F.J. McGuigan Dissertation Award
Forecasted
F.J. McGuigan Dissertation Award supports graduate students’ research on cognition, affect, and motivation to advance understanding of mental function from behavioral and neural perspectives.
Funder: American Psychological Foundation
Due Dates (Anticipated): March 2027 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: One $2,000 award; funding lasts up to 12 months from the check date
Summary: Supports dissertation research on mental function, including cognition, affect, and motivation, from behavioral and neural perspectives.
Key Information: Applicants must have completed doctoral candidacy and received doctoral committee approval of their dissertation.
Description
The American Psychological Foundation’s F.J. McGuigan Dissertation Award supports graduate students conducting dissertation research on mental function. The program seeks to understand the mind from both behavioral and neural perspectives, including research on cognition, affect, and motivation. Proposed work may fall within any area of contemporary behavioral or brain science, including newer forms of cognitive psychology, provided it is compatible with McGuigan’s overall goals.
The award emphasizes research quality, viability, potential impact, originality, and contribution to the field. Supported projects have examined social proximity seeking as a neurobehavioral mechanism of health, neural mechanisms of adolescent prosocial behavior, neural stimulation for schizophrenia, and subtypes of alexithymia. Dualistic approaches characteristic of much contemporary cognitive research are specifically ineligible.
