Applications for Internal Support

To view an application form, click on the form title. All application forms are in Microsoft Word format.

  1. Travel Grant in Support of Research and Creative Activity. Full-time faculty of the college are entitled to receive up to $2000 in support of professional travel. For additional information about usage or disbursement, faculty are encouraged to work with their respective Division Heads.
  2. Supplementary Conference Travel Application. Beginning July 1, 2012, full-time faculty may apply for supplementary travel grants beyond their initial travel funding up to $2000 for presentation of research or creative activity at national or international conferences in their field of study. Support is dependent upon availability of funding. Deadline for submission: application should be made directly to faculty member's respective Division Heads.
  3. Research Development Grant Application. The RDG program is a source of financial support for the research and scholarly activities of Altoona College faculty members. It is intended to foster new research and scholarly activities rather than to sustain research programs. RDG’s are not intended to support instructional improvement or course development. Emphasis is given to the funding of activities of junior faculty attempting to establish a research/performance program and efforts of more senior faculty to establish a new area of research/performance. Deadline for submission: November 1st of each year to the Assistant Dean for Research.
  4. Senior Research Award Application. The Senior Research Award (SRA) is intended to support meritorious research by senior scholars. A senior scholar is defined as an individual who has been tenured and promoted by the college, has a substantial record of publication, has sought external funding from agencies or foundations appropriate to their field of study, and has a high probability of producing publishable scholarship. Deadline for submission: November 1st to the Assistant Dean for Research.
  5. Small Grant in Support of Proposal Writing Application. Small grants (average size around $500) are available for faculty who are in the process of preparing an externally funded research project. Such projects should have a minimum budget of $15,000 (direct costs), be an original submission or significant revision of a project which has been denied, and be submitted in the academic year in which the support is sought. These funds may be used to hire research assistance, design consultation, travel to meet a funder, purchase equipment, or other auditable expenses related to proposal development. Submissions to Assistant Dean for Research are accepted through the year until funding has been expended.
  6. Undergraduate Research Assistance Award Application. Full-time members of the faculty may request up to $500 per semester ($1500 for the summer) to cover the cost of hiring one or more undergraduate students to assist him/her in their research. A full year's support may be requested in the fall ($2500), spring and summer in the spring ($2000), or just summer ($1500). Deadlines for submission: August 1, November 1, and March 1 to Assistant Dean for Research.
  7. Supplemental Support for Grants or Fellowship Application. Occasionally, faculty seek grants or fellowships that are funded at a level that will not permit the full funding (salary and benefits) of a faculty members time. In the case of highly prestigious national awards or awards that are clearly in the college’s interest to seek, salary supplements to meet the full cost may be requested from the college. Faculty must receive approval for such a supplement prior to submission of an application for an award. Available through the year with application to the Assistant Dean for Research.
  8. Collaborative Research Proposal Writing Application. A one semester 3-credit course buy-out is available to a faculty member who takes the lead in developing a substantial collaborative research effort that requires external funding. This course relief is intended to permit the faculty member to invest the time and attention that is required to coordinate the participation of two or more faculty in proposal development. Deadline for submission: March 1st and November 1st to Assistant Dean for Research.
  9. Institutional Development Proposal Writing Application. A one semester 3-credit course buy-out is available to a faculty member who seeks to write a proposal for externally funded institutional development. Such proposals advance the general interests of the college, its students, its faculty, and/or its curriculum. Examples would include requests for major instrumentation (for either teaching or research) and externally funded program development. Deadline for submission: March 1st and November 1st to Assistant Dean for Research.
  10. Research Collaboration Fellowships with University Park Institutes Application. The purpose of the Research Collaboration Fellowship is to initiate and foster research collaborations between Penn State faculty at the University Park campus and at campuses across the Commonwealth. Through this program faculty members with mutual research interests are encouraged to form research partnerships and to jointly conduct research projects. The objective is to cultivate long term research collaborations that will attract external research funds. The fellowship provides seed money to support the development of collaborative research relationships.

    The UP collaborator should be a tenured or tenure-track faculty and a member of one of the five participating research institutes at University Park: The Materials Research Institute (MRI), Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment (PSIEE), Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences (HUCK), the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI), or the Hershey Medical School. Deadline for submission: November 1 to Assistant Dean for Research.
  11. Community-Based Project Application. Penn State Altoona actively supports community-based faculty research, instruction, and service projects of interest to residents of Central Pennsylvania. Full-time faculty may request funding for direct costs associated with community-based projects. In reviewing these proposals, the Assistant Dean for Research will seek the recommendations of the Community-Based Research, Service, and Teaching Committee. Deadlines for submission: November 1st to Assistant Dean for Research.
  12. Community-Based Undergraduate Assistance Awards. Full-time members of the faculty may request up to $500 per semester ($1500 for the summer) to cover the cost of hiring one or more undergraduate students to assist him/her in community-based research, service, or teaching. Deadlines for submission: March 1st, August 1st, and November 1st to Assistant Dean for Research.
  13. Student Initiated Research Grants. This grant program is intended to support student-initiated research activities—self-contained projects in which a faculty member acts as a mentor, providing general guidance and advice. The student is not to serve as a research assistant to the faculty member. Students may request support for the direct costs of their research and for up to $500 in travel expenses to present their findings at regional, national, or international scholarly meetings in their discipline. To qualify for this funding, the student must be admitted to an Altoona College major, have completed 60-credits of coursework by the end of the semester in which the research takes place, have an overall GPA of at least 2.5 and be enrolled in a 494 research course. Deadlines for submission: March 1st, August 1st, and November 1st to the Assistant Dean for Research.
  14. Undergraduate Research Travel Grant Program. 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. A maximum of $900 ($1200 if a Schreyer Honors College student) is available for students who are making a conference presentation and the presentation is related to the student’s academic program. The Undergraduate Research Travel Support Form, together with a statement of support from the faculty mentor, should be submitted to the student's academic department for approval and forwarding to Altoona College’s associate dean's office at least thirty (30) days before the travel date. The associate dean's office will send the form to the Office of Undergraduate Education (or the Schreyer Honors College, if appropriate, which will then send it to the Office of Undergraduate Education). Once all approvals are obtained, the Office of Undergraduate Education will notify the college associate dean's office. NOTE: Multiple requests from the same academic department to attend the same conference should be submitted together. The student must be enrolled at the college during the time of proposed travel. Deadline for submission: to the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs thirty (30) days prior to the travel date.
  15. Advisory Board Award for Research and Creative Activity. The Advisory Board Faculty Research and Creative Activity Award is intended to support meritorious research and creative activity by full-time faculty of the college. A total of $10,000 will be set aside to fund multiple awards and will be announced at the last meeting of the academic year for the Penn State Altoona Advisory Board. Faculty who have received other college support for their research or creative activity are eligible for this funding but this funding must be used for some identifiable supplementary activity. Applications are due March 1st and should be addressed to the Assistant Dean for Research.