Giving to Cornell Psychology
Through giving, you can help us reach our goals for outstanding research and educational excellence. Gifts can be used to sponsor colloquia, establishing an endowed lecture series or specific speaker forum around a specific topic in psychology, hosting conferences at Cornell, introducing technology to our classrooms, renovating infrastructure within the department, and modernizing the equipment in our research labs. Larger gifts can establish or contribute to endowed awards or fellowships for Postdoctoral, Graduate, or Undergraduate students, establish distinguished chairs and professorships, or initiate, develop, and support other initiatives that you or our department has identified as important priorities in psychology. Naming endowments in honor of the donor or in honor of another name is possible.
Whether your gift is large or small, a gift to the Department of Psychology at Cornell contributes to the larger pursuit of knowledge and insight that drives behavior, brain, cognition, and development. A contribution of any form or size will make a lasting difference. The cross-college Department of Psychology spans the College of Arts and Science and the College of Human Ecology. We have a shared mission to expand current strengths and build new concentrations to enhance collaborations both within the department and across the University and world. The link below will allow you to direct a gift to either college, but any donation will provide holistic support to our joint department. Please take a moment to consider making a gift now.
For more information on including Cornell in your estate planning or other giving questions, please contact the Cornell Fund.
Some ways to contribute to the Cornell Psychology Department:
General Psychology Department Fund
Our internationally recognized department is focused on conducting cutting-edge and influential psychological science. In addition to encouraging and supporting excellent science, we support the professional and intellectual development of our faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students. From improving and providing the resources and equipment needed for research, to funding conference travel and research projects for students and faculty, to extending our outreach to the public and our local community, we do many things to build and strengthen a visible, active, and engaged community of psychologists. We depend on discretionary funds to make all of this possible.
Undergraduate Student Fund
Psychology remains one of the most popular undergraduate majors in the College of Arts and Sciences. Our department is unique in having an unusually high proportion of our students directly involved with cutting-edge and innovative research. Such direct involvement allows our students to learn first-hand what it is like to “do science” as well as to develop one-on-one mentoring relationships with faculty. These students often go on to graduate school to become scientists at top-tier universities. We are especially committed to providing support to encourage women and students of color to become scientists and contribute to the scholarship of psychology and STEM more generally. This involves support for research, conference travel, and professional development.
Graduate Student Fund
We strive to attract the most talented, motivated, and dedicated scientists we can. Our graduate students are poised to make lasting and important contributions to science, and we do everything we can to support them and provide excellent training and mentorship. We are especially focused on providing support to encourage women and students of color to become scientists and contribute to the scholarship of psychology and STEM more generally. One pressing need is to increase the funding for these scientists-in-training, so that they can be supported while conducting their research. This involves support for research, conference travel, and professional development.
Cornell Undergraduate Psychology Conference (CUP)
Approximately 90% of our psychology undergraduate majors participate in independent research at some point during their time here. We now have a forum in which undergraduates can present and share their work with each other and with a broader audience. In order to provide such a forum, and to increase the coherence and visibility of the psychology community among undergraduates more generally, we plan to hold the CUP Conference on a yearly basis.
This one-day conference consists of undergraduate students presenting their research findings either in an oral or poster presentation. It is a unique and highly valuable opportunity for students to experience a professional conference in the field, to share and present their work, and to meet other students and learn about the various kinds of exciting, cutting-edge work being conducted here at Cornell. The audience of this conference will consist of faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates, from the Psychology Department as well as other departments whose undergraduates are interested in psychology. Support is needed to develop this conference into an annual, highly visible and successful event.