Undergraduate Research

Liberal Arts students may apply for funds to facilitate or enhance your research project or enable you to work on a meaningful faculty-led research project during the academic year or summer. These funds may also be used to support an undergraduate research experience at one of the college’s research centers. Funds may be used to purchase supplies and materials (including books and specialized software), to reimburse travel to research sites, and/or to provide wage payroll support to student researchers, among other things. Projects culminate in a written report of the student’s work (evaluated by the faculty mentor) and a presentation at the Penn State Undergraduate Exhibition. Students may also receive 494 credit for their work.

Applications initiated by students must include a letter of endorsement from the faculty mentor. Applications may be submitted at any time and will be reviewed within a two–three week period. Students should fill out the Liberal Arts Enrichment Fund application to apply.

Faculty applicants may submit relevant materials via email to Susan Johnson at saj12@psu.edu. Be sure to (1) specify clearly what the research question is and how it will be answered; (2) indicate what activities the student will engage in in order to answer the question; (3) provide details on how the total budget was computed; and (4) for student-initiated applications, include a letter of endorsement from a faculty mentor.

The Liberal Arts Sustainability Council supports students performing sustainability-focused research in the College of the Liberal Arts. Students can apply for funds to conduct independent research projects under the supervision of a Liberal Arts faculty member.

Learn more and apply

The Erickson Discovery Grant Program, administered by the University’s Office of Undergraduate Education, provides funding to undergraduate students engaged in original research, scholarship, and creative work under the direct supervision of a faculty mentor.

The Erickson Discovery Grants are for student-initiated projects that provide experience in all facets of the research, scholarship, or creative processes. This includes conceptualization of a question or focus, proposal writing, identification and implementation of methods, and communication of results (reporting, exhibition, or performance). Projects should be primarily the student’s own work; although the project may be related to the supervising faculty member’s research or scholarly interests, it should not simply provide assistance to faculty work. The grants may be used to cover living expenses and project costs (supplies, materials, books, specialized software, travel for the purpose of data collection, etc.). Funds are deposited into student accounts and therefore may have an impact on student aid or be applied to outstanding charges. 

Approximately fifty grants, each in the amount of $3,500, are available.

Applications are accepted by the Office of Undergraduate Education from early December through mid-February. Learn more about additional University funding sources for undergraduate students.

Note: These applications must include the specification of a research question, a description of the specific research activities the student will engage in, an itemized budget, and a letter of endorsement from a faculty mentor.

Apply for an Erickson Summer Discovery Grant.

Penn State undergraduates who are presenting the results of their research or creative work at national or regional professional conferences may request financial support to defray the costs of attendance at the conference. The student must be a conference presenter, and the presentation must be related to the student’s academic program. Apply for conference travel funding at least thirty days prior to the travel date.

Note: Please submit only one application for each presentation. If there are multiple undergraduate presenters for a project, complete only one application (under the name of one of the student presenters) and add the names of the co-presenters in the area designated on the application for additional participants.

If the request is approved, the costs will be equally split among the student’s college of enrollment dean’s office, the Office of Undergraduate Education, the sponsoring academic department, and if applicable, the Schreyer Honors College. The contribution from the Office of Undergraduate Education is capped at $400 per student. Students must be a conference presenter to be eligible for Undergraduate Education funding, and the presentation must be related to the student’s academic program.