How you can make a donation to the Department of Psychology
Your support is vital in helping the Psychology Department remain a leader in the field. Contributing to the Psychology Department can make a difference in our ability to improve undergraduate and graduate programs, attract and retain top faculty and students, and maintain state-of-the art facilities and resources for research and teaching over the coming years.
UCLA is home to the nation’s #1-ranked full-range psychology department, where leading faculty are capitalizing on advances in brain imaging, immune science, and genomics to revolutionize the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders like cancer, obesity, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, ADHD, alcoholism, anxiety disorders, and Alzheimer’s disease. UCLA Psychology is also broadening our understanding of issues ranging from the health and policy needs of underserved populations, learning and education enhancement, developmental challenges from infancy to adolescence, family stress coping strategies, and advanced statistical analysis to policing equity, social relationships, cultural values, and visual perception in pilots and surgeons.
You may direct your gift to a specific area or program, or make an unrestricted gift that of the Department can use for its greatest needs. Please Donate Now to make a donation to one of these programs:
Psychology and Neuroscience Complex Fund
The Psychology Department is currently housed in four outdated structures that include the original Franz Hall, which dates from 1939, and the adjacent middle buildings and tower built between 1961 and 1969.The urgent need for seismic retrofitting of the Psychology tower presents an opportunity to undertake a comprehensive upgrade and expansion of facilities for psychology and neuroscience research and teaching. Your support will help provide much-needed increases and upgrades in research lab space and student amenity space, and will enable UCLA to meet the needs of scientists and students for decades to come. The result will be a new jewel in the crown on the UCLA campus, known as the UCLA Psychology and Neuroscience Complex.
Graduate Student Research Fund
As one of the top research universities in the world, UCLA is a premiere choice for many graduate student applicants. Philanthropic investment in doctoral fellowships contributes to excellence in research by enabling the Department to attract and support the finest scholars in the world. Most students have paid positions throughout graduate school (e.g., as teaching assistants), and this fund provides support for research project expenses from the first year’s Master’s Thesis through the Doctoral Dissertation.
Undergraduate Psychology Research Opportunity Programs (PROPS)
Undergraduates on a campus like UCLA are exposed to a wide range of perspectives, spurring debate, collaboration, and innovation. Our undergraduates have the opportunity to challenge faculty and fuel scholarly endeavor with extensive participation in top-tier research. Financial support for undergraduate research allows our diverse students to have access to so many programs offered by the Department. This fund provides small grants to help with research expenses for honors theses or other undergraduate research.
Chair’s Discretionary Fund
Gifts to this fund allow the Department Chair to allocate resources as needed to the Department’s many programs, helping undergraduate and graduate students achieve their goals. Because gifts to a Discretionary Fund afford financial flexibility and leveraging power for the Department, they are highly prized.
Infant Development Program Fund
The Megan E. Daly Infant Development Program (IDP) is a teaching and research facility involving infants, toddlers, their parents and/or caregivers. In addition, the IDP provides an important opportunity for undergraduate students in the Applied Developmental Psychology Program to acquire first-hand experience with young children. Gifts to the IDP fund provide critical support for our ADP work-study students.
Clinical Psychology Training Program Fund
Our Department outpatient clinic provides psychological assessment and treatment on a sliding fee scale to adults, children, and families in the Los Angeles community. The Psychology Clinic is staffed by doctoral students in the Clinical Psychology program, rated first in the nation, under faculty supervision. Gifts help to provide, for example: services to low-income families, toys for children’s groups, assistance for children being adopted from foster care, and neuropsychological assessment materials.
Donor Recognition
Your generosity is greatly appreciated by the faculty, staff, and students in the Department as well as by the University. All donations help us with our mission, and donors at all levels should feel proud of supporting education, research, and the services we provide to the community. Cash donations or gifts of securities are tax deductible and will have an immediate impact. Pledges for future gifts are also welcomed. Named endowments or named faculty chairs are especially welcomed and can help secure our future. For more information, please contact Olivia Lam, Executive Director of Development, Life Sciences at 310-825-5068 or olam@support.ucla.edu.