The grant application period for 2026 is open from September 2025 to January 14, 2026.
Application Deadline: January 14, 2026
Applicants Notified: June, 2026
Purpose: To provide funding for students in psychology or behavior analysis doctoral programs and students in psychology or behavior analysis master's programs that can support applied or basic research in the experimental analysis of behavior.
Grants Available: Up to three doctoral dissertation grants of up to US$5,000 each are available as well as up to three thesis grants of up to US$2,500 each. The amount awarded will vary and expenses must be clearly detailed in the proposed budget statement. Preference will be given to grants involving translational research.
Additional Information: The Innovative Student Research Grant, formerly called the SABA Experimental Analysis of Behavior Grant, was created in 2000 to encourage study in the experimental analysis of behavior. The SABA endowment is funded by many generous donations from members of ABAI.
These grants are intended to facilitate promising student research projects in behavior analysis. Proposals must be written clearly and concisely, address a question that would be viewed as important outside the behavior analytic community, and be methodologically rigorous.
Grant recipients will be publicly recognized at the SABA Awards Ceremony at the ABAI Annual Convention and in Inside Behavior Analysis.
Grant Application Details
Review of Applications: The ABAI Science Board administers the grant process, and the SABA Board of Directors chooses the grant recipients.
Eligibility Criteria:
Doctoral
(1) Applicants must be enrolled or have been accepted in a doctoral program in a department of psychology, education, behavioral science, or an allied discipline in which there is a sufficient number of behaviorally oriented faculty members to supervise the proposed research.
(2) Applicants must have at least one full academic year remaining in the program and sufficient time to complete the project after the grant application deadline.
Master’s
(1) Applicants must be enrolled or have been accepted in a master’s program in a department of psychology, education, behavioral science, or an allied discipline in which there is a sufficient number of behaviorally oriented faculty members to supervise the proposed research.
(2) Applicants must have at least one full academic year remaining in the program and sufficient time to complete the project after the grant application deadline.
All applicants
(1) Applicants must provide evidence of their commitment to basic or applied research in behavior analysis.
(2) Applicants may not apply for an Innovative Student Research Grant and a Bijou Grant in the same year.
Application Requirements
Biosketch: Applicants must download and complete a biosketch template (Microsoft Word format) and upload the completed file.
Proposal: Doctoral proposals are limited to five pages. Master’s proposals are limited to three pages. Please note that references may be up to two additional pages.
Proposals must include the following sections: Title, Significance, Specific Aims, Approach, Method, Limitations, Timeline, Budget, and Matching Funding.
Letters of Support: A letter of support from an academic advisor must be submitted. The letter should verify that the applicant has a minimum of one year left in their program, as well as outlining recommendations for the applicant and proposed project. Letters can be submitted by email to saba@abainternational.org.
Availability of Resources: The applicant’s department or program chair must send a letter verifying that the institution has the resources necessary to conduct the project. Letters can be submitted by email to saba@abainternational.org.
Conditions of Award: Grant recipients agree to provide a brief report on what the grant was used for, along with an outline of expenditures. This report is due to the SABA Board by April 1 of the following year.
Previous Recipients
2025 GRANT RECIPIENTS
Master's Thesis Grant
Nicole Markofski Project: Effects of Gradual and Blocked Context Fading on Operant Renewal in Humans
Doctoral Dissertation Grant
Matias Avellaneda Project: Unveiling the Mechanisms of Choice Between Multiple Alternatives
Jonah Bann Project: A Component Analysis of Evocative and Reinforcing Variables in the Assessment of Challenging Behavior
Sergio Ramos Project: Behavioral Chains and Self-Control: Investigating the Role of Schedule-Induced Behaviors in a Delay Discounting Task Under THC Chronic Exposure
Maribel Rodriguez Perez Project: Using Hypothetical Purchase Tasks to Evaluate and Reduce the Reinforcing Value of Meat
This grant has been awarded annually since 2002. View past research grant recipients here and past thesis and dissertation grant recipients here.
