Professor Judith Kroll, co-founder of the Penn State Center for Language Science (CLS), is deeply invested in supporting undergraduate research. In her honor, the CLS sponsors an
undergraduate student research award.
The award can support both in-person conference travel, in-person research, virtual conference registration fee reimbursement and virtual research. The applicant can decide what option they feel most comfortable pursuing.
Purpose
To provide support for promising undergraduate students working with CLS faculty for (A) travel for a national or international conference to present their research or conference registration fee reimbursement for a virtual conference OR (B) expenses necessary for the completion of in-person or virtual research project (e.g., participant compensation, testing materials, recording media).
The maximum amount available is $2,000.
Eligibility
- Who: Undergraduate students who are engaged in research with a CLS faculty member are eligible to apply for support for that research, or for travel or virtual expenses to a conference to make a presentation on that research. Because funds are limited, students who have been recipients of a Kroll award may not apply again.
- When: Undergraduate students who receive award funds will have access to the funds between October 30, 2026, and June 10, 2027. However, funds cannot be awarded to students who have graduated (i.e., we cannot support travel to a conference in the summer for a student graduating the preceding spring). Also, funds cannot be disbursed to graduates. It is the applicant’s responsibility to plan such that the expenses are incurred and can be reimbursed prior to graduation.
Obligations of awardees
- Submit a one-page report on the research/travel experience and accomplished goals within one month of the experience to the Chair of the Travel Award Committee.
- Give a presentation about your research at a CLS meeting before the end of the semester following of the experience.
Application process
- Cover sheet with the following information: Your name, department, address, phone,email address and the name of your faculty research supervisor.
- Summary of research project – A one-page, single-spaced, twelve-point font summary of:
- research question or hypothesis
- why is this research important?
- methods that were or will be used
- predicted results
- Letter of support from your faculty research supervisor.
- If applying for travel to a conference, provide evidence that your presentation has been accepted. We understand that at the time of application, notification of acceptance may not yet be received; however, proof that the paper was accepted (e.g., an email from the conference organizers indicating that the paper was accepted for a paper or a poster presentation) must accompany all receipts submitted for reimbursement.
- Budget page showing the projected expenses. There is an upper limit of $2,000 for the award.
- For travel to a conference, expenses would typically include airfare (or other transportation), lodging, conference registration, and incidentals (taxi fare, meals, etc.)
- Research expenses might include participant compensation, lab supplies, testing materials, small equipment such as a portable digital recorder, etc.
- If you and your supervisor have any questions about eligible expenses, please contact Heather Mann at hmg108@psu.edu.
- Copy of your up-to-date CV.
- Copy of your unofficial transcript or degree audit.
- If your research includes the testing of human subjects, include the approved IRB study name and protocol number or your plans for obtaining IRB approval.
Submitting your application
- All applications should be submitted electronically to Brittany Glunt at bdg11@psu.edu by 5:00 p.m. on October 15th, 2026. All application materials should be submitted as an integrated single PDF file with materials in the order listed above and emailed to Brittany as an attachment.
- Questions may be addressed to Brittany Glunt at bdg11@psu.edu.
Expectations
Expectations for those who receive CLS funding:
- Please plan to reach out to Heather Mann (hmg108@psu.edu), within 2 weeks of receiving an award notice, with your plans for spending these funds.
- The amount of funding that you are awarded is a firm amount and cannot be increased. Please keep this in mind when attaching a budget to your funding application. If you need budgeting assistance, please reach out to Heather Mann for assistance at least 2 weeks before the funding application deadline.
- If you receive a travel award, please plan to work with Heather Mann (hmg108@psu.edu) and Brittany Glunt (bdg11@psu.edu) within 2 weeks of receiving your award notice to book airfare and lodging associated with your travel. Waiting until the last minute to book airfare and lodging will result in higher costs and less money available for other applicable expenses.
- All funding provided by the CLS must be used and settled with Heather Mann by June 10, 2027. Due to fiscal year deadlines set by the finance optimization team; Heather will need your final settlement documents by this date to allow her to finalize all expenses.
- If you cannot use the funds, you have been awarded, please notify Heather Mann asap so that the funds can be re-purposed.
Deadlines
- Applications are due October 15th, 2026, by 5:00 p.m.
- Applications will be reviewed, and award recipients will be notified within a two-week period following the deadline.
- Funds must be expended by June 10, 2027. (Airfare and conference registrations should typically be prepaid using a university purchasing card; email Brittany Glunt at bdg11@psu.edu).
- If traveling outside the U.S., you must receive approval through the Global Safety Network at least thirty days before traveling, and the GSN approval email must be submitted to hmg108@psu.edu prior to your travel. NO GSN, NO REIMBURSEMENT!