Funder: American Psychological Foundation
Due Dates: November 1, 2026 (Applications open) | June 4, 2027 (Application deadline, 11:59 p.m. Hawaii Time)
Funding Amounts: One $2,000 award; funding lasts up to 12 months from the check date
Summary: Supports dissertation research on mental function that seeks to understand the mind through both behavioral and neural perspectives.
Key Information: Applicants must have completed doctoral candidacy, including dissertation committee approval; dualistic approaches are ineligible.
Description
The American Psychological Foundation’s F.J. McGuigan Dissertation Award supports doctoral dissertation research addressing mental function, including cognition, affect, and motivation. The program seeks to advance understanding of the mind from both behavioral and neural perspectives. Proposed research may fall within any area of contemporary behavioral or brain science, including more recent forms of cognitive psychology, while remaining compatible with McGuigan’s overall goals.
The award emphasizes research quality, viability, potential impact, originality, and contribution to the field. Previously supported topics include neurocognitive pathways to depression in the aging brain, social proximity seeking as a neurobehavioral mechanism of health, adolescent prosocial behavior, neural stimulation in schizophrenia, and alexithymia.
