APAGS/Psi Chi Junior Scientist Fellowship

APAGS and Psi Chi are committed to promoting psychological science and the needs of research-oriented students. The Junior Scientist Fellowship provides support for students entering their first year, or the first semester of their second year, of a research-oriented graduate program.

Intent

The intent of the Junior Scientist Fellowship is twofold: to recognize outstanding research-oriented students who are entering their first year (or first semester of second year) of graduate study and to help them begin successful research programs/projects. Students in research-based psychology and neuroscience graduate programs are eligible to apply.(see the eligibility section for further information.)

To provide written feedback to applicants. Many students apply for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship(eligibility requirements for the NSF fellowship) without previous experience applying for a research fellowship. It is our intent to provide feedback to strengthen their NSF graduate fellowship application.

Funds

This fellowship provides $1,000 that must be used to support direct research costs. These funds can be used to pay participants, purchase essential equipment or software, acquire books or instruction manuals critical to one's line of research, or for other direct research costs. The funds cannot be used for indirect costs such as salary/stipend, travel, personal computers, or class textbooks.

The funds can be used in a student's first year (or second year, if submitting in the summer following one's first year) of graduate school for projects other than the one discussed in the graduate research plan statement for this application.

Eligibility Checklist

• Be a student entering their first or second year at a research-based psychology or neuroscience graduate program. This means the student has not completed more than 1 academic year in a graduate degree-granting program, unless returning to graduate study after an interruption of 2 or more consecutive years immediately preceding the application deadline.
• Be both a current member of APA (as a student affiliate or other category) and a member of Psi Chi.
• Students entering their first year of graduate school must have joined Psi Chi as an undergraduate.
• Students entering their second year of graduate school may have joined Psi Chi as undergraduates or during their second semester of graduate school.
• Note: Membership in Psi Chi is lifelong, which means that graduate students do not currently need to be at a university that has a Psi Chi chapter if they were previously inducted as an undergraduate.
• Have never earned a master’s, doctoral, or professional degree in any field
• Have never been awarded the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship.
Have never been an APAGS committee/subcommittee member, subcommittee chair or task force chair
• Have never reviewed for the JSF (e.g., as an ad-hoc reviewer)

Students anywhere in the world are eligible provided they meet the above criteria.

Note: APA awards and grants may be subject to U.S. federal income tax withholding. Winners will need to complete either IRS form W-9 or IRS form W-8 BEN before a check can be issued.

How To Apply

Each application must include all of the following materials:

1. Personal, Relevant Background and Future Goals Statement:

   Includes professionally relevant background information about the applicant, why the applicant believes they should be awarded the fellowship, the applicant's future career goals, and how graduate school will prepare the applicant for future contribution to science and society. This statement should not exceed three (3) single-spaced pages and any references, figures, tables, or appendices must fit within the page limits.

2. Graduate Research Plan Statement:

   This statement includes two major components: previous research experience and future directions.

   • The previous research experience component should demonstrate an understanding of prior research conducted, highlight one's skills and illustrate current development as a scientist.
   • The future directions component can include either a formal proposal for a specific research project or may more generally address the future direction of one's research. This statement should not exceed two (2) single-spaced pages and any references, figures, tables, or appendices must fit within the page limits.

3. Letter of Recommendation:

   The reference letter should include comments on the applicant's potential for contributing to a globally-engaged science and engineering workforce, statements about the applicant's academic potential and prior research experiences, statements about the applicant's proposed research, and any other information to enable reviewers to evaluate the application according to the NSF Merit Review Criteria.
   
   This letter can come from either your undergraduate or graduate research advisor and should not exceed two (2) single-spaced pages.

   General Formatting Requirements for Both Statements:

   • Please include your Psi Chi member number at the end of both statements
   • If you have forgotten your Psi Chi member number, it can be accessed by contacting Psi Chi. Visit the Psi Chi email page if you have forgotten your username or password.
   • 12-point, Times New Roman font
   • 1-inch margins on all sides
   • 10-point font may be used for references, footnotes, figure captions, and text within figures
   • Any references, figures, tables, or appendices must fit within the page limits
   • Do not provide links to web pages within the application, except for reference page DOI links
   • Aside from your Psi Chi member number, do not include any identifying information (i.e., name, institution) in either statement

   Upload instructions

   1. Each statement should be uploaded as a separate PDF file with the following naming structure:
   • Personal, Relevant Background and Future Goals Statement: “JSFPBFSYour Psi Chi Number.pdf”
   • Graduate Research Plan Statement: “JSFGRPSYour Psi Chi Number.pdf”
   2. The Letter of Recommendation must be provided directly by your referee. By entering the email address of your referee directly through the online application, the system will automatically send a reference request on your behalf. This letter may be a PDF or Word file.

   Failure to comply fully with the above requirements will result in the application being rejected without review.

   Review Criteria

   All materials will be assessed according to NSF's intellectual merit and broader impacts criteria.

   Submissions

   Submit your application through the online portal. Applications will not be accepted by any other means (e.g., email).
   
   The online system will close at 11:59 p.m. ET on July 14th, 2024. All application materials, including the letter of recommendation, must be submitted by that time. Late applications will not be reviewed.
   
   All applicants will be notified of their status in early September.

This grant provides support for graduate students conducting psychological science research studies, with additional funding reserved specifically for diversity-focused research.

Description

The intent of this grant is to fund innovative psychological science research projects. Graduate students in all fields of psychology and neuroscience, and who are APAGS members, are eligible to apply. This grant provides $1,000 that must be used to support direct research costs. These funds can be used to pay participants, purchase essential equipment or software, acquire books or instruction manuals critical to one's line of research, or for other direct research costs. The funds cannot be used for indirect costs such as salary/stipend, travel, personal computers, or class textbooks.

Beyond the $9,000 we have allocated for this program, up to three additional grants for $1,000 will be awarded for innovative psychological science research projects specifically related to diversity. APAGS defines diversity according to APA’s Multicultural Guidelines (2017):

Diversity is “most often associated with a recognition of a range of identities and personal attributes, across the population of individuals inhabiting a particular setting or environment…To be diverse is to be made up of a broad range of individuals representing the multitude of races, creeds, religious or social identifiers, or genders that comprise humanity (or the array of potential identifiers associated with an attribute of nature). It is strongly associated with the concepts of difference, tolerance, and multicultural engagement.”

For the purposes of this grant, proposing a diverse participant sample is not sufficient criteria alone for making an innovative and significant contribution to psychological research. The candidate should discuss/justify in their proposal how this project promotes diversity (See “How to Apply” for how to submit the Diversity Supplement).

Named awards

The APAGS grant program would not be possible without the advocacy of allied psychologists and supporters over the years. Some winners of this grant will receive a named award as follows:

• The APAGS Ellin Bloch Psychological Science Research Grant
• The APAGS Kenneth and Mamie Clark Psychological Science Research Grant
• The APAGS Nancy B. Forest Psychological Science Research Grant
• The APAGS L. Michael Honaker Psychological Science Research Grant
• The APAGS Scott Mesh Psychological Science Research Grant
• The APAGS David Pilon Psychological Science Research Grant
• The APAGS Pierre Ritchie Psychological Science Research Grant
• The APAGS Carol Williams-Nickelson Psychological Science Research Grant

Eligibility

At the time of the application deadline, applicants must meet each of the following requirements:

• Be currently enrolled at least half time as a graduate student in good standing at a regionally accredited university
• Be a graduate student member of APA, which automatically includes membership in the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS)
• Have sufficient time left in their graduate program to complete the proposed project prior to degree conferral
• The following individuals are not eligible to receive this grant:
• Undergraduate students (Note: Graduate students who previously joined APA as undergraduate student affiliates or associate members must ensure that their status has been changed to graduate student affiliate)
• Current or former APAGS committee members, subcommittee chairs, and task force chairs
• Former APAGS subcommittee members or ad hoc reviewers who have previously reviewed this grant
• Those who have received this grant within the last five years

APA awards and grants may be subject to U.S. federal income tax withholding. Winners will need to complete either IRS form W-9 or IRS form W-8 BEN before a check can be issued.

How to Apply

Applications will open on our online submission portal approximately one month before the submission deadline. In addition to completing an application form, applicants will be instructed to upload the following document(s):

1. An abbreviated research proposal that meets the following guidelines:
• No more than three single-spaced pages with 12-point Times New Roman font and 1-inch margins
• Includes specific aim(s)/purpose, background, significance, proposed research methodology, limitations and implications of proposed research, and a detailed budget
• If the proposed project is receiving funding from another mechanism, the detailed budget must include what those funds are covering and why the additional funds are needed (Note: Projects receiving external funds are permitted, given that the budget is justified)
• Figures, tables, and appendices are permitted but must fit within the three-page limit
• A references section may be included on a separate page and does not count against the three-page limit
• The research proposal will be evaluated based upon the quality of the background/introduction, project motivation/rationale, proposed methodology, feasibility, and theoretical implications/overall merit.
2. For applicants wishing to be considered for the diversity-earmarked funding, please include an additional statement that meets the following guidelines:
• On a separate page from the research proposal
• No more than 250 words
• Explains (1) how this research applies to one or more areas of diversity, and (2) how the overall merit and broader implications of this study contribute to our psychological understanding of diversity
• Note: Applications that are not selected for diversity-earmarked funding will still be considered in the general pool of applicants for this grant
3. Please submit all materials, if applicable, in a single PDF file in the order listed above. Please name the file “APA Membership_Number_PSRG_2024”. Aside from your APA member number, do not include any identifying information (I.e., name, institution) in your statement(s)". For instructions on how to merge multiple files into a single PDF, click here.

The online submission portal will close at 11:59 p.m. ET on January 31, 2024. Applications that are submitted through means other than the online submission portal, or that do not follow the formatting requirements above, will not be reviewed. All applicants will be notified of their status in March 2024.