As a memorial to Professor Nancy Hirschberg, the Department of Psychology awards an annual prize for the best paper or report written by an undergraduate in Psychology 397 (independent study), 399 (independent research), or in one of the laboratory courses. Nominations for the Hirschberg Prize are made by faculty members. Eligible papers should be the work of one undergraduate (that is, projects planned and/or carried out by groups of students are not eligible) and may be either reports of empirical research or integrative reviews of previously published research. To learn more about deadlines and other information, please see the awards page at the psychology department's website (https://portal.psch.uic.edu/Undergraduate/resources.aspx) . 

Nancy Hirschberg Memorial Grants for Undergraduate Research
The Nancy Hirschberg Memorial Grants for Undergraduate Research will be awarded annually to support excellent undergraduate research in the field of Psychology.  The application consists of (a) a letter of support from the faculty advisor, and (b) a research proposal of 1500 words or less, including a budget and budget justification. Award decisions are made by a committee of two faculty members appointed by the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Award decisions shall be guided by the principle of encouraging high quality research from the largest number of undergraduates. Thus, the goal is to provide several small grants rather than fewer larger grants. 

Past winners are:  

2008 Frances K. Amurao (Advisor, Dr. Jim Pellegrino)
         Tom Vadakara (Advisor, Dr. Gary Raney)
         Amir Jacob (Advisor, Dr. Linda Skitka)
         Saba Kahn (Advisor, Dr. Jim Larson) 

2009 Rhoda Jamadar (Advisor, Dr. Pauline Maki)
         Hope Lancaster (Advisor, Dr. Susan Goldman)
         Alicia Oplustil (Advisor, Dr. Stewart Shankman)
         Erik Schuster (Advisor, Dr. Jennifer Wiley) 
         Amber Stone (Advisor, Dr. Paul Schewe)
         Maria C. Vargas (Advisor, Dr. Bette Bottoms) 

MPA UNDERGRADUATE PRESENTATION AWARDS
To support our undergraduates who are engaged in research, the Department and Psi Chi sponsor Research Presentation Awards to pay the registration costs of undergraduates who submit a first-author presentation to the Midwestern Psychological Association (MPA) Meeting. MPA is the regional version of the American Psychological Association conference and always meets at the Palmer House Hotel in downtown Chicago in the first week of May. 

In addition to the regular MPA program, each year at MPA our undergraduates have the opportunity to present their research in special Psi Chi poster sessions. Undergraduates do NOT need to be member of Psi Chi to submit and present at the PSI CHI MPA poster sessions.  These sessions are open to all undergraduates. The advantage of submitting to the Psi Chi section of the program is that for the Psi Chi sessions works in progress are encouraged. That is, you do not need to have completed your study to submit.  Psi Chi recognizes that most students will not have their data collected at this point in the year (whereas submissions to the regular program usually represent completed studies.) 

More information about submitting to the Psi Chi Program at MPA and the regular program is located at http://midwesternpsych.org/
The deadline for submissions to either program is in early November. 

Presenting at a conference is a great experience that is an important part of the research process. These awards are meant to recognize students who are making this exciting step in their research careers and to support our department's fine tradition of involving undergraduates in our research.

FOR 2011 MPA AWARDS: If you submitted to MPA, to apply for a Research Presentation Award, send a copy of your title and the authors of the presentation to Faculty Advisor Dr. Benjamin Storm (bstorm@uic.edu).  These awards will be made on a first-come, first-serve basis, and can be applied for any time after you submit to MPA (even before you receive notification of acceptance from MPA).

Congratulations to the UIC Undergraduates on the program for MPA in 2010!
Crystal Chmelovsky, Danielle Schubert, Amber Stone, Mahfam Nemati Shafaee, Kate Lee, Natalia Ryszko, Daniel Pak, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Camaleigh Jaber, Amanda Lambie, Masha Reider, Anoop Ali, Andrew Juszczak, Stepanie Monroe, Lizbeth Guiterrez and Katy Holland.  And special congratulations to Amber Stone who won a Psi Chi Regional Award for her MPA submission!

UIC Chapter of Psi Chi Essay Contest
In the Spring of each year, the UIC Chapter of Psi Chi may sponsor an essay contest to solicit advice from graduating seniors about their experiences as a Psychology Major.  Watch the Psi Chi home page for announcements of each year's theme and deadline.

Awards and Grants from Psi Chi National
Psi Chi National offers various awards to undergraduates and graduate students including the Allyn & Bacon and Guilford awards for excellent empirical research papers, Erlbaum awards for the best empirical research papers in Cognitive Science, Summer Research Grants and Graduate and Undergraduate Research Grants.

For more information, visit: http://www.psichi.org/Awards/

Past Winners from UIC include:
Ivan K. Ash, Erlbaum Graduate Research Award
Alaine Kalder, J.P. Guilford Undergraduate Research Award
Stacie Harissis, Undergraduate Summer Research Grant
Nick Aramovich, Graduate Student Research Grant
Cindy Najdowski, Graduate Student Research Grant
Leah Rubin, Graduate Student Research Grant
Jess Salerno, Graduate Student Research Grant
Jenn Veilleux, Graduate Student Research Grant
Mary Clare Kane, Graduate Student Research Grant
Marina Fiori, Graduate Student Research Grant

For more award opportunities at UIC be sure to check out the
UIC Scholarship Association page.