Grants in Aid for Graduate Students

1. Awards are limited to current graduate students who are active student affiliate members of AP-LS (Membership Information).
2. Applicants may submit only one application (either AP-LS Grants in Aid for Graduate Students or Grant in Aid for Graduate Students MacArthur Award) per funding cycle.
3. Research projects identified in proposals should request funding needed to complete future or early active research projects. Proposed funding requests for reimbursement of past research expenses of completed projects are not eligible.
4. Research projects identified in proposals are required to have active ethical approval from the host research institution(s) before the submission deadline. Proof of ethical (IRB) approval must be submitted along with the proposal document for an application to be deemed complete and eligible for review by the Grants in Aid Committee. Any proposed research project without notification of ethical approval before the submission deadline will be considered ineligible for the award.
5. The maximum for any individual award is set at $1,000. Any requests for funding beyond $1,000 will not be considered. Proposed research projects with an anticipated budget of over $1,000 should identify within the proposal the plan for covering the remaining costs to demonstrate that the research is feasible
6. Applicants who previously submitted a Grant in Aid proposal that was not selected for funding are permitted to revise and resubmit their proposal for consideration during the next funding cycle.
7. Applicants who previously received Grants in Aid funding from the committee are eligible to apply for the award again to fund a new research project provided that the research from the previous award has been completed. Past award winners must include an abstract (200 words or less) in their proposal application that succinctly summarizes the previous research funded by the award.

Interested individuals should submit a complete award application via email to the Grants in Aid Committee chair by 11:59 p.m. PST on the date of the identified submission deadline, Sept. 30 or Jan. 31.

A complete Grant in Aid application includes:

1. A short grant proposal (see proposal instructions and guidelines below).
2. Documentation of active IRB approval status for the proposed research project from the host research institution(s).
3. Completed appropriate tax form: W-9 tax form (PDF, 110KB) for U.S. citizens and W-8BEN tax form (PDF, 91KB) for international students.

Proposal Instructions and Guidelines

Applicants are to provide a short grant proposal (a maximum of 1,500 words excluding abstract and references) that includes:

• A cover sheet indicating the title of the project, name, address, phone number and email address of the investigator.
• An abstract of 100 words or less summarizing the project.
• Project background that reviews purpose, theoretical rationale and significance of the project.
• Project method that provides a detailed description of the project’s participants, design, materials and/or procedures to be employed.
• Budget and justification that identifies the specific amount requested, including a detailed project budget and justification for expenses as needed.
• References.

Proposal documents should be formatted according to the "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association," Sixth Edition, and submitted in an electronic format (preferably MS Word or PDF).

Applicants who previously received Grants in Aid funding from the committee must include an additional abstract (200 words or less) in their proposal application that succinctly summarizes the previous research funded by the award.

Budget items typically funded include (but are not limited to) payment of subjects, photocopying, purchase of testing materials, software not typically provided via universities and electronic media. The committee does not typically provide funds for computers (though peripherals may be funded), office supplies and furniture (e.g., file cabinets), mileage, paying research assistants and software or equipment typically available within universities. Conference and other travel costs are not funded.

Proposed research projects with an anticipated budget of over $1,000 should explain in the budget how these additional project costs intend to be covered. Projects requesting funding for payment of subjects should provide appropriate justification for both the number of participants being requested (e.g., a power analysis) and the amount of compensation being awarded for each participant. Projects requesting funding for payment of subjects from online sources (MTurk, Qualtrics panels, etc.) should provide justification for the amount of compensation being provided to subjects and account for any overhead costs charged by the site for using their services within the budget.

The Grants in Aid Committee with review and evaluate your project proposal based on the following criteria:

• Relevancy: The proposed research clearly addresses practice, research and/or public policy directly relevant to the field of psychology and law.
• Innovation: The proposed research addresses novel research question(s) and/or employs unique or creative research methodology.
• Methodology: The proposed research provides a complete and clear description of the sample, design and procedure to be employed that demonstrates a sound research strategy appropriate to answer the research question(s).
• Feasibility of Project: Research can realistically be completed by student as outlined in the proposal based on the planned cost, time, sample accessibility, materials, supports and perception of applicant’s research training and abilities.
• Budget: Requested budget items are critical to the completion of the project, clearly detailed and justified and within the scope of the identified items above traditionally funded by the Grant in Aid.

Strong proposals will clearly articulate and support the relevancy, innovation, methodology and feasibility of the research within the background and method of the proposal.