Funding Opportunities

Bruce and Jane Walsh Grant in Memory of John Holland

The Bruce and Jane Walsh Grant in Memory of John Holland supports scientific, scholarly, or applied research and/or educational activities investigating how personality, culture, and environment influence work behavior and health (mental and physical).

Deadline: September 18, 2024
Amount: $19,000
Sponsors: APF

The Bruce and Jane Walsh Grant in Memory of John Holland supports scientific, scholarly, or applied research and/or educational activities investigating how personality, culture, and environment influence work behavior and health (mental and physical).

Preference will be given to early career psychologists no more than 10 years postdoctoral, and pilot projects that, if successful, would be strong candidates for support from major federal and foundation funding agencies, and “demonstration projects” that promise to generalize broadly to similar settings in other geographical areas and/or to other settings.

John Holland was a renowned vocational and personality psychologist, and a pioneer in the field of vocational psychology. Holland’s Theory of Vocational Choice inspired the creation of the Holland Codes (otherwise known as Holland Occupational Themes, or RIASEC), which refer to the idea that careers and vocational choice can be based upon personality types. Each letter or code stands for a particular “type”: Realistic (doers), Investigative (thinkers), Artistic (creators), Social (helpers), Enterprising (persuaders), and Conventional (organizers). Holland’s research provided a better understanding of the interaction between personality and work environment, and why our personalities may flourish in particular environments. In his honor, Bruce and Mrs. Jane Walsh have funded this grant, which has generously supported graduate students and early career psychologists who investigate how personality, culture and environment influence work-related behavior and health.

Eligibility

APF encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds with respect to age, race, color, religion, creed, nationality, ability, sexual orientation, gender, and geography.

Applicants must:

  • be a graduate student or early career researcher (no more than 10 years postdoctoral)
  • be affiliated with a nonprofit charitable, educational, or scientific institution, or governmental entity operating exclusively for charitable and educational purposes
  • have demonstrated competence and capacity to execute the proposed work

Preference is given to early career psychologists no more than 10 years postdoctoral.

Application Instructions

Application Materials:

  • project proposal
  • project timeline
  • detailed budget and justification
  • CV

Evaluation Criteria
Applications will be evaluated on:

  • goals and objectives
  • innovation and impact
  • methodology and quality
  • competency 
  • criticality of funding

Please be advised that APF does not provide feedback to applicants on their proposals.

Please review our Program FAQs for important details on the application process.

Recent Recipient

Dr. Kerrie Wilkins-Yel

University of Massachusetts Boston

“#WorkingWhileBlack: Examining how Navigating Gendered Racism at Work Impacts Black Women’s Mental Health”

Past Recipients

2023

Kelsey L. Autin, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Milwaulkee
“Piloting an Intervention for Improved Perinatal Mental Health among New and Expecting Working Mothers”

2022

Kerrie Wilkins-Yel, PhD, University of Massachusetts Boston
“#WorkingWhileBlack: Examining how Navigating Gendered Racism at Work Impacts Black Women’s Mental Health”

2021

Kevin Hoff, PhD, University of Houston
“Whole-Person Career Assessment: Developing Integrative Person-Occupation Fit Measures for Public Use”

2020

Blake Allan, PhD, University of Houston
“Low Wage Work and Mental Health in the Time of COVID-19: A Longitudinal Study”

2019

Keaton Fletcher, PhD, Georgia Institute of Technology
“Personality’s Role in Linking Leader Behavior to Follower Health Behavior: A Dual-Pathway Model”

2018

Hui Xu, PhD, Loyola University Chicago
“The Longitudinal Prediction of Career Decision Ambiguity Tolerance on Major Satisfaction and Job Search Self-Efficacy”

2017

Xiaoxiao Hu, PhD, Old Dominion University
“The Influence of Culture on the Relationship between Employees’ Subjective Well-Being and Job Performance”

2016

Mia Budescu, PhD and Anna Luerssen, PhD, Lehman College
“Message in a bottle: Socialization patterns and adolescents’ goal pursuit during the transition out of high school”

2015

Trisha Raque-Bogdan, PhD, University of Denver & Ryan Duff, PhD, University of Florida