Frances Fowler Wallace Memorial for Mental Health

The Frances Fowler Wallace Memorial for Mental Health award (FFW) was established in 1974, and provides financial assistance to support doctoral students’ dissertation research on “the cause, treatment, cure and prevention of mental disease, mental illness and mental disorders,” as designated in the will of Frances Fowler Wallace. Mrs. Wallace was the wife of John Forsythe Wallace, member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1920 to 1930. She left half of her estate to the foundation as an expendable fund for research.

This award is $3000 towards research expenses related to the student’s dissertation project such as mileage for the purpose of data collection, technology requests (i.e. statistical software), and participant incentives such as gift cards. Travel to present research findings at conferences/professional meetings are outside the scope of the award and ineligible for funding.

Eligibility and Application

Doctoral candidates in nursing, psychology, social work, sociology, and other fields relevant to mental health programs at institutions of higher education in Texas are eligible to apply. Dissertations may be quantitative or qualitative in design and the dissertation proposal must have been successfully defended before submitting an application. 

Application Submission and Selection

Applicants must submit a curriculum vitae, one letter of reference from the applicant’s dissertation committee chair or advisor, a proposal and a budget. The award is by invitation only and recipients must provide a copy of the final dissertation to the foundation.

All applications must be submitted through Fluxx, the foundation’s online grant portal.

Applications must include:

• A clearly stated research question.
• A brief description of the proposed dissertation and how it relates to mental health.
• A brief description of research-related expenses and associated costs (examples include: web-based survey fees, statistical software, mileage to conduct focus groups or interviews, and participant stipends).
• A timeline for completing the dissertation.

Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• The applicant makes a compelling case, based on existing relevant research, for the importance or significance of the proposed project to the field of mental health.
• The proposed project is relevant to improving the mental health of the people of Texas and aligns with the foundation’s vision, mission and core values.
• A recommendation letter that strongly supports the applicant’s ability to carry out the project.
• The budget expenses are justified.