate student as of Fall 2025, and a U.S. Citizen or an international student currently enrolled in a U.S. undergraduate degree-granting institution. Additional details and application instructions are available on the program website, and questions can be sent via e-mail to Linda Isakson.