College of the Liberal Arts

• Undergraduate
• Graduate
• Faculty and Staff
• Research
• Alumni

Liberal Arts undergraduate students who are participating in, or would like to participate in, undergraduate research may request financial support for their endeavors.

The primary goal of these funds is to encourage faculty to engage undergraduate students in research.  They may be used to support students engaged in faculty research or research on their own interests.  The purchase of supplies and materials used in research projects, reimbursement of travel to research sites or conferences, and wage payroll all constitute proper use of these funds.

Funds are available on an application basis.  Faculty supervisors should send a Word document by e-mail to Ashley Tarbet (aet143@psu.edu) containing the following information:

• the name(s) and major(s) of the student(s) participating in the research
• a summary of the proposed research project.  If a faculty project, this summary should be written by the faculty member; if the project is a student project, the summary may be written by the student but still approved and submitted by the faculty member.  This summary should not be more than two pages double spaced.
• the amount of funding requested, and how the money will be spent
• evidence that the proposal is approved by the department head (anything from a one-sentence endorsement to a commitment of matching funds will do).

Please note that all faculty members who receive undergraduate research funds for assistance on their projects are expected to serve as a judge at the Undergraduate Research Exhibition in April 2009.  All students who benefit from these funds, meanwhile, are expected to present at the exhibition.

Deadline:  November 30, 2009 (for spring and/or summer projects). 

Direct any questions regarding this process to Ashley Tarbet at aet143@psu.edu.