Greater Good

Application Window: March 1st - April 15th, 2013

Winners Announced: May 17th, 2013

Funding Starts: September 2nd, 2013

In general, GGSC fellowships are awarded to research proposals that respond to one or more of the following themes:

1. The Biological Underpinnings of Pro-social Emotion. Examples of research in this arena would address questions such as: Is there a reward system in the brain that is involved with the experience of pro-social emotion, distinct from reward systems involved in sensory pleasure? What physiological processes are involved in attachment-related processes, such as caregiving, altruism, monogamy, and friendship?

2. The Context and Cultivation of Social Well-Being. For example, how do children and young adults learn to be compassionate and caring individuals in school, at home, and in other social contexts? What qualities of human institutions (e.g., families, neighborhoods, schools, churches, laws) foster social well-being? What are the trends in social well-being for children over the last 35 to 40 years? How do people with different ethnic, religious, or class backgrounds, different social perspectives, different cultural values, or different mental health histories peacefully co-exist?

3. Compassion, Health, and Community. How does compassion spread in communities, neighborhoods, cultures, and institutions? How does compassion promote health and well-being?

Application Requirements:

Applications can be submitted online between March 1st and April 15th, 2013.

Please complete the submission form and be prepared to upload the following:

Goldberg Undergraduate Fellowship:

• Research Proposal (500 words)
• Budget (Tell us how you intend to spend the fellowship)
• Letter of recommendation (sent via email from the senior researcher advising you)

Hornaday Graduate Fellowship:

• Research Proposal (1000 words)
• Budget (Tell us how you intend to spend the fellowship)
• Letter of Recommendation (sent via email from your primary research advisor)
• Curriculum Vitae

GGSC 2010-11 Graduate Fellow Neha John-Henderson, who studied how one's health is connected to one's socioeconomic status and one's attitudes toward social class.

We are especially interested in proposals that include an application or communication of research findings to the wider community. Our goal is to gather knowledge that will be directly useful to teachers, parents, social service and mental health professionals, and communities at large.

In addition to pursuing their chosen research, GGSC Fellows are expected to contribute to the greater good by working approximately five hours per week as a research assistant for the GGSC’s online magazine, Greater Good, or otherwise contributing to another of the Center’s initiatives.

If you have any questions about the fellowships or fellowship application process, please consult our list of Fellowship FAQ; if you don’t see your question there, please email it to our science director, Emiliana Simon-Thomas, at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Click here to submit your application.