Samuel H. Solomon Memorial Scholarship for Psychology and Law
The Samuel H. Solomon Memorial Scholarship for Psychology and Law was created by DOAR, Inc., to celebrate the career and legacy of its founder, Samuel (“Sam”) H. Solomon. Sam was a leading pioneer in the establishment of the use of technology in the country’s state and federal courts and was one of the first and most successful trial strategy consultants. He was the founder of DOAR, Inc. which, for more than 30 years, has been one of the most prominent trial consulting firms, providing trial strategy consulting, jury research, trial graphics and courtroom presentation services to lawyers involved in high profile, high stakes civil and white-collar criminal trials. Sam was particularly focused on the psychology of juror decision-making and how to develop presentation strategies based on how mock jurors reacted to the facts and arguments of his clients’ cases. His research methodology is the foundation of DOAR’s success and has greatly influenced the field of jury research more broadly. Sam retired in 2010 and moved to Israel where he was deeply involved in politics, religion and investing in Israeli technology startups until his untimely death in 2022.
The scholarship provides financial support to outstanding graduate and doctoral students who are focused on psychology and law in their studies, research, and/or career aspirations, with special consideration given to students who aspire to conduct research on issues related to or pursue careers in trial consulting.
Award Amount: $10,000 awarded to one student in one of the MA programs in Psychology (either the Forensic Psychology or the Forensic Mental Health Counseling) and one student in the Psychology and Law Ph.D. program annually to be used for tuition, fees, and other educational expenses. The annual award amount will be split into two $5,000 payments in the fall and spring semesters. If a recipient withdraws from their studies mid-year, a new recipient will be chosen, and the spring installment will be awarded to the new recipient.
Application deadline: November 1, 2025, for the 2025-2026 scholarship. Applications for subsequent academic years will be May 1 annually.
Requirements:
- Eligible applicants must be enrolled as a full-time student and meet the characteristics of one of the following categories:
- Forensic Psychology MA program, including the dual degree BA/MA and MA-JD programs, or the Forensic Mental Health Counseling program, and has completed a minimum of 24 master’s level course credits
- Psychology and Law PhD Program
- Applied for or is participating in a non-clinical externship and/or doing independent research focused on psychology and law that relates to trial consulting
- Demonstrated financial need
Preference will be given to applicants who have a demonstrated interest in research related to trial consulting or a future career in trial consulting.
The application for the scholarship consists of an unofficial transcript, a curriculum vitae, and responses to two writing prompts:
- Please discuss your professional goals, how your graduate studies will allow you to achieve your personal and professional goals, and how the receipt of this scholarship would help you to attain these goals.
Min Length: 250 words
Max Length: 500 words
- Please describe the previous research that you have conducted and any internship experiences that you have had.
Max Length: 500 words
Send documents to DOARpsychlaw@jjay.cuny.edu by 11:59PM on the date the application is due. (November 1st, 2025)