Undergraduate Awards & Scholarships

Undergraduate Awards

tritsch award winner 2017Janet Tritsch Award

The Janet Tritsch Memorial Award has become a symbol of excellence for undergraduate psychology research at Illinois. The award was established in 1975 by the family and friends of Janet Tritsch, who, as an undergraduate student, was active in psychology research. The award recognizes outstanding research by an undergraduate working in any area of Psychology and is accompanied by a monetary award.

Tritsch Application Details

An outstanding Bachelor's Thesis that has been submitted for Departmental Distinction can be nominated for the Janet Tritsch Memorial Award by the student's research advisor. The research advisor must submit a separate letter of nomination for the Janet Tritsch Memorial Award. The nomination letter must explain why the thesis and the student are particularly exceptional and should receive the special recognition conferred by the Janet Tritsch Memorial Award. The letter of nomination must be submitted to the Undergraduate Studies Office via email to psych-thesis@illinois.edu. The deadline is the same as submission of the Bachelor’s thesis, which is April 15 by 5pm.

 

Julie Sutton Osgood Awardosgood winner

This award was established in the memory of Julie Sutton Osgood, whose life was taken at age 28 by a drunk driver. Julie always wanted to be a doctor. As a psychology student at the University of Illinois, she was trained as an Emergency Medical Technician and worked summers for an ambulance company. After graduation, she completed a paramedic course and worked for the Superior Ambulance Company and then became their EMS coordinator through Christ Hospital and Hope Children's Hospital. A couple of years later, she attended Physician's Assistant School while she continued to work full time. This monetary award was created by the family of Julie Sutton Osgood and is intended to help students realize their dream of becoming either a Physician or another type of medical practitioner.

Julie Sutton Osgood Application Details

If you are a senior Psychology student who plans to continue your education in a medical-related field or school, you should consider applying for the Julie Sutton Osgood Award. To apply for this award, please submit a one page statement of purpose and a current résumé or C.V. to the Head Academic Advisor (Gary Wszalek, email: wszalek@illinois.edu ). The deadline for applications is April 5. The statement should indicate how you intend to realize your dream of becoming a medical practitioner. An optional letter of recommendation may be included. If you have any questions about this award, please do not hesitate to contact Gary Wszalek.

 

business people iconAlumni Professional Development Award

Psychology alumni have donated funds to the Shape the Future Today campaign to promote internships. They have created a Professional Development Award. This award will

  • Provide financial support for qualified undergraduate students in psychology who take on unpaid summer internships related to their field of interest .
  •  Be given to deserving students each year. Depending on the availability of funds and the quality of the application, 2 - 5 undergraduate psychology students will be awarded $1,000 - $2,500.
Alumni Professional Development Application Details

Eligibility:

Current Illinois Psychology undergraduate students who have:

  • Secured an unpaid summer internship lasting for at least six weeks with a minimum of 160 hours of total work performed.
  • Senior standing at the start of the fall semester.
  • Registered for the Capstone Internship Seminar for the fall semester.
  • Earned a minimum Illinois GPA of 3.0 both in the major and overall.

How to apply:

Submit a completed application packet by email to Gary Wszalek (wszalek@illinois.edu), deadline TBA.

Application Packet Checklist (one copy of each of the following):

Please contact Gary Wszalek for more information.

 

laura boltonLaura Bolton Research Development Scholarship

Psychology alumnus Laura Bolton has donated funds to create a Research Development Award. This award will

  • Provide financial support for qualified undergraduate students in psychology who are engaging in research activities in a Psychology Faculty Laboratory during the summer (May 16-August 15).
  • Help students defray room and board costs associated with living on campus during the summer. It is not designed to directly fund research activities.
  • Be given to multiple deserving students each year. Each undergraduate psychology student will receive a $2,500 award.
Laura Bolton Research Development Award Application Details

The Undergraduate Studies Committee is currently seeking applications for summer 2025 awards, with an application deadline of April 1, 2025. Award winners will be announced before the end of April. Please note the following requirements:

Applicants must be a declared Psychology major, Psychology minor, or Brain and Cognitive Sciences major.

Applications must include:

  • A personal statement (maximum of 1 page in length) that discusses the applicant’s previous research and career goals. This statement should also indicate the dates students will be living on campus during the summer.
  • A description of the research project that will be undertaken, including the student’s role in the project (maximum of 1 page in length).
  • A letter of support from the faculty member who will supervise the summer research.

Application materials should be emailed to the Undergraduate Studies Office HERE.

Faculty may submit their support letter separately from the student’s application submission.

 

brainlightAdvanced Research Opportunity Honors Scholar

One student will be selected for the Advanced Research Opportunity Honors Scholarship, which is intended to enable research opportunities for students who face financial and time constraints that otherwise might prevent them from participating in the in-depth research process associated with completing a Bachelor’s thesis. This scholarship provides financial support over three semesters of undergraduate research conducted towards the completion of Bachelor’s thesis in psychology.

Advanced Research Opportunity Honors Scholarship Application Details

Eligibility:

Applicants should be majors in Psychology or Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Applicants should be accepted to, and subsequently enroll in, the three-semester honors sequence as part of this program (PSYC 398). Alternatively, students may enroll in a PSYC 290 research experience in the first semester followed by the two-semester sequence of the Capstone Undergraduate Research program (PSYC 492).  More information on these programs can be found here.

How to apply:

Students apply for this scholarship during the fall of their junior year. Application materials include a one-page personal statement, undergraduate transcript, and a letter of support from their chosen Faculty mentor. The personal statement should explain how the scholarship will allow the student to increase the amount of time they spend on research by reducing their need to seek outside employment to address financial challenges. All application materials should be sent electronically to the Undergraduate Studies Office at psych-awards@mx.uillinois.edu. The deadline for applications is the first Monday of December by 5 pm.

Learn more about the application process and requirements.