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 1st year or the first semester of their 2nd year of a research-oriented graduate program.
Intent
The intent of the Junior Scientist Fellowship is two-fold: to provide funding for a 1st-year or 2nd-year graduate-level project and to provide constructive feedback to select applicants to increase their chances of achieving success on a future National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship application.
The primary intent is to recognize outstanding research-oriented students who are entering their 1st year (or first semester of 2nd year) of graduate study and to help them get their research off the ground. Graduate students from research-based psychology and neuroscience programs are eligible to apply.
The second intent of this fellowship is to provide written feedback to select applicants. Many students apply for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (eligibility requirements for the NSF fellowship) without ever having applied for a research fellowship. It is our intent to provide feedback to select applicants so that they can use that feedback to strengthen their NSF graduate fellowship application.
Funds
Funds for this $1,000 fellowship 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, pay fees to publish at open-access journals, or for any other direct research cost. The funds cannot be used for indirect costs such as travel, personal computer, or class textbooks. The funds can be used for any direct research costs in a student's 1st year (or 2nd year, if submitting in the summer prior to one's 2nd year) of graduate school and do not need to be limited to the research discussed in the Research Essay.
Eligibility
This grant is available only to students who are entering their 1st year or the first semester of their 2nd year of a research-oriented masters or doctoral program in Fall 2011. Students entering into programs with a practice component are eligible but should describe their graduate-level research intentions in the Personal Statement Essay. To be eligible, one must be a member of APAGS and a member of Psi Chi. This means that 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 as undergraduates or during their second semester of graduate school.
Required Materials
1. Title page
Title page that includes the name of the fellowship for which you are applying, your contact information (name, mailing address, phone number, email), name of both undergraduate and graduate school universities, year in graduate school as of Fall 2011 (i.e., 1st or 2nd year), general area of graduate research, APA membership number, and full name/email of your graduate-level research advisor.
2. Personal Statement Essay
Includes background information about the applicant, why the applicant believes she or he should be awarded the fellowship, and the applicant's future career goals. This essay should not exceed one page (single spaced) and will be assessed according to NSF's intellectual merit and broader impacts criteria.
3. Research Essay
This essay 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 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. The research essay must not exceed 3 pages (single spaced) and any references, figures, tables, or appendices must fit within the page limits. The research essay will be assessed according to NSF's intellectual merit and broader impacts criteria.
4. Letter of Recommendation
This letter can come from either your undergraduate or graduate advisor. It should address your qualifications and promise as a scientist, and is not to exceed two pages (single spaced).
5. (Optional) Curriculum vitae (CV)
Students have the option of submitting a brief CV (not to exceed two pages, single spaced). See this Psychology Today article for a description of how to compose a CV and to see examples.
All materials (title page, personal statement, research essay, letter of recommendation) must be submitted for an application to be considered. A CV is optional. Any application that exceeds the page limits for any of the essays or materials will not be scored or be eligible to receive feedback. Applications should also use size-12 Times New Roman font and include margins of at least 1 inch. Award decisions will be made in early September.
If you are not an APAGS member at the time of submission, you may send a copy of the receipt you receive when you join APAGS/APA electronically as proof of membership.
You may submit materials electronically or by mail.
