About

The Penn Neuroscience Research Academy is a three-week summer program offered through the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Arts & Sciences for high school students with strong academic preparation who are interested in brain science, cognition, and neural systems. The academy introduces students to the interdisciplinary foundations of neuroscience, drawing on biology, psychology, chemistry, and data-driven approaches to understand how the nervous system functions in health and disease. Instruction emphasizes conceptual frameworks and scientific reasoning rather than survey-style exposure, positioning the program as an academically serious introduction to college-level neuroscience. Through a combination of lectures, laboratory activities, and guided discussion, students explore how experimental neuroscience informs medicine, behavior, and emerging technologies.

The academy runs full-time over three weeks on Penn’s campus as part of the Penn Summer Academies portfolio. Instruction is delivered by Penn faculty and affiliated instructors and includes a structured mix of lectures, laboratory exercises, journal-based discussion, and applied problem-solving. While the program does not publish admissions statistics, applicants are expected to meet a minimum 3.5 high school GPA, submit strong academic writing samples, and provide recommendations that speak to intellectual maturity and academic readiness (a prior year of both biology and chemistry are required). Like all Penn Summer Academies, the program is run in conjunction with Summer Discovery, which oversees housing, student life, and non-academic programming, while Penn retains responsibility for curriculum and instruction. Students reside in Penn residential housing and follow a structured daily schedule alongside peers from the U.S. and abroad.

Students gain early exposure to neuroscientific thinking, experimental design, and the analytical approaches used to study the brain and nervous system. The academy emphasizes how laboratory research connects to real-world questions in medicine, psychology, and cognitive science, helping students evaluate whether further study in neuroscience or related fields aligns with their interests. Participants typically leave with stronger academic writing skills, experience engaging with faculty-level material, and a clearer understanding of how neuroscience is studied at the university level.
An academically rigorous introduction to neuroscience—a subject almost never found in the traditional high school curriculum.