Money Matters

Finding funding

Tap APA’s resources, state psychological associations and other funding sources to give your research a boost.

By Lea Winerman

gradPSYCH Staff

One hundred dollar bills
One hundred dollar bills

You have a brilliant research idea--now you just need the money to get it off the ground. Or maybe you've completed your dissertation and you think it deserves recognition. Give your career a boost by applying for one of the following research awards and grants.

APA, APAGS OFFERINGS

APA's Science Directorate offers several awards. The 2007 APA Student Travel Award will provide $300 to up to 100 students who are members of the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) and first authors of research papers or posters to travel to APA's 2007 Annual Convention in San Francisco, Aug. 17-20, to present their research. For more information, visit APA Travel Award after Jan. 1.

The directorate also sponsors an annual competition for dissertation research funding. The Dissertation Research Award program provides 30 to 40 grants of $1,000 each, along with several $5,000 grants, to students whose dissertation research reflects excellence in scientific psychology. The deadline is Sept. 15 each year. For more information, go to APA Dissertation Award.

APAGS offers several scholarships, also listed at www.apa.org/apags. They include:

  • The Ellin Bloch and Pierre Ritchie Honorary Scholarship of$1,000 to doctoral students studying an important social issue or an underrepresented group in psychology. The 2007 scholarship topic will be announced later this year.

  • The Scott Mesh Honorary Scholarship for Research in Psychology of $1,000 to support dissertation research leading to a psychology doctoral degree.

  • The Nancy B. Forest and L. Michael Honaker Master's Scholarship for Research in Psychology of $1,000 to fund thesis research in psychology at the master's level.

  • The Diversity Dissertation Scholarship of $1,000 to support proposed or nearly completed dissertation research.

  • The David Pilon Scholarship for Training in Professional Psychology of $1,000 to promote supplemental training and educational experiences in professional practice. The scholarship is designed to be used for a specific training program or opportunity.

  • The APAGS-LGBT Dissertation Scholarship of $1,000 for proposed research addressing the unique concerns facing lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) individuals.

The application deadline for all APAGS scholarships is May 1, 2007.

In addition, APAGS and APA's Board of Professional Affairs offer the $1,000 APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology to a graduate student who has shown exemplary performance in working with an underserved population in an applied setting or has developed an innovative method for delivering health services to an underserved population. The awardee will present at APA's 2008 Annual Convention in Boston, Aug. 14-17, and will receive a waiver of convention registration fees and up to $1,000 for convention-related expenses. The application deadline is June 1, 2007.

DIVISION DIVIDENDS

Many of APA's divisions offer dissertation awards, poster awards, travel grants and other opportunities. Several are listed below; to find others check out the division awards page or individual divisions' Web sites.

  • Div. 20 (Adult Development and Aging) offers awards for completed research at the master's ($300), doctoral ($400) and postdoctoral ($500) levels. The division also offers grants for proposed research at the master's ($750), doctoral ($1,250) and postdoctoral ($1,500) levels. For more information, go to http://apadiv20.phhp.ufl.edu/stuaward.htm.

  • Div. 25 (Behavior Analysis) provides two dissertation awards, one for basic and one for applied research in behavior analysis. The awards include a monetary prize, a one-year membership in APA and the division, and the chance to present the research at APA's Annual Convention. The division pays the winners' convention registration fees and subsidizes a portion of travel costs. For more information, visit www.auburn.edu/~newlamc/apa_div25/awards.htm.

  • Div. 40 (Clinical Neuro-psychology) offers five awards for papers presented at APA's Annual Convention. Each includes a $500 prize to help defray the cost of attending the meeting. The awards include a student Blue Ribbon Award, an award for the Best Student Paper in Applied Neuropsychology, an award for the Best Student Paper in Cognitive Neuroscience and two awards for Best Student Papers submitted by female or underrepresented minority students. Div. 40, along with the American Psychological Foundation, also offers two $2,500 Benton-Meier Scholarships for graduate students who show great promise or achievement in scholarly or research activity. For more information, go to www.div40.org.

  • Div. 53 (Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology) offers the Grants for Research in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, two awards of up to $2,500 each for doctoral students enrolled in clinical psychology training programs and one $5,000 grant for a postdoctoral fellow. The grants fund empirical studies on methods of assessment, prevention or treatment, or on issues related to the psychopathology of children or adolescents. Applicants must be planning academic careers in child and adolescent mental health. The application deadline is March 1, 2007. For more information, visit www.clinicalchildpsychology.com.

STATE SPONSORS

Don't forget to check your state psychological association: It may be another source of funding. To find your state association information, visit Find State Association. Some examples of student awards include:

  • The Texas Psychological Association offers several awards to students enrolled in Texas colleges and universities. These include four awards for completed research: The $1,500 Roy Scrivner Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Issues Research Award, the $1,500 Bo and Sally Family Psychology Research Award, the $500 Alexander Psychobiology/Psychophysiology Award and the $500 Manuel Ramirez Dissertation Award for research related to ethnic-minority psychology. Applications are due by mid-August each year.

The association also offers a $1,000 award to fund proposed graduate student research in psychotherapy. Applications are due in mid-August.

Finally, the association offers a new award this year, the Jennifer Ann Crecente Memorial Grant, which will provide a $5,000 stipend to a graduate student whose research would contribute to understanding the causes and prevention of violence against women. For more information, visit www.texaspsyc.org.

  • The Wisconsin Psychological Association offers up to six Margaret Bernauer Psychology Research Awards of $100 to $500 for research posters presented by students during the association's annual convention. For more information, go to www.wipsychology.org.

  • The California Psychological Association Foundation provides three $2,000 scholarships for minority graduate students enrolled in psychology programs in California. For more information, visit http://fdncenter.org/grantmaker/cpaf/scholarship.html.