Congratulations to Michelle Chang (Clinical Area) for receiving the Jenessa Shapiro Memorial Graduate Award
Date published: 06/30/25
Congratulations to Michelle Chang (Clinical Area) for receiving the Jenessa Shapiro Memorial Graduate Award. This scholarship facilitates graduate students’ research at the intersection of psychology and justice
Congratulations to Alexair Gonzalez (Social Area), Praise Owoyemi (Clinical Area), Gil Moreu (Social Area), Tanner Demaree (Social Area), Kasheena Rogbeer (Social Area) for receiving Political Psychology Fellowships
Date published: 06/30/25
Alexair Gonzalez (Social Area), Praise Owoyemi (Clinical Area), Gil Moreu (Social Area), Kasheena Rogbeer (Social Area), and Tanner Demaree (Social Area) received the Political Psychology Fellowships. The Political Psychology Fellowship is awarded to doctoral students specializing in political psychology, the study of mass politics, and/or intergroup relations, enrolled in either the Psychology or Political Science Departments.
Congratulations to our Graduate Summer Research Mentorship recipients!
Date published: 06/30/25
The following 28 graduate students received the Graduate Division Graduate Summer Research Mentorship, which provides financial support for conducting research under the close mentorship of a faculty member this summer.
| Megan Cady | Cognitive |
| Yuhan Cheng | Clinical |
| Kristen Chu | Clinical |
| Shiloh Cleveland | Clinical |
| Sache Coury | Developmental |
| Brooke Cullen | Clinical |
| Melanie Dratva | Clinical |
| Ashley Flores | Clinical |
| Genesis Flores | Developmental |
| Hyewon Hong | Social |
| Tovah Irwin | Cognitive |
| Heather Jensen | SAN |
| Annabel Kady | Clinical |
| Kristen Laulette | Clinical |
| Shiyin Liu | Clinical |
| Christopher Machle | Clinical |
| Kaitlin McManus | Clinical |
| Jonathan Morrow | Cognitive |
| Natalia Pallis Hassani | BNS |
| Summer Pascual | Clinical |
| Nikhita Prabhu | Developmental |
| Melanie Ruiz | Cognitive |
| Lisa Shen | SAN |
| Molly Smith | Social |
| Karissa Tran | Health |
| Enya Walker | BNS |
| Alice Xu | Developmental |
| Haocheng Zhu | Cognitive |
Congratulations to our Graduate Research Mentorship (GRM) Program recipients!
Date published: 06/27/25
The following 11 graduate students received the Graduate Division Graduate Research Mentorship, which is designed to assist students in acquiring and developing advanced research skills under faculty mentorship.
| Ashley Chen | Cognitive |
| Yuhan Cheng | Clinical |
| Shiloh Cleveland | Clinical |
| Melanie Dratva | Clinical |
| Shiba Esfand | Clinical |
| Tovah Irwin | Cognitive |
| Heather Jensen | SAN |
| Annabel Kady | Clinical |
| Remus Mitchell | Quantitative |
| Molly Smith | Social |
| Enya Walker | BNS |
Congratulations to Kaia Sargent for winning the Student Poster Award
Date published: 11/08/24
Congratulations to Kaia Sargent (Behavioral Neuroscience Area) for winning the Student Poster Award (poster title “Brain-body dysconnectivity: Deficient autonomic regulation of cortical function in first-episode schizophrenia”) at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research in Prague.
Congratulations to Wesley Meredith and to Haley Wang for receiving American Psychological Foundation Graduate Research Scholarships.
Date published: 11/08/24
Congratulations to Wesley Meredith (Developmental Area) and to Haley Wang (Clinical Area) for receiving American Psychological Foundation (APF)/Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology (COGDOP) Graduate Research Scholarships. The purpose of the scholarship program is to assist graduate students of psychology with research costs associated with the master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation.
Congratulations to Ashley Harris (Clinical Area) and Gifty Ayawvi (Clinical Area) on being selected to participate in one of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundations leadership programs
Date published: 10/09/24
We are proud to announce that Ashley Harris (Clinical Area) and Gifty Ayawvi (Clinical Area) have been selected to participate in one of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s leadership programs. These programs connect changemakers across the country—from diverse professions and fields—to learn from and work with one another in creating more just and thriving communities.
To learn more about Health Policy Research Scholars and RWJF’s other leadership programs, and to meet other participants, visit www.healthpolicyresearch-scholars.org
Welcome first year graduate students!
Date published: 10/01/24
2024 UCLA Psychology Graduate Hooding Ceremony
Date published: 07/09/24
Congratulations to the 41 participants who participated in the Psychology Graduate Hooding Ceremony! We wish our students much success in their futures!
Congratulations to Amalia Ionescu (Developmental Area) and Icy (Yunyi) Zhang (Developmental Area) for receiving the 2024 Millard Madsen Distinguished Dissertation Award
Date published: 07/02/24
Amalia Ionescu (Developmental Area) and Icy (Yunyi) Zhang (Developmental Area) for received the 2024 Millard Madsen Distinguished Dissertation Award. The award, which recognizes the best developmental dissertation, is typically awarded to one student annually. This year, the award committee chose to honor two dissertations. Amalia’s dissertation is titled “Analogical Reasoning Involving Semantic Relations in Children and Machines.” Icy’s dissertation is titled “From the Lab to the Classroom: Effects of Embodied Pedagogies on Students’ Learning of Statistical Concepts.”
Congratulations to Ben Isenberg (Clinical Area) for being selected by the Pritzker Committee for Excellence to receive the fifth annual Pritzker Graduate Scholar Award
Date published: 07/02/24
Ben Isenberg (Clinical Area) was selected by the Pritzker Committee for Excellence to receive the fifth annual Pritzker Graduate Scholar Award. The Pritzker Graduate Scholar Award is intended to support graduate students in the Department of Psychology who demonstrate excellence in the conduct of psychological science with the potential for high public impact.
Congratulations to the Class of 2024!
Date published: 07/02/24
Forty-two doctoral candidates earned their Ph.D., and 1,500 undergraduates received degrees in Psychology, Psychobiology, and Cognitive Science.
Congratulations to the following Clinical Area Award recipients
Date published: 07/02/24
Yesenia Aguilar: Charles Y. Nakamura Research, Teaching, and Mentorship Award
Nora Barnes-Horowitz: Senior Clinical Scientist Award
Wave-Ananda Baskerville: Charles Y. Nakamura Research, Teaching, and Mentorship Award
Wave-Ananda Baskerville: Clinical Scientist Award
Ibukun Olabinjo: Stanley Sue Distinguished Research Award
Alex Venegas: Michael J. Goldstein Distinguished Dissertation Award
Congratulations to Joni Brown (Health Area) for receiving the 2024 Health Psychology Paper Prize
Date published: 07/02/24
Joni Brown (Health Area) received the 2024 Health Psychology Paper Award for her paper titled “Sexual Socialization Experiences and Perceived Effects on Sexual and Reproductive Health in Young African American Women,” published in Sex Roles.
Congratulations to Robin Blades (Health Area) and Tyrus Korecki (Health Area) for receiving Trainee Scholar Travel Awards from the PsychoNeuroImmunology Research Society (PNIRS)
Date published: 07/02/24
Robin Blades (Health Area) and Tyrus Korecki (Health Area) for received Trainee Scholar Travel Awards from the PsychoNeuroImmunology Research Society (PNIRS).
Congratulations to the following nine graduate students for receiving the Division of Graduate Education Dissertation Year Award (DYA).
Date published: 07/02/24
The following nine students received the Division of Graduate Education Dissertation Year Award (DYA). The DYA awards a $20,000 stipend and full tuition and fees to students during their last year of dissertation writing.
| Du, Meng | Social and Affective Neuroscience |
| Fu, Shuhao | Cognitive |
| Losiewicz, Olivia | Clinical |
| Marshall, Riley | Social |
| Martinez, Emily | Clinical |
| Meredith, Wesley | Developmental |
| Rinne, Gabrielle | Health |
| Saragosa-Harris, Natalie | Developmental |
| Schiff, Sara | Clinical |
Congratulations to Alexair Gonzalez (Social Area), Gustavo Martir Luna (Social Area), Gil Moreu (Social Area), Kasheena Rogbeer (Social Area), and Ryan Sabillo (Social Area) for receiving Political Psychology Fellowships
Date published: 05/23/24
Alexair Gonzalez (Social Area), Gustavo Martir Luna (Social Area), Gil Moreu (Social Area), Kasheena Rogbeer (Social Area), and Ryan Sabillo (Social Area) received the Political Psychology Fellowships. The Political Psychology Fellowship is awarded to doctoral students specializing in political psychology, the study of mass politics, and/or intergroup relations, enrolled in either the Psychology or Political Science Departments.
Congratulations to Erjing Zhang (Developmental Area) for receiving the Patricia Greenfield International and Out-of-State Field Research Award in Culture & Human Development
Date published: 05/23/24
Erjing Zhang received the Patricia Greenfield International and Out-of-State Field Research Award in Culture & Human Development. This annual award is designed to facilitate graduate student research in a wide variety of settings, supporting diverse scholarship that explores the relationship between culture and human development.
Congratulations to Haley Wang (Clinical Area) for receiving the Liu Yunghuo Bei Qui Memorial Award
Date published: 05/23/24
Congratulations to Haley Wang (Clinical Area) for receiving the Liu Yunghuo Bei Qui Memorial Award.
Congratulations to Jordan Thomas (Clinical Area) for receiving the John Fels and Sherri Abend-Fels Award
Date published: 05/23/24
Congratulations to Jordan Thomas (Clinical Area) for receiving the John Fels and Sherri Abend-Fels Award