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Graduate Student Awards


The graduate students in our clinical psychology doctoral program are the backbone of the program. The program has 20-25 active graduate students at any one time, and all students are actively involved in research labs, staffing the training clinic, and assisting in course instruction. The quality of our students is evidenced by their high-level of research productivity and their success on the internship and job market, including a 100% match rate to American Psychological Association (APA) accredited APPIC internships.

The John Hurley Endowed Fellowship Award

This award, in honor of the late Professor John Hurley, is given to the best dissertation in the Clinical Psychology Program each year. John Hurley was Professor of Psychology at MSU for 45 years. He earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Iowa in 1953 and later earned a Diplomate in Clinical Psychology. Dr. Hurley was a nationally known scholar in group psychotherapy who studied T-groups, group therapy processes, interpersonal theory, leadership in groups, and interpersonal perceptions. He served as the President of the Michigan Group Psychotherapy Society.

Congratulations to the 2024/2025 award winner, Jessica Tschida! 

  • Past The John Hurley Endowed Fellowship Award Winners
    2008/2009 - Kristen Culbert
    2009/2010 - Cecilia Martinez-Torteya
    2010/2011 - Alexia Spanos
    2011/2012 - Sarah Racine
    2012/2013 - Brittany Lannert
    2013/2014 - Kate Thomas
    2014/2015 - Matt Yalch
    2015/2016 - Britny Hildebrant & Sharon Lo
    2016/2017 - Shannon O'Connor
    2017/2018 - Xiaochen Luo
    2018/2019 - Brooke Slawinski
    2019/2020 - Jade Kobayashi
    2020/2021 - Beier Yao
    2021/2022 - Mikayla Kim
    2022/2023 - Megan Mikhail
    2023/2024 - Alexandra Vazquez

Jaqueline J. Oatman Graduate Fellowship in Clinical Psychology

This fellowship is given to a fifth year graduate student who has most clearly demonstrated excellence in their clinical work during graduate school.

Congratulations to the 2024/2025 award winner, Jessica Tschida!

The Lee June Inclusive Excellence Award - Doctoral

This award recognizes a student in the Doctoral portion of the program who most exemplify the values of cultural responsivity, diversity, equity, and community engagement in their academic pursuits. These values may be demonstrated in the areas of research, clinical work, teaching, and/or service. The award is based on an evaluation of their relevant activities by the full CSA faculty during the annual review process that occurs at the end of Spring term.

Congratulations to the 2024/2025 award winner, Grace Anderson!

The Lee June Inclusive Excellence Award - Master's

This award recognizes a student in the Master's portion of the program who most exemplify the values of cultural responsivity, diversity, equity, and community engagement in their academic pursuits. These values may be demonstrated in the areas of research, clinical work, teaching, and/or service. The award is based on an evaluation of their relevant activities by the full CSA faculty during the annual review process that occurs at the end of Spring term.

Congratulations to the 2024/2025 award winners, Ashley Hayden and Emma Crumby!

The John and Margo Reisman Award

This award helps recruit exceptional students of unusual promise, who in turn have the potential to elevate the MSU Clinical Psychology Program to new levels of excellence. The annual scholarship provides additional funding, over and above what could otherwise be offered, to one top applicant in each admissions class.

The scholarship was endowed by the late Dr. John M. Reisman and his wife, Margo Reisman.  Dr. Reisman was an alumnus of the MSU Clinical Psychology doctoral program and an Emeritus Professor of Psychology at DePaul University in Chicago. Mrs. Reisman was also a proud MSU graduate in Elementary Education.

Congratulations to the 2025 award winner, Kristen Johnson! 

  • Past the John and Margo Reisman Award Winners

    Past Winners

    2008 - Sarah Racine
    2009 - Zori Kalibetseva
    2010 - Tim Moran
    2011 - Natalie Berger
    2012 - Katherine Pickard
    2013 - Jeff Lin
    2014 - Karis Casagrande
    2015 - Evan Good
    2016 - Beier Yao
    2018 - Alexandra Vazquez
    2020 - Devon Kimball
    2022 - Hannah Tokish
    2024 - Naomi Alvarado

Bob and Bets Caldwell Land-Grant Values Award

This is a Psychology Department award, rather than a Clinical Science award, and it recognizes a psychology graduate student who exemplifies public-spirited attitudes and actions that encourage each of us to bridge divides, to discover unity in common purpose, and to be a positive force for hope and possibilities. 

Congratulations to the 2024 award winner, Alexandra Vazquez!

Master's Thesis Presentation Award

Each year, the second year Clinical Psychology graduate students present their master's research to the entire Clinical Psychology Program. The Master's Thesis Presentation Award is selected by the program faculty and given to the student with the best presentation that year.

Congratulations to the 2023/2024 award winner, Christophe Delay!

  • Past Master's Thesis Presentation Award Winners

    Past Winners

    2011/2012 - Katey Smagur
    2012/2013 - Natalie Berger
    2013/2014 - Katherine Pickard
    2014/2015 - Jeff Lin
    2015/2016 - Brooke Slawinski
    2016/2017 - Jade Kobayashi
    2017/2018 - Kyle Frost
    2018/2019 - Lili Gloe
    2019/2020 - Lauren Wiklund
    2020/2021 - Dominic Roberts
    2021/2022 - Carolina Anaya

Research Excellence Award

This award is given to a fourth year student for excellence in research during graduate school.

Congratulations to the 2023/2024 award winner, Carolina Anaya! 

  • Past Research Excellence Award Winners

    Past Winners

    2017/2018 - Brooke Slawinski
    2018/2019 - Karis Casagrande
    2019/2020 - Kyle Frost
    2020/2021 - Diondra Straiton
    2021/2022 - Megan Mikhail
    2022/2023 - Anamiguel Pomales-Ramos

The Norman Abeles Award for Outstanding Clinical Service 

This award is given to a second year student who has most clearly demonstrated clinical skill and growth as a clinician over the course of their first year of practicum. The benefactors of the award are former graduate students of the MSU Clinical Psychology Program who contributed to the fund in honor of Dr. Norman Abeles' retirement in 2010. Dr. Abeles is an Emeritus Professor who served as the clinic director for 26 years and significantly contributed to the clinical and research training of our graduate students. 

Congratulations to the 2023/2024 award winner, Hannah Tokish! 

2024-25 Graduate Student Access Research Grant

This is a Department of Psychology research grant, rather than a Clinical Science award, and it seeks to encourage and support graduate students' exemplary research on topics that examine or advance access, opportunity, and excellence.

Congratulations to the 2024/2025 award winner, Devon Kimball.

 

 

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