Undergraduate Research Conference Presentation Support

Presenting or performing at a regional, national, or international conference gives students the opportunity to share their research, inquiry, or creative activity with a broad audience and to receive important feedback from disciplinary communities. The purpose of the Undergraduate Research Conference Travel Support Program is to offer financial assistance to undergraduates, helping them to cover the cost of travel to present at professional conferences. This is a matching funds program in which the student’s sponsoring department/school/division, college, the Schreyer Honors College (when applicable), and the Office of Undergraduate Education will match funds. Contributions by the Office of Undergraduate Education are capped at $400 per student in an academic year.

Please note, this program is limited to requests of $300 or more. Students requesting less than $300 should contact their department/campus/college to seek funding directly.

Undergraduate Research Conference Presentation Support Form

Undergraduates who present the results of research or creative work at professional conferences may request financial support to defray the costs of presenting or performing at a conference.

If the request is approved, the costs will be equally split among the sponsoring academic department, your college of enrollment’s dean's office, the Office of Undergraduate Education, and, if applicable, the Schreyer Honors College. The contribution from the Office of Undergraduate Education is capped at $400 per student.

  • Current undergraduate
  • Must have a research mentor at Penn State
  • Must be presenting or performing at proposed conference
  • Presentation or performance is related to your academic program

Applications for Undergraduate Research Conference Travel Support are submitted through InfoReady. Applications for domestic conferences are submitted here; applications for international conferences are submitted here. A completed application consists of the following:

  • Name and contact information of an appropriate department-level contact person
  • Name and contact information of an appropriate college-level contact person
  • Name and contact information of the research mentor, so that the mentor can be contacted to provide a letter of support
  • Cost estimates for conference attendance and presentation or performance

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

REMINDER: Group presentations and performances should be submitted as one application under the name of one of the presenters or performers with additional students listed in the designated section. These applications will be considered for awards based on the costs for the entire group of students to attend. Group applications should include shared housing and travel costs whenever possible to create economical use of limited funding. The contribution from Undergraduate Education will not exceed the caps referenced above for each travelling student.

Questions about Undergraduate Research Conference Travel Support should be directed to Alan Rieck, associate vice president and associate dean for undergraduate education, at 814-863-1864 or ajr83@psu.edu.