Awards and Funding
Departmental Graduate Awards
Flora E. Thompson Fund
Flora Thompson was the Department's much-beloved first administrative officer. This expendable fund was established in her name by her family and friends. It supports graduate student travel to national conferences.
Baer, Wolf, and Risley Outstanding Graduate Student Award
The Baer, Wolf, and Risley Outstanding Graduate Student Award is given to graduate students completing their final requirements in the Ph.D. program. The students are nominated by the faculty based on substantial contributions to research, teaching, and departmental service.
2024 – Matt Laske
2023 – Josh Harsin
2022 – Brett Gelino, Nicole Kanaman
2021 – Tyler Erath
The Todd R. Risley Student Award
The purpose of this award is to provide a $500 annual award from the Endowed Todd R. Risley Student Award Fund to a doctoral student from ABS chosen by a committee comprised of the ABS Awards Committee and four of the Founding Donors of the Risley Fund. Students must be matriculated in the Department of Applied Behavioral Science doctoral program and may work at any affiliated site including, but not limited to Juniper Gardens, North Star Academy, Edna A. Hill Child Development Center, KU Work Group for Community Health and Development, Parsons Institute, and others. The award can fund dissertation research or travel to present a paper pertaining to research and/or activities that have a clear path to scalable and sustainable solutions. Todd’s passions included: research with the potential for widespread application; early language development; implementation of innovative autism programs; design of environments to promote engagement; and parenting, However, any other research that represents the spirit of Todd’s innovation will be considered.
The Frances Horowitz Outstanding Master’s Award
The Frances Horowitz Outstanding Master’s Award is given to master’s level graduate students completing their final requirements of the terminal MA degree. Student candidates are nominated by faculty based on three factors: (1) research, (2) academics, and (3) service. Students who have a demonstrated history of providing community and public service, maintained academic excellence, and completed or are in the process of completing a socially significant, experimentally rigorous, and innovative research project that contributes meaningfully to advancing the science or practice of behavior analysis are competitive for the award.
Fellowships, Assistantships, and Other Funding Opportunities
Graduate School Guidelines on Research and Teaching Assistantships
The latest information about Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) may be found at the Provost's Office where you will find eligibility requirements, information about tuition assistance, and general guidelines.
Graduate School Scholarships, Fellowships, and Assistantships
The KU Office of Graduate Studies website provides resources on internal student awards and scholarships, as well as resources to help you find and apply for external grants, fellowships, and awards. Links are also provided for questions about financial aid and the KU Scholarships portal. More information may be obtained at http://graduate.ku.edu/funding.
Graduate School Travel Fund
Once during your graduate career, you may receive funding to cover expenses associated with attending and presenting a paper at a professional conference. Be sure to apply early in the year you hope to secure funding. The graduate school has a limited amount of funding; it is awarded on a first-come-first-served basis.