Undergraduate Awards

Undergraduate students who are applying for awards/scholarships will need to go to the Academic Works portal to submit nominations. Directions for how to find and use that portal are below.   

Building Equity in the Community of Academics (BECA) Fellowship award (newly established for 2022 by Professors Angela Bryan of the department and Kent Hutchison of the CU Medical School) is given to a psychology or neuroscience major who produces a high-quality honors thesis. Eligible students will be under-represented minority, first-generation, and/or low-income students who completed an honors thesis in psychology or neuroscience or are in the process of completing a thesis during the academic year of the award. The application will consist of the student’s CV, a one-page summary of the thesis project, and a letter from the student’s honors thesis advisor. Priority consideration is given to students who contribute a perspective that informs the Latina/o experience. If this is a factor, please describe either in the description of the project or the letter from the advisor.

Imogene Jacobs Award is given to an outstanding Junior psychology major (note that this fund is designated for recognition of psychology majors only), as indicated by academic accomplishments (e.g., GPA, research or teaching contributions, or the quality of academic work as evaluated by faculty). Eligible students must be a psychology major, current junior-class standing, obtain a written letter of nomination by a full-time faculty member of the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, and a letter of support from another professor. Applications are accepted through the Academic Works portal (instructions below).

Imogene Jacobs Psychology Thesis Award is given to a Psychology major who has completed the best honors thesis in psychology. The recipient of this award will be selected by the Honors Committee—no student application is required.

Neuroscience Thesis Award is given to a Neuroscience major who has completed the best honors thesis in Neuroscience. The recipient of this award will be selected by the Honors Committee—no student application is required. 

Psychology/Neuroscience Leadership Award will be given to a student who has contributed the most to the leadership and functioning of the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. Leadership may be demonstrated in service to student organizations that are connected to the department (e.g., Psi Chi or Neuroscience Club) or other activities/roles. Students will need to submit a letter describing their leadership activities and have at least one faculty nominating letter. Applications accepted through the Academic Works portal (instructions below).  

David E. Drutz Scholarship funds are available for sophomores and juniors in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience who are actively enrolled and will continue to attend CU during the scholastic year following receipt of the award. We will award 4 of these per year, at $2000 each. Both psychology and neuroscience majors will be considered. Students should have a minimum overall GPA of 3.3. Beyond these qualifications, awards will be made on the basis of academic achievement (e.g., GPA, research or teaching contributions, or the quality of academic work as evaluated by faculty) and financial need. Students may also apply for this scholarship if they have been recommended by faculty to attend conferences to present a poster or talk, and would not otherwise have the funds to do so. 

Bourne/Yaroush Psychology Award award (established in 2020 by the late Psychology and Neuroscience Professor Emeritus Lyle E. Bourne, Jr., and his late spouse Dr. Rita Yaroush) is given to promising psychology or neuroscience majors with an interest in cognitive psychology. Eligible students must be a psychology or neuroscience major with current junior- or sophomore-class standing. The application will consist of a short (150–200 word) essay describing the student’s interest in cognitive psychology, a letter of support from at least one faculty member in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, who is familiar with the student’s work and interests, along with other information asked for on the Academic Works portal. Students with financial need are also given consideration. If this is a factor, please describe in your essay. Applications are accepted through the Academic Works portal (instructions below). We anticipate awarding 3 of these per year. Applications accepted through the Academic Works portal (instructions below). 

For Imogene Jacobs, Leadership Award, Drutz Scholarship, Bourne/Yaroush and BECA Award:

• Log into the CU Boulder Scholarship Application through MyCUInfo (navigate to “Apply for Scholarships” under the Financial Aid tab)
• Complete and submit the general application if you have not done so already
• Find the above opportunities listed under other recommended opportunities or search by keyword.
• Click “Apply” next to each opportunity and complete the supplemental questions (be sure to click “submit” once completed)
• Note that there are a number of questions on the general application form that are optional. We do not need that information for the purposes of these departmental awards. However, completion of those items may help you connect to other scholarships available across campus.

Graduate Awards

Please send nomination materials to Tina Pittman Wagers. Include the name of the person being nominated and what award you are nominating them for in the subject line of your email.  If materials are coming from more than one person, please try to include all relevant documents in the same email. We would prefer all materials be placed in one pdf, save for faculty letters of support, which may come separately. All of these awards require that the student has completed at least one year of graduate school. Note that students themselves can apply for the 3 Dosier/Muenzinger awards, though students are encouraged to work with their mentor or other faculty to prepare their nomination materials.   

Dosier/Muenzinger Award for Outstanding Contribution to Basic Research will recognize a student who excels in basic research in terms of theoretical advances and/or methodological innovation. Nominees will submit a statement of research that makes clear the student’s contribution to basic research, a CV, and 1-2 representative publications (submitted or under review) if available, and at least one faculty letter of support, if at all possible. A Research Statement is a summary of the student’s research accomplishments and current work. This statement may also discuss the future direction and potential of the student’s work. It should be technical, but remain intelligible to any member of the department. Reader should get a sense of the relevance, distinctiveness and importance of the research. 1-2 pages.  

Dosier/Muenzinger Award for Outstanding Contribution to Translational Research will recognize a student who excels at applying findings from basic science to applied contexts to improve human physical and mental health and functioning, broadly defined. Students who conduct translational research of any form are eligible, including those who primarily conduct lab-based studies, and those who do field studies. The important criterion is the degree to which findings from basic science are being translated into solving issues of applied significance. Nominees will submit a statement of research (see above) that makes clear the student’s orientation, interest, and achievement in translational research, a CV and 1-2 representative publications (submitted or under review) if available, along with at least one faculty letter of support, if at all possible.

Dosier/Muenzinger Award for Outstanding Teaching will recognize a student who exhibits dedication to teaching, evidence of high quality teaching and pedagogical innovation. Nominees will submit a statement of teaching philosophy, and CV, where student is encouraged to make clear the classes they have TAd, their role and duties in each class, and FCQ ratings. They should also include any special teacher training experiences (e.g., attendance at FTEP), along with at least one faculty letter of support, if at all possible. The Teaching Statement should be a statement that explains the student’s pedagogical beliefs, as well as concrete examples of the ways in which the student has enacted those beliefs in the classroom. 1-2 pages. 

Sean Hudson Leadership Award will recognize a student who has made exemplary service and/or leadership contribution to the department, university, or field. The Awards Committee will need a letter of nomination discussing the scope and impact of the student’s leadership/service contribution. The nomination letter can come from any source, including faculty, fellow students, and staff, and it is perfectly fine for students to explore the possibility of a nomination with someone (i.e., students can initiate the nomination). A CV is also required. This award does not require a statement from the student, but does require a letter from someone else.  

Peter G. Ossorio Award aims to recognize a 2^nd- or 3^rd-year clinical graduate student who has established financial need, demonstrates overall excellence, has made good progress in graduate school and is working on research which has the potential to impact the areas of descriptive psychology, health behavior psychology or clinical psychology. The clinical area will submit a nomination letter to the Awards Committee for this award, but students can let their mentor know that they wish to be considered for this award.