Join Dr. Laurie Santos’ high school ambassador program

The Happiness Study Hall

September 2026 – May 2027

Are you a high school student in the US with a passion for mental health and psychology? You might be a great fit for The Happiness Study Hall, our new Ambassador Program for High School Students.

APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED

Deadline August 14.

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What is a Happiness Ambassador?

Happiness ambassadors will join Dr. Laurie Santos and her team at Yale University to learn about the science of well-being and to produce original digital content to share these ideas with online audiences.

As a happiness ambassador, your goal will be to create engaging short-form content about the science of happiness. Through bi-weekly online sessions with Dr. Santos and the Happiness team at Yale, you'll learn how to become a skilled communicator of psychological science, as well as the skills needed to create educational content that inspires change.

If you want to learn more about how to wield social media as a force for positive change in people’s lives, this program might be for you.

Eligibility

Grade 9-12 high school students in the US

Length

2 Semesters

Stipend

$200/semester

How the program works

  • It’s easy! Click Apply, complete the application, and submit it. Applications are due August 14. Decisions will be made on a rolling basis after that.

  • This is a fully remote program that runs from September 2026 through May 2027.

    The program is made up of 2 semester-long segments: 

    • Part 1: Learn Semester (Sep-Dec 2026). During your Learn semester, you’ll complete our course The Science of Well-Being for Teens, accompanied by online lectures and discussions on the material to hone your skills as a well-being “scientist.” You’ll also begin producing videos on all the well-being science that you’ve learned.

    • Part 2: Build Semester (Jan-May 2027). If the Learn semester goes well, you’ll be invited to continue into the Build semester, where you’ll expand on the work you started during the Learn semester, and continue making content, but focus primarily on honing your voice as a science communicator. In other words, you’ll graduate into becoming a well-being “creator.”

  • Every week, you will be required to create one 60-second video about a topic in the science of well-being. 

    Every 2 weeks, you will be required to attend a one-hour live workshop over Zoom with the entire ambassador cohort to workshop your videos—a chance to connect with your fellow ambassadors and dig into special topics in the science of well-being. Workshops will be led by Dr. Santos and her team at Yale University.

    • Earn a $200 stipend per semester.

    • Learn about the science of well-being and how to use these insights to improve your own mental health

    • Learn social media strategy and science communication directly from Dr. Santos’s team at Yale University.

    • Become a scientific communicator and build your own portfolio of strong short-form videos about the science of well-being.

    • Join an exclusive community of like-minded, passionate creators and change makers.

    • Make real impact by bringing evidence-based well-being research to audiences who need it.

What’s required in the application?

  • Record a video that answers the question “What makes you want to be an ambassador?” (30-60 seconds long). This helps us to get to know you better as a person.

  • Record a 30-60 second video that’s related to a specific episode from The Happiness Lab podcast and that shows off the kind of content you’d like to make with us. This helps us to get to know you better as a scientist and creative

  • A one-page resume highlighting your education, experiences, and achievements.

  • The name and email of a teacher, coach, or other official at your school who knows you.

  • Or other video recording device

  • A computer, iPad, or mobile device capable of joining Zoom calls

  • You must be located in the US

Logistical Requirements

FAQs

  • Yes, all ambassadors must be high school students in the US.

  • No, this program does not carry Yale University or high school course credit.

  • We’ll notify you by August 30 about whether your application was accepted.

  • You don’t need past experience with psychology, videography, or social media— though of course it’s a plus if you have that experience already.

  • Yes, and we encourage it. All you need to do is:

    1. Submit your own application

    2. Mention your friend’s name in the appropriate field

    3. Ask your friend to do the same

    You’ll each be considered on your own merit, but we will take it into account that you would like to participate together. To make it super easy, we recommend just texting this link to your friend: drlauriesantos.com/ambassador.

    And remember: people are often happier to hear from you than you expect. :)

  • If you have a question that isn’t answered, contact our team here.

What Next?

Thanks for applying! Applications are now closed and under review, and we’re so grateful for your excitement about the program. Due to a larger number of applications than expected, it’s taking us longer than anticipated to review all your submissions. Here is what to expect:

  1. Early September. We continue review of applications.

  2. By the end of September. We will announce our decisions.

  3. Early/Mid October. The first Zoom session will be held.

Many of you have written to us with excellent questions. We expect you may have more, so we’ve put together an FAQ below.

Applications & Timeline

  • No. Applications are now closed.

  • No. Since we received so many submissions, applications are now closed.

  • No. We will only contact your reference if we have specific questions for them.

  • Your reference will only hear from us if we have specific questions about your application. If that happens, they will hear from us by the end of September.

  • We will email you once we've made our decisions.

  • You will hear about your application before the end of September.

  • Because of the outpouring of enthusiasm we've seen from students, teachers, and parents, we're working on creating another opportunity that will be open to a larger group, including international high school students. Details will be coming soon, but you can stay in the loop through our newsletter.

    (For teachers: in the meantime, check out our free curriculum website, Teaching Happiness.)

If You're Accepted

  • The program will start in October.

  • If you're under 18, we'll ask you to have your parent or guardian complete a consent form for your participation. There may also be some other minor-related paperwork.

  • If you're accepted and you're no longer based in the US or no longer able to complete the program, just let us know.

  • No, applying doesn't commit you to participating. But please tell us soon so we can let someone in off the waitlist. If you do decide to move forward, we'll look forward to working with you!

Program Format

  • The first Zoom call will be in October. Specific date and time TBD.

  • You’ll join a live Zoom with our team. Early zoom sessions will involve going over concepts from Dr. Santos's courses, and workshopping your video content with your peers and our team. Calls will be synchronous and held for one hour every two weeks. We'll schedule them based on participants' availability as much as possible.

  • You'll be required to attend the bi-weekly Zoom sessions and to make a video/post every week, but how long that takes will vary by individual. We're mindful that participants also have schoolwork and other extracurricular activities.

  • No, you won't be required to create your own accounts, though you're welcome to.

Questions?

Apply now!

APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED

Know someone who's a good fit? Email them • Text them