APAGS Student Diversity Initiative Award: Institutional Excellence in Graduate Training

The purpose of this American Psychological Association Graduate Students (APAGS) grant is to support the recruitment, retention, and/or leadership training of doctoral students in psychology or closely related programs in the promotion of the APA Policy Statement on Reaffirming APA’s Commitment to Justice, Human Rights, Fairness, and Dignity (PDF, 54KB)opens in new window. Initiatives that target those who have experiences and perspectives that could enrich the profession of psychology, including those graduate students who demonstrate a commitment to inclusive excellence, ethical leadership, and/or advancing psychology to benefit all communities, including underserved populations with unmet health needs are encouraged to apply, and the award is open to all regardless of the individuals benefiting from the initiatives. 

Funds for this grant must be used to support direct costs associated with the proposal and can be used to implement new initiatives or support existing programs, committees, and/or program/departmental resources. Proposals that lack specificity regarding how funds will be used will be scored less favorably. Funds will be disbursed to the institution by January 2027.

This year, APAGS is awarding one grant of $2,500. Preference will be given to applications from a psychology or related program within a university/college/internships and institution hosting the training program.

Eligible applicants are individual psychology departments; doctoral programs in psychology or related fields; diversity committees, centers, or programs at the institutional level; and doctoral internship programs in psychology. All applications must be authored or co-authored by at least one graduate student affiliate of APA (i.e., APAGS member). 

Applications must include:

• Proposal (maximum three pages, single-spaced) that outlines how the funds will be used to recruit, retain, and/or engage in leadership training for graduate students with experiences and perspectives that could enrich the profession of psychology. Please include information on:
  • Objective: Describe in detail the objective(s) of the program, committee, resource, or other initiative you are proposing to develop or strengthen the institution’s commitment to inclusive excellence, ethical leadership, and /or advancing psychology to benefit all communities, including underserved populations with unmet health needs.
  • Context: Describe your program/department’s approach to student recruitment, retention and/or leadership, if any; an assessment of the program’s current student body and recruitment efforts; and a review of existing barriers that your proposal seeks to overcome.
  • Student impact: Address how the proposal will directly impact the recruitment, retention, and/or leadership training of graduate students with a commitment to inclusive excellence, ethical leadership, and/or advancing psychology for the benefit of all communities, including underserved populations with unmet health needs, and what measures you will use to determine the success of this implementation.
  • Inclusion: Describe how you will involve current students or graduates of the department or program in this proposal. Favorable proposals will integrate one or both of these groups in more than one way.
  • Feasibility: Describe the need for funds and how they will contribute to the program, committee, or other resource.

It is helpful but not necessary to use the above subheadings when arranging your proposal. The proposal must identify its authors, including at least one graduate student affiliate of APA (i.e., APAGS member) and one faculty member, supervisor, or administrator at the institution.

• Letter of administrative support from the head or chair of the department or program indicating willingness to implement and/or support the proposed initiative: If one of these individuals co-signs the proposal, this letter is not necessary.
• Detailed budget (one page) that lists the amounts and descriptions

Please submit materials as a combined PDF or Word file in the order listed above to APAGS. Please name the file “Institution name_Diversity Grant_Year of submission”. An example would be “Brown_Diversity Grant_2026.” Please note that 11:59 p.m. (ET) on November 18 is a hard deadline. No materials submitted after that date and time will be reviewed. Please direct any questions about the award to APAGS staff.

2025

• University of Houston’s Clinical Psychology Program

2024

• Oklahoma State University's School of Community Health Sciences, Counseling and Counseling Psychology

2023

• The University of Texas at Dallas' Psychology Department

2022

• University of Maine's Clinical Psychology Doctoral Training Program

2021

• Washington State University’s Diversity in Psychology Committee

2020

• Suffolk University’s Clinical Psychology Program

• University of Oregon’s Counseling Psychology Program

2019

• Howard University’s Counseling Psychology Program

• San Diego State University’s Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology

• Tennessee State University’s Counseling Psychology Program

• University of Virginia’s Education Leadership, Foundations and Policy

2018

• Emory University’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

• Old Dominion University’s Research Foundation

• University of Houston’s School Psychology Program

• University of Massachusetts Boston’s Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program

• Virginia Commonwealth University’s Clinical Psychology Program