Graduate Awards
Each year, the Department of Psychology calls for nominations for our Janet T. Spence Outstanding Teaching Assistant (TA), Outstanding Assistant Instructor (AI) and Outstanding Dissertation Awards. These annual awards honor outstanding graduate students in the Department of Psychology. Recipients are honored at our annual awards reception and receive a $500 award. Please see more information about the individual awards below.
Each year the Psychology Department calls for nominations for outstanding performance by a graduate student teaching assistant. Award winners will be chosen by the Department of Psychology Fellowship and Awards Committee. The recipient will be recognized at the annual Departmental awards reception and will receive a $500 award.
Dr. Janet T. Spence was a major figure in American psychology. She was a faculty member of our department from 1967 to 1997 and served as chair from 1969 to 1972. She retired from UT after the Spring 1997 semester. A 1949 Ph.D. from the University of Iowa, Dr. Spence's early work made seminal contributions to theories of the influence of anxiety on learning and performance, as well as the study of the effects of material incentives on intrinsic motivation. She passed away on March 16, 2015.
Psychology graduate students who have held a Teaching Assistant position in the last academic year.
Nominations must be initiated by a faculty member and sent to the Graduate Program Coordinator. The nomination form and the CIS summary page for the TA semester are required. The nomination form consists of a series of questions regarding the student’s performance. Nominations are typically requested in January.
2021 Recipient: Tehila Nugiel. 2020 Recipient: Courtney Crosby. 2019 Recipients: Ariel Handy, Jolene Jacquart. 2018 Recipients: Stephanie Savicki, Anna Sedlacek. 2017 Recipients Kelly E. Asao, Evan M. Stein. 2016 Recipients: Carey S. Pulverman, Nicole J. Wen. 2015 Recipients: Daniel Conroy-Beam, Jason D. Ferrell.
Each year the Department of Psychology calls for nominations for the Janet T. Spence Outstanding Assistant Instructor (AI). Award winners will be chosen by the Department of Psychology Fellowship and Awards Committee. The recipient will be recognized at the annual Departmental awards reception and will receive a $500 award.
Dr. Janet T. Spence was a major figure in American psychology. She was a faculty member of our department from 1967 to 1997 and served as Chair from 1969 to 1972. She retired from UT after the Spring 1997 semester. A 1949 Ph.D. from the University of Iowa, Dr. Spence's early work made seminal contributions to theories of the influence of anxiety on learning and performance, as well as the study of the effects of material incentives on intrinsic motivation. She passed away on March 16, 2015.
In order to receive an AI position, students must:
- Successfully complete the PSY 398T Supervised Teaching course;
- Serve as the teaching assistant for the non-SMOC section of either PSY 301 or PSY 304 ; and
- Serve as the teaching assistant for the PSY 418 course.
Psychology graduate students who held an AI position are eligible to apply for the AI award.
Nominations must be initiated by the graduate student AI and sent to the Graduate Program Coordinator. The CIS summary page for the AI semester is required. In addition, the AI may submit any additional materials they feel are important for the committee to review. Nominations are typically requested in February.
2021 Recipient: Sanaz Talaifar. 2019 Recipient: Fortunato (Nick) Medrano. 2018 Recipient: Dolly Rojo. 2017 Recipient: Kelly E. Asao. 2016 Recipient: Stevie S. Schein. 2015 Recipient: Brooke J. Miller
Each year the Psychology Department calls for nominations to recognize exceptional work by doctoral students and to encourage the highest levels of scholarship, research, and writing. Award winners will be chosen by the Department of Psychology Fellowship and Awards Committee. The recipient will be recognized at the annual Departmental awards reception and will receive a $500 award.
To be eligible for the dissertation award, you must meet one of the following requirements:
- Have a dissertation submitted in final form to the Graduate School by May 8 for a degree to be awarded in May (Note: Nominees who do not submit their dissertations by May 8 or who do not complete other degree requirements by this date will be ineligible to receive an award in this year’s competition);
- Have a dissertation submitted for a degree awarded in August or December; or
- Have a dissertation that was submitted after April 1, for a degree awarded in May.
The following materials must be submitted to the Graduate Program Coordinator:
- A letter from the dissertation supervisor stating why this dissertation was chosen for nomination;
- A copy of the dissertation (including abstract) in .pdf format.
2021 Recipient: Remington Mallett, "The Crossroads of Working Memory, Attention, and Perception: How Distraction Impacts Short-Term Memories". 2020 Recipient: Amelia Stanton, "Autonomic Imbalance and Female Sexual Arousal Disorder: The Identification of Heart Rate Variability Level as a Marker and Treatment Target". 2019 Recipient: Justin Dainer-Best, "Identifying and Modifying Negative Self-Referent Cognition in Individuals with Depressive Symptoms". 2017 Recipient: Gabriella M. Harari, "A Window onto the Psychology of Every Day Life: Assessing Student's Daily Behaviors Using Smartphone Sensing Methods". 2016 Recipient: Carolyn E. Jones, "The Social Transmission of Associative Fear in Rats: Mechanisms and Applications of Fear Conditioning by Proxy". 2015 Recipient: Peter C. Clasen, “Elaborative Processing Biases Associated with Vulnerability and Maintenance of Depression: Evidence Across Levels of Analysis”