Funding Opportunities

We work hard to align teaching assistant assignments with students' interests, experience, and career goals. Teaching assistant duties may involve grading assignments, papers and/or exams and providing feedback to students; holding office hours to assist students with coursework questions; managing classroom logistics and equipment setup; photocopying course materials; course website maintenance; and administering/proctoring exams. Teaching assistants hired as section leaders lead discussion sections or labs based on topics discussed in course lectures. Advanced graduate students may apply for positions as graduate instructors of record for undergraduate psychology courses.

New teaching assistants attend University and department orientations. All graduate students are also encouraged to participate in professional development opportunities throughout their program to advance their teaching skills and pedagogical training. 

Continued appointment to teaching assistant positions depends on satisfactory performance of the assigned duties, eligibility for graduate assistantships, and the availability of positions.

Research assistants are hired directly by the faculty member who is the principal investigator of a particular research project.Research assistantship duties vary, but all offer the opportunityto become actively involved in the principal investigator’s research.

Students interested in research assistantships are encouraged to talk to their advisors. Postings for research assistantships in other departments may also be available; students may actively pursue these opportunities by applying to relevant postings. 

National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Research Services Award (NRSA) training grants (T32) enable institutions to make awards to individuals for predoctoral and postdoctoral research training in specified shortage areas. The Department of Psychology has a T32 Training Program in Genetic and Neurobehavioral Mechanisms of Addiction. There are also a number of other opportunities to work as a trainee within or outside the Department. 

On average, four of our PhD students receive their funding from an NIH NRSA T32 each year.

These fellowships come from organizations outside of the University. Our PhD students successfully pursue a range of external fellowships, including the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). The Department of Psychology strongly encourages all of its eligible graduate students to apply for an NSF GRFP in either their first or second year. Courses are offered each fall semester to support students with the preparation of these applications.

On average, seven of our PhD students receive their funding from an NSF GRFP in a given year. Learn about our three 2024 NSF GRFP awardees.

Other external fellowships that we are aware of, including those funding social justice oriented research, include:

• Ford Global Fellowship and International Fellowships Program, Ford Foundation
• Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans
• APA Minority Fellowship Program, American Psychological Association
• Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) Scholarship

Our students have also successfully obtained funding from community resources. We recommend that you search within your community for these resources. The Department of Psychology also announces opportunities to current students as they become available.

The University of Minnesota offers competitive fellowships to recruit outstanding new students and support current students. These fellowships typically provide a 9-month stipend, full-time tuition for fall and spring semesters, and 12 months of subsidized health insurance. 

Diversity of Viewpoints and Experiences (DOVE) Fellowships

Each year, the department nominates two newly admitted students for the Diversity of Views and Experiences (DOVE) Fellowship, who compete in a University-wide competition. A Diversity Statement is required for all applicants to the Psychology PhD program (see the Application Checklist for details). This statement is weighted heavily in the department’s two-stage review process for identifying DOVE nominees.

Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change (ICGC) Fellowships

The department also nominates eligible newly admitted students for fellowships offered by the  Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change (ICGC), which seeks to foster an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural community of faculty and students committed to studying global change, especially as seen in the Global South and in communities of color within North America. 

During the application review process, the Department of Psychology faculty identifies nominees for ICGC’s admission fellowships from the pool of applicants who will be offered admission. Nominees will have scholarly backgrounds and research interests that reflect their commitment to the interdisciplinary study of the global south in the context of global change.

Fellowships for Mid- and Late-Career Students

Mid- and late-career Psychology PhD students also successfully pursue the Graduate School’s Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (DDF) and Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship (IDF). On average, four Psychology PhD students are on a mid- or late-career fellowship each year. 

• Learn about our four 2023-2024 DDF recipients.
• Learn about our 2024-2025 IDF recipient.

The Department of Psychology offers a robust set of competitive fellowships for new and continuing PhD students each year. These awards may be for one or two semesters and either offer full support (50% appointment) or be combined with a teaching or research assistantship (25% fellowship, 25% RA or TA). All include a stipend; academic year fellowships also include a tuition benefit and subsidized health insurance benefits.

Applicants selected for admission are automatically considered for the following competitive awards, which do not require an additional application:

• Diversity in Psychology Fellowships: Competitive awards designed to recruit and support academically excellent students whose diverse viewpoints and experiences enrich the field of psychological science by expanding the range of perspectives. These fellowships are awarded to the department’s top nominees for the Diversity of Viewpoints and Experiences (DOVE) who do not receive a departmental DOVE nomination or who are nominated but do not receive a DOVE.
• College of Liberal Arts-Funded Graduate Fellowships (CLA-GF): Competitive awards designed to recruit and support academically excellent students. Each area of specialization selects their most competitive nominee for admission to proceed to a department-wide competition.
• Departmental Fellowships: These competitive half-time (25%) fellowships are awarded to top-ranked runners up for departmental Diversity in Psychology and CLA-GF fellowships.

The number of departmental admissions fellowships offered varies (approximately 8-10 each year). 

Current students also receive information about available department-funded and endowed fellowships and are encouraged to actively pursue these competitive awards. These include the following summer research fellowships:

• Auke Tellegen Fellowship in Applied Personality Assessment - average of one award per year.
• Graduate Summer Research Fellowship (GSR) - average of 25 awards per year.
• Robert W. Eichinger and Korn/Ferry Fellowship - average of 3-5 awards per year.

Graduate students play a vital role in CLA’s research, teaching, and service missions. Doctoral students can pursue summer opportunities from CLA including:

• Dissertation Proposal Development Program (DPDP)
• Graduate Research Partnership Program (GRPP) Initiatives
• CLA Graduate Internship Program

The Department of Psychology and other UMN entities offer financial support to defray the cost of conference and research travel, other research expenses, and professional development opportunities. These include: 

• Department of Psychology Graduate Student Travel and Research Awards are available to Psychology graduate students in any year of the program who are in good standing and meet registration requirements and other eligibility criteria. Students may apply for either a travel award or a research award each year. The level of support varies but is always at least $600 per year.
• Council of Graduate Students (COGS) Grants are competitively awarded to support research travel, career development, and conference attendance.
• Lou Ann Nylen Research Awards support research on mental health in the Department of Psychology and prioritize support for dissertation research (e.g., participant payments, equipment, supplies, technology, software). Four $5,000 awards are available each year.

The Department of Psychology values and supports graduate-student-led initiatives that foster community building, provide supportive services, and create learning opportunities for our graduate students. 

Graduate Student Liaison Committee (GSLC) support: GSLC, a student-led group with the primary goal of supporting the progress and well-being of Psychology graduate students, receives annual funding allocations to support student-organized events throughout the academic year, including social gatherings and professional development workshops. The funding supports both department-wide events and programming for students in specific areas of specialization.  

Tri-Psychology Graduate Student Diversity Fund: The Tri-Psychology departments - Department of Educational Psychology, Department of Psychology, and Institute of Child Development - administer grant funding for graduate student-led initiatives that foster cross-departmental collaborations.