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APA Summer Undergraduate Psychology Experience in Research (SUPER) Fellowships

American Psychological Association

The American Psychological Association will offer up to 25 fellowships to support undergraduate students leading a summer research project in a psychological science laboratory. The purpose of this fellowship program is to promote access among undergraduates considering research as a career by expanding opportunities to laboratory training and mentorship to those who may have not had the opportunity to lead psychological science research.

Projects must be student-driven, student-led, and supervised by a faculty member with sufficient resources to support the proposed work, although collaboration with postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and other research staff is encouraged. Participating faculty are expected to meet regularly with students to discuss research goals and progress and offer academic and career guidance. The applicant and mentor should work together to develop a research plan, and students are expected to spend at least nine weeks in the laboratory at a minimum of 20 hours/week.

APA will pay a stipend of $4,000 directly to the student and $1,000 directly to the student’s summer faculty host. Stipends are intended to defray personal expenses (e.g., housing, travel) and APA will not provide funds for study expenses, indirect costs, or overhead. APA will issue IRS Form 1099 to recipients at the end of the year for tax purposes.

Funding and deliverables

Funds will be released in three stages:

$2,000 to the student upon submission of required program paperwork and confirmation of IRB/IACUC submission is received; and
$2,000 to the student and $1,000 to the faculty member after summer requirements are met and approved.

Fellowship requirements include:

participation in regular fellowship check-ins and career development webinars via Zoom;
final reflection and presentation with thoughts on the research process, laboratory engagement, lessons learned, and career aspirations;
verification of participation from faculty advisor; and
brief follow-up surveys to be completed in summer 2026 and summer 2027.

APA reserves the right to use project deliverables (e.g., reflections, slide decks) at its discretion for promotional and marketing purposes.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Direct psychology/behavioral-science relevance ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The project should have psychology or behavioral science at its core, rather than merely using a psychological questionnaire as a small component.

Strong areas include:

Clinical psychology
Counseling psychology
Health psychology
Behavioral medicine
Cognitive psychology
Developmental psychology
Social psychology
Educational psychology
Neuropsychology
Community psychology
Industrial/organizational psychology
Forensic psychology
Psychological assessment
Mental-health interventions
Behavioral health

A general medical study with no substantial psychological/behavioral research question would have weak APA alignment.

2. Important psychological or behavioral-health problem ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A competitive proposal should address a clearly defined problem.

Examples include:

Anxiety
Depression
Trauma
Stress
Addiction/substance use
Suicide prevention
Chronic pain and psychological functioning
Behavioral health disparities
Child/adolescent mental health
Aging and cognition
Health behavior
Sleep and psychological health
Social isolation
Workplace mental health
Learning and educational outcomes

The proposal should establish:

Important problem → evidence gap → research question → expected benefit.

3. Scientific merit ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A strong APA-oriented proposal should have a clearly defined research question or hypothesis.

Reviewers should understand:

What is known?
What is unknown?
Why does the gap matter?
What theory or model guides the research?
What will the study test?
What new knowledge will be generated?

A particularly strong proposal connects psychological theory with empirical testing.

4. Societal and patient impact ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Research is strengthened when the findings can improve:

Mental-health outcomes
Psychological functioning
Quality of life
Prevention
Treatment
Educational outcomes
Workplace well-being
Family functioning
Community health
Public-health policy

For example:

Risk factor → psychological mechanism → intervention → improved mental-health outcome

provides a strong impact pathway.

5. Methodological rigor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Competitive psychology research should use appropriate and transparent methods.

Important elements include:

Clearly defined population
Validated psychological measures
Appropriate comparison groups
Adequate sample size
Appropriate statistical methods
Longitudinal design where necessary
Appropriate handling of missing data
Predefined primary outcomes
Reproducible procedures
Ethical protections

For intervention studies, consider:

Randomization
Control condition
Treatment fidelity
Blinding where feasible
Follow-up assessment

6. Innovation ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Innovation can come from the research question, theory, methodology, intervention, population, or technology.

Potentially strong areas include:

Digital mental health

Mobile interventions
Telepsychology
Digital therapeutics
AI-assisted behavioral interventions

Psychological assessment

Novel assessment tools
Digital phenotyping
Computational assessment

Behavioral science

New models of health behavior
Social/behavioral mechanisms
Decision-making

Clinical psychology

New intervention approaches
Personalized psychological treatment
Prevention models

Innovation should be more than simply applying a new technology; it should address an important psychological problem.

7. Investigator qualifications and mentorship ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

Research experience and appropriate mentorship can be important, particularly for early-career investigators.

Strong applicants demonstrate:

Relevant academic training
Research experience
Publications
Methodological expertise
Clinical experience where appropriate
Appropriate statistical expertise
Strong mentorship

For junior investigators, the proposal should show how the funding will help establish an independent research trajectory.

8. Diversity, equity and underserved populations ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

Depending on the specific APA program, research addressing disparities can be particularly compelling.

Potential areas include:

Mental-health disparities
Access to psychological services
Culturally responsive interventions
Underserved communities
Rural populations
Socioeconomic disparities
Disability
Aging populations
Children and adolescents
Historically underrepresented groups

However, diversity should be incorporated meaningfully into the research question and methodology, rather than added as a superficial statement.

9. Feasibility ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The project should demonstrate access to:

Appropriate participants
Clinical/community settings
Psychological assessment tools
Research staff
Statistical support
Data-management infrastructure
Intervention facilities where required

A focused project that can produce meaningful preliminary data is often more convincing than an overly ambitious study.

10. Dissemination and future research ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

A strong project should have potential beyond the immediate grant.

Possible trajectory:

Pilot study → preliminary evidence → larger grant → multicenter study → clinical/community implementation

Useful outputs include:

Peer-reviewed publications
Conference presentations
Validated assessment tools
Intervention protocols
Clinical guidance
Educational resources
Community implementation

Specialties

Psychology

Eligibility Requirements

Students in good academic standing at an accredited U.S. or Canadian undergraduate degree-granting institutions located in the U.S. or Canada are eligible to apply. Students must be enrolled full-time at the time of application, and they must have at least one semester remaining in their degree program following the summer fellowship. A psychology major is not required, but the student’s field of study and the faculty host’s research program should include psychological science as a major focus. Students need not be enrolled at the same institution as their faculty host, but they must spend the entire nine weeks working on-site in the faculty host’s laboratory, which must be at an accredited U.S. or Canadian undergraduate degree-granting institution. Previous SUPER fellows are ineligible.

Eligible Countries:

Canada

United States

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: American Psychological Association

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 750 First St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242

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