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 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!
Past Winners
2017/2018 - Nicola Bernard
2018/2019 - Allison Gornik
2019/2020 - Karís Casagrande
2020/2021 - Evan Good
2021/2022 - Kyle Frost
2022/2023 - Diondra Straiton
2023/2024 - Sarah Carroll
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 DEI 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!
Past Winners
2023/2024 - Alexandra Vazquez
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 DEI 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!
Past Winners
2023/2024 - Kenan Sayers
2024-25 Graduate Student J-DEI 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 justice, diversity, equity, and/or inclusion.
Congratulations to the 2024/2025 award winner, Devon Kimball.
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 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!
Past Winners
2020 - Karis Casagrande
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 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 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!
Past Winners
2013/2014 - Matt Yalch
2014/2015 - Katherine Pickard
2015/2016 - Katey Smagur
2016/2017 - Xiaochen Luo
2017/2018 - Beier Yao
2018/2019 - Courtney Louis
2019/2020 - Megan Mikhail
2020/2021 - Dominic Roberts
2021/2022 - Carolina Anaya
Joseph L. White Outstanding Student Multicultural Research Award Values Award
This is another Psychology Department award that recognizes outstanding graduate student research on multicultural issues.
Lauren Wiklund, a Clinical Science graduate student, won the 2020 award for her project entitled "The Intersection of Race and Sexuality in a National Sample: Examining Discrimination and Mental Health."
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