Application Period: April 17 – May 15, 2026

This fund is designed to support research that is primarily concerned with dissociation or closely related topics. 

The award is named for David Caul, MD, the fourth president of ISSTD in 1987, (then known as the International Society for the Study of Multiple Personality & Dissociation) a dedicated and beloved leader in the field of dissociation.

Graduate students and undergraduate honors students are eligible to apply for funding up to $1500. Please note that funding for projects less than $1500 are also encouraged.

For consideration, the Applicant must fulfill the following criteria:

The Applicant must be either:

• A graduate student (in a Masters, PsyD, or PhD program) in psychology, psychiatry, social work, or related fields or
• An undergraduate psychology honors student or
• A psychiatric resident
• Postdocs are not eligible for the Caul Research Fund

The proposed research must be primarily concerned with dissociation or closely related topics. The online applicant must submit a completed research proposal. The online form must be completed in a single session so we encourage you to collect all information in a document before starting the application. The application will consist of the following sections:

• Applicant information (includes basic personal information and upload of applicant CV)
• Research study information including:
  • Name of Research Study
  • Supervisor Name, Email and CV upload
  • Brief description of research study (no more than 150 words)
  • Full description of research study presenting the rationale, aims and hypotheses, research design, and procedures
  • Proposed timeline with the duration of the study from design to write-up including the proposed start and end dates of data collection
  • Duties of the applicant and applicant’s supervisor
• Budget Information
  • Proposed budget for the grant indicating the amount requested and how funds would be spent (uploaded as Excel or PDF file)
  • Brief description, attached to the budget, of why the grant will be essential to performance of the project
  • Requested funding amount
• Additional Support and Documentation
  • Letter of support from the primary faculty member overseeing the research that addresses the applicants’ ability to carry out the proposed research
  • Letters of support from recruitment sites (where applicable)
  • Institutional Ethics Review Board Approval(s)

Additional Information on Application Process

1. The research proposal must be approved by the Applicants graduate faculty supervisor as submitted. If an award is made and the project is substantially changed, the Committee must be notified of that fact as soon as possible. If the revised protocol appears to change resource needs, then the Committee may perform an ad hoc review of the revised project to assure that the award remains justified.
2. The award funding should be used to cover central costs for the completion of the work. Funding is unable to cover payment of graduate students stipends or living expenses, nor can funds be requested for conference travel or registration. Finally, funding cannot be used to “recoup” expenses from aspects of the project that have already been completed or purchased.
3. Before funds can be distributed, the Applicant must provide certification that the research proposal has been granted approval by the Institutional Review Board or other Ethics oversight committee of their educational institution. If research is to be conducted outside the educational institution, then certifications must be provided to the committee for each site.
4. Proposals will be evaluated on a number of dimensions, including: the relevance and importance of the research question to the field of dissociation, originality, feasibility, quality of the aims/hypotheses, how well the methodology addresses the research question, whether the budget is justified given the research design, and the overall quality of the proposal.
5. Awards announcement letters will be sent out by the end of July following the application period.

It is an expectation that recipients of the David Caul Graduate Research Fund:

• Acknowledge support from the David Caul Graduate Research Fund of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation in any publications or presentations that result from the project.
• Provide the David Caul Graduate Research Fund Committee with a copy of any publications and/or presentations that result from the project.
• Submit to the David Caul Graduate Research Fund Committee a brief, written report within two months of the conclusion of the project summarizing the research findings and listing any presentations, conference papers, grant proposals, or publications that have resulted from the project.

For questions, please contact Kai Monde (kaimonde@optonline.net).

To apply, complete the online David Caul Research Grant Application. Any applications which are incomplete or not submitted according to instructions will be ineligible.