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Psi Chi grants are competitive research awards for student members of Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology. They help undergraduate and graduate students pay the direct costs of an original psychology study, and give them first-hand experience of preparing a grant application.
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Suggested question: “Do I need to be a Psi Chi member to apply?”
What It Is and Who Runs It
The grants are run by Psi Chi, founded in 1929 and affiliated with the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Association for Psychological Science (APS). A Psi Chi chapter page at the University of Utah describes access to over $400,000 worth of awards and grants as a benefit of membership. As described on the official Psi Chi awards page, checked November 7, 2026, the main research programs are the Undergraduate Research Grants, Graduate Research Grants, Thelma Hunt Research Grants and Mamie Phipps Clark Diversity Research Grants. They fund original empirical projects, which makes a firm grasp of what psychology is as a research discipline a useful starting point.
Eligibility
The APA’s page for the Psi Chi Undergraduate Research Grants states that applicants must meet these conditions:
- Enrollment: the applicant is an enrolled undergraduate student (graduate programs are for enrolled graduate student members).
- Membership: the applicant is a member of Psi Chi.
- Authorship: the applicant is first author of the project.
- Sponsor: a faculty member serves as sponsor and co-investigator.
Check the current guidelines for each program before applying, because details can differ between grants.
What It Funds or Requires
- Undergraduate and Graduate Research Grants: up to $1,500 for direct project costs. The Psi Chi awards page also describes a hardship supplement of up to $2,000.
- Thelma Hunt Research Grants: up to $3,000 for empirical projects aligned with Psi Chi’s mission.
- Mamie Phipps Clark Diversity Research Grants: up to $1,500 for research focused on underrepresented or diverse populations.
- Faculty sponsor: the awards page describes a $750 award for the faculty sponsor of a top-ranked undergraduate proposal.
- Direct costs only: grants help defray direct study costs, and are not meant to cover tuition or research assistants.
- Ethics: studies with human participants need ethical review at the home institution; see informed consent in research.
Application or Compliance Steps
- Design the study: build the hypothesis on existing literature, using a systematic PsycINFO search strategy.
- Line up a faculty sponsor: the sponsor acts as co-investigator, so involve them from the start.
- Plan ethical review: prepare the human subjects protocol and consent materials for your institution’s review board.
- Write the proposal and an itemized budget: link every requested cost to a step in the method.
- Submit through Psi Chi: use the application process described on the official awards page for the round you are targeting.
Typical Timeline Phases
The Psi Chi awards page lists separate application rounds during the academic year (spring, summer and fall). Exact deadlines and notification dates change, so read them on the official page for the round you target. After an award, expect to run the study, report on the work and, ideally, write it up; the guide on how to write a research paper covers the last step.
Common Mistakes
- Vague budgets: lump sums with no explanation of how each item serves the study.
- Ineligible costs: asking for tuition or research assistant pay.
- Missing sponsor: leaving the faculty sponsor’s role unconfirmed.
- No ethics plan: not explaining when the review board will see the protocol.
- Unjustified sample size: proposing a human-participant study with no reasoning for how many participants are needed.
Related Programs
| Program | Audience | Amount described |
|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate Research Grants | Undergraduate Psi Chi members | Up to $1,500 |
| Graduate Research Grants | Graduate student members | Up to $1,500 |
| Thelma Hunt Research Grants | Members | Up to $3,000 |
| Mamie Phipps Clark Diversity Research Grants | Members | Up to $1,500 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be a Psi Chi member to apply?
Yes. The APA’s page for the undergraduate grants lists Psi Chi membership as a requirement.
Who has to be first author?
The student applicant is first author, and a faculty member serves as sponsor and co-investigator.
Can the grant pay for tuition?
No. The grants help defray direct study costs and exclude tuition and research assistants.
How much can an undergraduate request?
Up to $1,500 for most projects. The APA page also mentions a higher figure of $3,500 for research that requires significant travel, so check the current Psi Chi guidelines for the tier that applies.
Sources
- Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology. Awards and Grants. https://www.psichi.org/page/awards (checked November 7, 2026).
- American Psychological Association. Psi Chi Undergraduate Research Grants. https://www.apa.org/about/awards/psichi-ugradre (checked November 7, 2026).
- University of Utah Psi Chi chapter. https://psichi.psych.utah.edu/ (checked November 7, 2026).
