High school psychology internship and research fellowship
This high school psychology internship lets students in Grades 9 to 12 study why people do or don’t act on what they believe about the environment, with a mentor who guides the study design. You survey family, neighbours or classmates about waste or energy habits, test one small nudge and write up what changed.
For school students who take IB Psychology, CBSE or ISC Psychology, or MYP Individuals and Societies, and want to run a real study with people. Online, with field work near home and a parent or guardian present at every self-guided activity. The fellowship is paid because every student receives time and attention from senior researchers and leaders.
Why psychology matters for sustainability
Every home throws away waste each day. Many people know that wet and dry waste should go in separate bins, yet they still use one bin for everything. Psychology asks why people act against what they believe. It studies how habits and the example of neighbours shape what we do, and it tests small changes, such as a clearer label on a bin, to see whether people follow through.
Earth5R trains residents and housing staff on waste segregation and composting, and some of the housing societies it works with have gone zero waste with their own composting units. Its teams also run door-to-door household surveys and record the answers on the Earth5R app. As a fellow you design a small study of this kind with your mentor and test one idea in your home, building or school.
This work links to the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 12, Responsible consumption and production and Goal 13, Climate action.
Available projects in this high school psychology internship
Each project fits around school work and takes place near home. Your mentor shapes the final project with you.
Why bins stay mixed at home
Survey families in your building about how they sort waste, then compare their answers with a simple count of sorted and mixed bags at the bin area over two weeks.
Test a nudge in your building
With the housing society’s permission, put up a clear picture label or a reminder note near the bins, and measure whether sorting improves compared with the weeks before.
Energy habits at home
Study how your family uses lights, fans and air conditioning, then try a simple reminder card and compare electricity meter readings from before and after the change.
Litter and what students believe
Survey classmates about littering and their reasons, then count litter in the school grounds before and after a poster campaign you design with your mentor.
What you do in the field
- Learn the basics of habits and nudges with your mentor
- Write a short survey with clear consent steps
- Collect answers from family, neighbours or classmates
- Run a before-and-after test of one small change
- Enter your results in a spreadsheet and make simple charts
- Present your study in a research conversation and answer questions
Skills you build
On a high school psychology internship, you collect your own data near home with a parent or guardian, using the Earth5R app and data forms. Earth5R checks the data on its platform before it goes into your project report.
How a high school psychology internship fits your school programme
For IB, IGCSE, CBSE and ICSE students. Your school decides what counts towards its own requirements.
IB CAS
A nudge campaign in your building or school can form a CAS project with a service element. Your CAS coordinator decides whether it fits your plan.
Extended Essay and IA
A psychology Extended Essay or IA needs a focused question and a careful method. Your study gives you practice in both, and your school decides how it can be used.
MYP, IGCSE and CBSE projects
A study of waste or energy habits fits the MYP Personal Project, IGCSE Global Perspectives and project work in CBSE or ISC Psychology.
University applications
A study you designed and wrote up yourself gives you something specific to discuss in a psychology personal statement or interview.
How the high school psychology internship works
Every student moves through four phases. Your mentor checks each phase before you move on, and sessions pause during board exams.
Observe and Map
Go into the field near home, with a parent or guardian, and collect primary data for your project in Psychology.
Frame and Design
Find the root cause in your data and frame a problem worth solving, with your mentor.
Model
Build a working model, analysis or design for your solution, and test it.
Build and Deploy
Put your solution to work, measure the result and publish a verified record on earth5r.org.
Along the way you take part in research conversations with professors at MIT, Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and other universities, and ask your own questions. See how FIELDWORK works.
Where this can take you
University courses this leads to
- BA or BSc in Psychology
- BSc in Psychological and Behavioural Sciences
- BSc in Cognitive Science
- BSc in Neuroscience
- Joint degrees in Psychology with Economics or Sociology
Careers in this field
- Psychologist or counsellor
- Behavioural insights researcher
- User experience researcher
- Organisational psychologist
- Behaviour change specialist in sustainability programmes
Universities to aim for in Psychology
Psychology admissions tutors look for students who understand how a study is designed and why ethics matter when working with people. A high school psychology internship with FIELDWORK gives you a study you ran yourself, a report your mentor reviewed and a verified record on earth5r.org. Students use a high school psychology internship to build a record of real work for applications to universities like these.
USA · Department of Psychology
Stanford undergraduates can take a major, minor or honours in psychology, which the department sums up as understanding human behaviour through scientific methods. Faculty work across affective science, cognitive, developmental, neuroscience and social psychology, on topics that range from decision science to culture and self-regulation.
USA · Department of Psychology
Harvard undergraduates can choose psychology as their concentration and take courses taught across the department. Its research is organised into programmes in Cognition, Brain, & Behavior, Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology and Clinical Science, which also train the department’s graduate students.
University of California, Berkeley
USA · Department of Psychology
Berkeley’s Department of Psychology teaches an undergraduate major and minor, with its own academic advising for students. Its research areas are behavioural and systems neuroscience, clinical science, cognition, cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology and social-personality psychology.
University College London (UCL)
UK · Division of Psychology and Language Sciences (PaLS)
UCL’s Division of Psychology and Language Sciences teaches the Psychology BSc, starting with research methods, statistics and data analysis in R and ending with a research project. The division names climate change among the challenges its work addresses, and it hosts the UCL Centre for Behaviour Change.
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
UK · Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science
School leavers can join LSE’s Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science on its BSc Psychological and Behavioural Science. The department runs the LSE Behavioural Lab for research on behavioural insights, and its MSc Societal and Environmental Psychology applies psychology to making society and businesses sustainable.
UK · Department of Experimental Psychology
Oxford teaches psychology as a laboratory science, with plenty of practical experiments, through the Experimental Psychology degree or the Psychology, Philosophy and Linguistics programme. The department’s research themes include social minds, mental health and wellbeing, and development and learning across the lifespan.
UK · Department of Psychology
Cambridge undergraduates study psychology through the Psychological and Behavioural Sciences Tripos, taught in the Department of Psychology. Its research groups include the Centre for Family Research, the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab and the Cambridge Political Psychology Lab, and its facilities include the Cambridge Babylab.
Netherlands · Psychology, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
The University of Amsterdam teaches a full-time Psychology bachelor’s in English, where students choose a specialisation and can add a second. Research runs through programme groups from brain and cognition to work and organisational psychology, with affiliated centres such as the Centre for Urban Mental Health.
Canada · Department of Psychology
Toronto’s Department of Psychology offers Specialist, Research Specialist and Major programmes in the Faculty of Arts & Science. Courses cover development and clinical science, learning and the brain, and research methods. Psychology students can also apply for an Environment & Behaviour Minor shared with the School of the Environment.
Australia · School of Psychology
UQ’s School of Psychology teaches the Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) and psychology majors in the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science, with sequences accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council. Its research groups include the Social Change Lab and the Applied Social Psychology Lab.
This list is for guidance. These universities offer undergraduate study in Psychology. Earth5R has no admissions arrangement with them, and admission decisions rest with each university. Students get help researching universities, scholarships and applications, depending on the programme.
What your fellowship fee pays for
An internship fellowship at Earth5R is time and attention from senior researchers and leaders. Each part below takes staff time and resources that we set aside for every fellow.
Live mentoring with experts
One-to-one mentoring in most fellowships, with regular check-ins on your project.
Dialogues with global researchers
Academics from international universities and renowned scientists, who answer your questions and discuss your work.
Support in the field
Guidance while you collect data and work on your project in the field.
References for your next step
References when you apply for jobs, higher studies and research programmes.
Your work, hosted for life
Your work and data stay on Earth5R’s website and servers for life, where universities and employers can check them.
Time from senior people
Each fellow receives time and attention from senior researchers and leaders, set aside for them.
Fee details available on request.
Choose your fellowship
The Multi-Year Fellowship can run from Grade 9 to Grade 12, with more scope each year.
The fee pays for live mentoring, dialogues with global researchers, support in the field, references and lifelong hosting of your work. Fee details available on request.
High school psychology internship: common questions
Can I join this high school psychology internship if my school doesn’t offer psychology?
Yes. Your mentor introduces the basics of study design and consent step by step. Students who already take IB, CBSE or ISC Psychology can go further with their method and analysis.
Will my child collect personal information from people?
Only what the study needs, such as answers to a few questions about habits. Each person agrees to take part, names stay out of the report, and the mentor checks every survey before it is used.
What if my nudge doesn’t change anything?
That is still a result worth reporting. A clear write-up of what you tried and what happened helps others plan better studies. Your mentor helps you work out possible reasons and what you could test next.
Is the high school psychology internship paid?
Yes. FIELDWORK is a paid, mentored programme. The fee pays for live mentoring, dialogues with global researchers, support in the field, references and lifelong hosting of your work. Fee details are available on request.
Can my child do this high school psychology internship online?
Yes. Mentoring sessions run online, and field work takes place near where you live.
Is a parent or guardian present during field work?
Yes. A parent or guardian is present at every self-guided field activity. Online sessions are for students.
Does FIELDWORK pause during board exams?
Yes. Sessions pause during board exams, so the fellowship fits around school work.
What do students get at the end?
A certificate, a letter of recommendation, a project report and a verified profile on earth5r.org, where universities can check the work.
Related subjects for school students
Already at university? See the Psychology internship fellowship for university students.
Apply for a FIELDWORK fellowship in Psychology
This high school psychology internship is for students in Grades 9 to 12. Work on a live Earth5R project with a mentor, take part in research conversations with global researchers, and build a verified record of your work. Fee details available on request.
