About

The Neuroscience Research Academy, part of Penn Arts and Sciences' three-week Summer Academies portfolio, takes students through the full arc of brain science: from the cellular mechanics of individual neurons through the organization of sensory systems, culminating in higher-order cognitive functions including memory, emotion, and morality. The program runs July 5–25, 2026 on Penn's Philadelphia campus, with instruction delivered by faculty from Penn's undergraduate neuroscience program. Tuition is $10,050, covering residential housing, a meal plan, and all materials; Philadelphia residents attending a School District of Philadelphia public or charter school may attend on a full scholarship. Day-to-day residential programming is managed by Summer Discovery; Penn Arts and Sciences handles all academic content and admissions. The program is fully residential with no commuter or online option.

Applicants must have completed a year each of high school biology and chemistry, and must maintain a minimum 3.5 GPA. Applications require transcripts, essays, and a letter of recommendation. International students are welcome. Admissions are rolling until capacity is reached; the program has reached capacity for general 2026 applicants but remains open to Philadelphia scholarship students.

The daily structure is unusually intensive: students attend lectures twice daily with Penn neuroscience faculty — a contact-hours commitment that distinguishes this from programs organized around a single daily lecture. Alongside the lectures, three components give the academy its distinctive shape. A Journal Club asks students to read primary neuroscience literature, analyze findings, and develop presentations for their peers — an authentic approximation of how working scientists engage with research. A Neuroethics Club, rarer still, structures debate around the ethical dilemmas that neuroscience currently poses: questions about cognitive enhancement, consciousness, mental privacy, and the boundaries of neuroscientific evidence in legal contexts. Lab activities introduce experimental techniques, and field trips to the Mütter Museum and the Franklin Institute extend the curriculum into Philadelphia's unusually rich scientific history.

Neuroscience rarely appears in a high school curriculum in any serious form. For students who find themselves drawn to questions about the brain — whether from psychology, biology, or philosophy — Penn's academy is one of a small number of pre-college programs that treats the subject with genuine depth rather than as a survey. The neuroethics component in particular is unique, encouraging participating students to consider the intersection of neuroscience and law in ways that might shape further paths of study or even careers.