Named Research Funds & Block Grant

The department has a number of named funds to support graduate student research.  In addition, the Graduate Division provides Block Grant allocations for graduate student support.  A combination of these funds is used by the Department to provide Departmental Semester and Summer Fellowships.  Block Grant funds also provide for the payment of non-resident tuition for all first-year out-of-state graduate students.  

Departmental Semester Fellowship

The Departmental Semester Fellowship (DSF) provides a stipend of $17,500 (2023-24) and pays in-state registration fees for one semester.  All eligible graduate students are guaranteed to receive a one-semester DSF, typically awarded between their 3rd and 5th years. Applications will be solicited each Spring semester and will be considered for the following academic year. Students wishing to use the DSF in the Spring semester must apply in the previous spring term; there is no Fall application.  To be eligible, students must have:

• passed their Qualifying Examination by the end of the Fall semester of the academic year during which the DSF will be used (does not apply to Clinical Science area).
• completed their two-semester GSI requirement before the DSF will be used (does not apply to Clinical Science area).
• never received a multi-year fellowship or grant from an external or University source.

Once awarded a DSF, the student can choose to use it during the fall or spring semester of the following year. If the student does not use it during the awarded academic year, they will forfeit the award.

While the department guarantees the one-semester DSF for all students who meet the above criteria, the exact timing of the award may depend on seniority and budgetary considerations.

Non-Resident Supplemental Tuition

Each first-year domestic student who is out-of-state (i.e., is not yet a California resident), without a multi-year fellowship, has their non-resident supplemental tuition  (NRST) paid by the department for their first and second semesters only. Eligible students must become California residents for tuition purposes before the third semester to avoid being charged non-resident tuition. All out-of-state domestic students in their third or later semester are responsible for payment of their NRST.

Each first-year international student without a multi-year fellowship has their non-resident tuition (NRST) paid by their sponsoring faculty mentor for the first and second semesters. The department pays it for the third and fourth semesters. International students must complete their Qualifying Examination and advance to Ph.D. candidacy prior to the beginning of their third year to be eligible for a Graduate Division waiver.  After advancing to Ph.D. candidacy, international students receive Graduate Division NRST waivers in years 3, 4, and 5. International students are advised to discuss these matters with their faculty mentor and the Graduate Student Services Advisor during their first semester in the program.

External Fellowships

In addition to department specific funds, we also have a number of named external fellowship and grant opportunities that grads are encouraged to consider. This list is in bcourses>Psychology Graduate Students>Files>Funding>Fellowships>External Fellowships Recommend by Psych Grads [Running List]

Psychology Department Small Research Expenses Fund

The department understands that there are sometimes small, research-related costs that come up that your advisor(s) may not know about and/or cannot cover. We encourage you to ask your advisor(s) about this, but we also want to offer an alternative source of funding for such costs--namely, a pool of funds to which you can make requests for reimbursement for small, research-related costs. Although in many cases we won't be able to cover the full costs you've incurred (e.g., full airfare) we do hope that some reimbursement is better than none! More information about the Psychology Department Small Research Expenses Fund is available in our Psych Grads bCourse.

-- By small, we mean requests of up to $225.00
-- Eligible expenses may include: conference registration, conference expenses, poster printing, society memberships, lab equipment, software, professional development workshops, etc., or other requests along these lines.
--This fund is used to supplement expenses that are not covered by your advisor, the Grad Div or Psychology department travel awards. You are expected to seek other funding first.

Psychology Department Travel Fund for Graduate Students

The department provides travel grants to support graduate students who would like to present at professional conferences. These departmental travel awards are designed to supplement the Graduate Division travel grants. More information about the Pychology Department Travel Fund for Graduate Students is available in our Psych Grads bCourse.

To qualify for a departmental travel award, trainees must meet each of these criteria:
1. Will be presenting (or co-authoring) a poster or a talk at the conference
2. Currently registered, on filing fee status, or a clinical student on internship
3. The conference will happen at least two months before trainee graduates
4. Has already received two Graduate Division travel grants (or is applying during a time when such awards are not available)
5. Has not received a full Graduate Division travel grant for the given conference
6. Has not received 2 previous departmental travel awards
7. Has unreimbursed conference expenses
8. Travel plans are fully compliant with the University and the CDC travel safety recommendations, such as these (please search as websites may change over time):
 https://coronavirus.berkeley.edu/travel/