The Police and Public Safety Section of Division 18 will confer two Dissertation Grants in support of scientific research and scholarship that is relevant to the study of public safety psychology in the amount of $750 each. Students who have submitted dissertation proposals involving basic or applied research in public safety psychology are encouraged to apply for these grants.
Deadline: May 15, 2025
Amount: $750
Sponsors: PPSP Section
To be eligible to receive a grant, you must be a member of Division 18, be enrolled in an APA-accredited Clinical or Counseling Psychology Doctoral Program and have defended your dissertation proposal by the application due date of May 15, 2025. We anticipate that winners will be announced at or by the time of APA 2025.
1) Diversity-focused Grant:
The dissertation includes research focused on traditionally underrepresented groups (race, ethnicity, gender, culture, sexual orientation) and disparities (e.g. disparate impact, ADA, etc.) in psychological research in the field of public safety psychology and/or the researcher is from an underrepresented group. If you wish to be considered for the diversity-earmarked funding, you must upload a separate document limited to 250 words that explains
(a) how this research applies to one or more areas of diversity, and
(b) how the overall merit and broader implications of this study contribute to our psychological understanding of diversity. To be eligible for funding, your document must be titled “LAST NAME DIVERSITY SUPPLEMENT” and uploaded as a PDF. If your application is not selected for diversity-earmarked funding, you will still be considered in the general pool of applicants for this grant.
2) General Public Safety Psychology Grant:
Originality and Advancement: The dissertation is an original work that is grounded in research, based on sound scientific methodology, psychometrically strong measures, and expands upon the existing knowledge base with forward-thinking hypotheses and rationale.
Quality and Clarity: The dissertation reflects high-quality, well-reasoned, and thorough qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-method study design.
Contribution to the Field of Public Safety Psychology: The dissertation makes a significant contribution to the expansion of knowledge and depth of the field of public safety psychology.
Copy of Dissertation Proposal: Provide a copy of the approved dissertation proposal as it was submitted to the college or university (in either Word or PDF format) with author, advisor/mentor, committee members, and school identifying information removed.
Introductory Statement (De-Identified) to include the following (not to exceed two pages):
Description of Dissertation Topic: Explain the reasons behind the choice of the dissertation topic and the development of the project.
Description of how Funds will be used: for example, conference attendance, stipends for research participation, supplies, software, training, etc.
Involvement in Project Process: Describe student’s involvement in all stages including conceptualization, methodology, research design, data analysis, and interpretation of findings.
Meets Scoring Criteria: Describe how the proposed dissertation captures each of the scoring criteria.
Email application material to: ppsp@publicservicepsych.org
