About

Camp Psych is a one-week residential program on Gettysburg College's campus in Gettysburg, PA, open to rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors. For 2026, it runs July 12–17; applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and the camp has historically filled before the summer, so families interested in a given year should apply early rather than wait.

The program's structure is built around actual research practice rather than lectures about research. Each day opens with a "Topic Introduction" block — a specific area of psychological science (e.g., helping behavior and bystander effects), the research questions driving it, presentation of current findings in the field, real-world applications, and small-group discussion — followed by a "Topic Action" block where students design their own study on that day's topic, collect real data alongside resident advisors and faculty, and summarize and present their results to the group. Students live in a Gettysburg College residence hall under resident advisors who are current or recent Gettysburg psychology majors, with evening free time, a movie night, and a 10 p.m. curfew.

The camp is directed by two Gettysburg College alumnae with active teaching and research credentials: Dr. Abigail Scholer ('00), who earned her Ph.D. from Columbia University, previously held an Associate Professor position at the University of Waterloo, and now holds the title of Batten Family Bicentennial Distinguished Leadership Professor of Public Policy at the University of Virginia's Frank Batten School — she has published more than 50 papers in journals including the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Psychological Science, and has received research funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the National Science Foundation; and Erin Clark ('99), who taught with Teach for America's Los Angeles Corps, earned an M.Ed. in Educational Psychology from Temple University, currently teaches in Gettysburg's Department of Psychology and Office of Teacher Education and Certification, and received Gettysburg's 2023 Dr. Ralph Cavaliere Award for Excellence in Teaching.

For 2026, tuition is $1,395; applications require an online form, a short essay, and demographic information; teacher references are sometimes contacted as part of review. Acceptance instructions cover payment along with medical, allergy, and dietary information.

Camp Psych suits a student who wants a genuine taste of what conducting psychological research actually involves — designing a study, gathering data, and presenting findings, not just hearing about famous experiments — under a director with a substantial, verifiable research record rather than a generalist camp counselor. It's a strong option for a student seriously weighing psychology as a college major who wants evidence beyond a textbook that they enjoy the actual process of research.