Research Awards

The American Art Therapy Association and its generous donors provide annual Research Awards which are publicly presented at a special ceremony during the Annual Conference to encourage the growth of the art therapy profession by rewarding excellence and enabling access to information and resources for the members who are selected by the Research Committee. This year, the Research Committee, through a highly competitive selection process, will bestow these awards:
     
Gladys Agell Award for Excellence in Research 

Rawley Silver Research Award

Seed Grant Award

APPLICATION DIRECTIONS

Research Award applicants must be current members of the American Art Therapy Association. Follow the guidelines for the award and/or grant for which you are applying, and submit all required materials via the application portal. 


DEADLINE

The 2023 Research Awards deadline has passed. 


REVIEW PROCESS

Members of the Research Committee or their designees will review proposals using the Evaluation Criteria explained for each separate grant or award. Members of the committee who review proposals must be blind to the identity of individuals submitting a proposal to ensure impartiality; they must not know the applicants. If committee members who can remain blind to the applicant identity are not available to review submissions, the Chair will invite qualified reviewers from outside the committee to review a submission. Outside reviewers will be chosen in consultation with other Research Committee members who are knowledgeable of art therapists with research expertise and able to provide a careful and thoughtful judgment on submissions.

Frequently Asked Questions


GLADYS AGELL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH

This award is given out to student members of the American Art Therapy Association in support of excellence in research. Maximum Award Amount: $250.00

Eligibility Criteria for Award:

  1. 1.    The researcher must be a graduate student member of the American Art Therapy Association, Inc. Student, Student Plus, and International Student Memberships are valid. 

    2.    An art therapist must be the principal investigator, e.g., professor, thesis chair. 

    3.    The study must be conducted in the area of applied art therapy research. 

    4.    The research design must use a statistical measure. 

    5.    The research must be student work completed within the past year. Both May and December graduates may submit papers by May 1st of the following year.  

    6.    Selected candidates will assemble a poster presentation. Posters will be on display during the AATA conference. Candidates may have a time to share and discuss their work in a poster display session with other presenters, however, candidates for the Gladys Agell award will be judged according to criteria described in the proposal requirements, and the final poster execution. The presentation session itself will not be part of the judging criteria. 

Application & Guidelines:

Gladys Agell Award for Excellence in Research

RAWLEY SILVER RESEARCH AWARD

The purpose of this award is to fund an art therapy research study in its proposal stage. Maximum Award(s) Amount: $1,000.00 each. 

Eligibility Criteria for Award:

1. The researcher must be a voting member of the American Art Therapy Association, Inc. 

2. Individuals may submit (or as part of a submission team) only one (1) proposal. Multiple submissions by the Primary Investigator will not be accepted. 

3. Research may be at the proposal stage or in the early stages of progress. 

4. Meets criteria for one of the categories in Section A.5 and contains all materials listed in Section C.  

5. The research must meet one of the following categories: 

1. Proposal Stage applications consist of the plan you submitted to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or equivalent review board and a copy of their approval letter. 

2. Early Stage or Initial Stage applications are those that have received Institutional Board Approval, evidenced by an IRB approval letter, and are in the early stages of being conducted. In addition to the IRB approval letter and the plan submitted to the IRB, they include the plan for data collection and, as applicable, data analysis methodology, and all items listed in Section C. 

3. A proposal that is for a grant or funding opportunity requires the primary researcher to identify the funding agency and Request for Proposals (RFP). 

Application & Guidelines:

Rawley Silver Research Award

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Seed Grant Award

The purpose of this award is to fund an art therapy research study in its proposal stage. Maximum Award(s) Amount: Up to $6,000

  • The grant requires clinician-researcher collaboration and is open to art therapists worldwide (One of the Principal Investigators must be a member of AATA).
  • The proposal should include a clear articulation of how the clinician-researcher partnership will be structured for the project.
  • The grant period can be up to but no longer than two years in length.
  • The proposal narrative and supporting documents must be uploaded as one PDF file.
  • Awarded funds will be dispersed twice: once an IRB approval for the research is granted and confirmation sent to the Research Committee, and the second will be sent at the mid-point of the research timeline.

Application & Guidelines:

Seed Grant Award

Direct questions to: info@arttherapy.org