Call for application – 3rd Summer School of Personality Psychology (SSPS 2024)

The 3rd Summer School of Personality Science (SSPS) is set to take place in person in Berlin (Germany) from July 29 to August 4 of 2024, right before the European Conference on Personality (ECP).

What is the SSPS?

The SSPS is a week-long summer school with 16 graduate students (master’s and PhD level) and 4 or more internationally renowned experts who serve as instructors. It aims to provide cutting-edge and specialized education as well as hands-on experience to talented personality psychology students from all over the world. The mini-curriculum, with different course formats (e.g., lectures, seminars, workshops, panel discussions, mentoring, luncheons), contains a wide variety of current and important topics in personality science. Student attendees also receive career advice and networking opportunities. General information on the SSPS can be found at https://osf.io/ts59d/, and specific information on the 3rd SSPS at https://osf.io/n2ytw/.

What is the application and selection process?

The 3rd SSPS is hosted by the European Association of Personality Psychology (EAPP), in cooperation with four other societies (ACPID, ARP, JSPP, SPSP). All associations will be conducting their own application and selection procedures. The EAPP will fill 10 seats, the other associations together 6 seats. This call con- cerns applications for 10 seats via the EAPP. For applications via the other associations, please keep an eye out for their announcements and the specifics of their application processes. Importantly: Students can only apply via one association; applications to several associations will result in disqualification from the selection process. Applicants via this current mechanism do not need to be EAPP members.

Applicants need to submit their applications with a standardized template (found at https://osf.io/kr3qn) to https://www.conftool.net/ssps2024/. In Stage 1, each application will be reviewed by at least two independent and anonymized reviewers on scale from 0 to 10 (excellent) on the following criteria (with different weights attached to them): Motivation & Background (35% weight), Benefit of the SSPS to the Applicant (30%), CV & Track Record (20%), Overall Impression (15%). Each applicant will thus obtain weighted scores from at least two reviewers, and these scores will be averaged. In Stage 2, an independent Selection Committee (consisting of at least three members) will be granted access to the weighted and averaged total scores, individual reviewer scores, and applications. Considering diversity and inclusion criteria, they will determine a final ranking of students to be considered for the SSPS (i.e., at least the Top 10, plus “runner-ups”). After the conclusion of Stage 2, the top-ranked 10 students will be contacted and formally invited to attend the SSPS. Information on the application, review, and selection process will be transparent and posted later (e.g., for the 2nd SSPS: https://osf.io/xyhvr).

How do I apply for one of the 10 seats via the EAPP?

Until December 11 (11:59 PM, CET), the EAPP is soliciting applications from master’s and PhD students. Applications can be submitted after registering at https://www.conftool.net/ssps2024/. Please download the official SSPS Application Template at https://osf.io/kr3qn (see Files ® OSF Storage ® Application), fill it out in English, save it as a PDF file with your last name in it, and then submit it to the Conftool system. Note that only applications that have used this template and do not exceed 4 pages in total will be processed. The standardized application template contains information on:

1.  Instructions and Basic Information (max. 1 page)
2.  Motivation and Background (max. 1 page)
3.  Short Curriculum Vitae and Track-Record (max. 2 pages)

How much does attending the SSPS cost?

There is no student co-pay or registration fee to attend the SSPS. Board and lodging will be provided free of cost to all accepted students. Travel will usually not be covered and needs to be arranged individually. However, there is a certain quota of funds to defray travel costs for those who could not participate without. Thus, if accepted to the SSPS, we will also ask you to briefly explain whether and why you are requesting a travel stipend (i.e. after you have confirmed that you cannot obtain a stipend or reimbursement from your program, university, or other sources). Depending on how many students would require financial contributions (and how much in each case), the quote of funds will be spliced up in different travel stipends. These stipends may not cover all travel costs but should be sufficient to cover most.

What is the timeline?

–  December 11: Deadline for submitting application packages online
–  December/January: Anonymous review of applications
–  January/February: Selection of participants
–  February/March: Notification of acceptance to the SSPS and formal registration

Please forward this message to colleagues and students enrolled in master’s or PhD programs who could be interested. If you have further questions, please contact personality.summer.school@gmail.com. We look forward to your applications and hope to welcome you soon to the 3rd SSPS.