Summer Neuroscience Program

Spend your summer with us!

  • Receive a full-time stipend, plus money for your Duke lab
  • Build critical soft skills for life after Duke
  • Work one-on-one with faculty to jump-start your research
summer neuro program group

 

Duke's Summer Neuroscience Program (SNP) is an 8-week summer program enabling enrolled Duke students to conduct full-time research (sorry, we cannot accept visiting students from other institutions). While this program assists rising juniors and rising seniors in preparing for their potential Graduation with Distinction thesis, SNP also welcomes early career students to explore research opportunities. Students with no prior Research Independent Study course credit are welcome to apply.

Full-time (40 hrs per week) participants receive a $5,000 stipend, and mentors receive $1,000 towards their discretionary fund. Students may also elect to take one summer school course during term I or II. Students enrolled in a summer session course concurrently will receive half the stipend and their mentor will receive $500. 

Students are responsible for identifying and connecting with a faculty member conducting Neuroscience research who is willing to mentor in a research project. Once a potential mentor is identified, the student will need to collaborate with them to draft a project proposal and complete and submit an SNP application.

SNP does not match students up with mentors or labs. It will be each student's responsibility to locate a mentor willing to support them throughout the summer, and, potentially, beyond the summer into Research Independent Study course credit in the following academic year. For those needing assistance in exploring possible mentors, please refer to this website. Additionally, other faculty options may be available here.

Questions? Contact Tyler Lee at tyler.lee@duke.edu Please DO NOT fill out the form to just see what is being asked and then write to Tyler to delete the submission; doing so will make you ineligible for SNP 2025. We recommend that you draft the elements of the application in a separate text document, following the outline below, and then copy and paste the required elements from that text document into the Qualtrics-based application when you're ready to complete the application.

Only open to Duke undergraduates. Link to application here.

Important dates:

  • Applications for Summer Neuroscience Program will go live Dec. 13th, 2024
  • February 7th, 2025 at 11:59pm applications close
  • Mid-March 2025 Acceptance notifications out (at the latest)
  • Pending funding, the program is slated to run June 2nd-July 25th, 2025

Application requires:

  • Personal Information:
    • Name
    • Duke email address
    • Expected graduation (e.g., Spring 2026)
  • Mentor's name, department, and Duke email address
  • Short Essays (1k characters max each one): 
    • What drew the student to the program initially and how will they benefit 
    • Previous research experiences, including any prior to Duke
    • Postgrad or future career goals 
    • Research objectives in program, including experimental questions and techniques
  • Future plans:
    • Anticipating Graduation with Distinction
    • Plans for further Research Independent Study involvement