2026 Heritage Dissertation Research Award

Apply by April 20, 2026, 11:59 PM PT

Applicants must be graduate students in personality and/or social psychology in good standing with their university. Applicants must be enrolled full-time (or working on their dissertation research for an equivalent of full-time enrollment, regardless of actual registration status).
Applicants must be student members of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology at the time they apply for the award.
Applicants must have had their dissertation proposals approved by their dissertation committees prior to application, with an expected defense date no earlier than December of the application year.
Each department may endorse no more than two (2) students per year for the Heritage Dissertation Research Award. If more than two students from a department wish to apply for these funds, the department should perform an initial screening and choose only two applications for submission.
Applicants must not have previously received a Heritage Dissertation Research Award.
The dissertation research may be in any area of personality or social psychology.

Abstract should be in the tradition of one of the Heritage Awardees, defined very broadly, your abstract should briefly indicate the name of the Heritage nominee that your work follows—2-page maximum (see the SPSP Heritage Wall for the full list).
Curriculum vitae including scientific publications, presentations, research, and teaching experience.
A paragraph describing how the funds will be used to support their research. Funds can be used for research-related expenses such as participant fees, equipment, research supplies, or specialized programming. Funds may NOT be used to purchase a computer, overhead, administrative support, or conference travel.
A letter of recommendation from the applicant's academic advisor is required to complete the application process. Please note that this letter has a maximum length of (1) page, single-spaced. Please communicate to the faculty member who will write your recommendation letter the importance of adhering to this maximum page limit. In addition, please do not submit more than one letter of recommendation; only one will be forwarded for review.
The letter writer will submit their letter online. The letter request will come from the email address <notifications@email.submittable.com>. The letter must also verify the following information:

The applicant is in good standing in their program.
The proposal has been approved by the applicant's committee (or the equivalent designation for the PhD program).
The date by which the student is expected to complete the dissertation.
A statement indicating that the funds are needed to complete the research.

Questions? Please contact awards@spsp.org

We use Submittable to accept and review our submissions.

Continue