APCS Dissertation Awards

APCS Dissertation Awards

Given numerous cutbacks in grant funding across academia, many APCS member programs have students who now lack resources to complete their dissertation research as planned. These students are the future of clinical science, and so, in the spirit of the Summit on Clinical Science Training (https://www.acadpsychclinicalscience.org/summit.html), APCS is offering up to $2000 per award in funding to support students’ dissertation work. We expect to make at least 15 awards, contingent on fund availability. This award is only for the 2025-2026 academic year and the deadline for submission is 9/1/25. We hope to announce award winners at the end of September.

Priority will be given to students whose research plans were impacted by recent funding changes. Eligibility requirements include being a doctoral graduate student in good academic standing in a member program, enrolled in their doctoral program for the 2025-2026 academic year, and eligible to propose their dissertation. Students who have already proposed are also encouraged to apply.

Students should submit the following:

1. A one-page summary of their dissertation project.
2. A one-paragraph description of how recent funding changes have led to them needing dissertation support.
3. A budget detailing how the requested funds will be spent (applications for less than $2000, when applicable, are encouraged and will result in more awards overall).

If an application is selected, the student will need to provide a letter from their program verifying the student is in good academic standing, has enrolled for the 2025-2026 academic year, and is currently eligible to propose their dissertation. If such a letter cannot be provided, the award will go to a different application.

Students will be required to submit a maximum of 500 word report at the end of the academic year summarizing how the funds were used and the impact the funding made on their dissertation.

Applicants should be aware that this award will be made directly to them, and as such may qualify as taxable income. APCS is not able to grant to individual institutions.

Applications should be sent to APCS.Dissertation.Award@gmail.com and will be judged based on two factors:

1. Relevance to award objectives: Application describes how recent funding changes have impacted their planned research and provides clear rationale for support.
2. Quality of the proposed dissertation: Dissertation proposal is high-quality and advances student’s training trajectory in clinical science.

Reviewers are essential to make this process work! APCS also seeks reviewers for proposals. We seek reviewers with a wide variety of backgrounds from member programs. We have noticed that very few men have volunteered for recent award reviewing: If you like the idea of APCS providing awards like this, please volunteer to review!

Reviewers will be paid an honorarium of $200. Notably, Academy executive committee members reviewing awards will decline the honorarium to avoid an apparent conflict of interest. Exact amount of time required to review will depend on the number of applicants and reviewers, but many hands make light work, and our reviewers for travel awards have not found the process onerous. Instead, they often report that it is a positive experience to see proposals from students. Reviewing will commence shortly after 9/1 and take place over 2-3 weeks.

Potential reviewers should also contact: APCS.Dissertation.Award@gmail.com