Student Grants

Fund Your Idea

From research to conferences, the Kleinman Center has funded more than 200 Penn student grants.

Grants are offered four times per year in the spring, summer, fall, and winter, and are open to individual students as well as student groups. Here’s how Kleinman Center grants enrich student learning.

What We Fund

  • Research. Get the resources you need for research.
  • Travel. Fund travel to a conference or event.
  • Internships. Unpaid internship? Apply for a stipend.
  • Events. Organize an event on-campus or beyond.
  • Projects. Launch a new project with the supplies you need.
  • Other. We welcome your energy policy idea. Tell us about it.

Deadlines

  • Fall: September 1
  • Winter: November 1
  • Spring: February 1
  • Summer: April 1

Applicants will be notified of funding decisions within 15 days of the submission deadline.

Requirements

Please carefully review the following requirements before submitting a grant request:

  • All grants must be prospective. Expenses incurred prior to funding approval will not be reimbursed.
  • If you are requesting funds for reimbursement of out-of-pocket travel expenses, you may only be eligible to receive a taxable award.
  • Funding decisions are based on funding availability, student eligibility, energy policy relevance, and completeness of the application. 
  • Grants are available to students at the University of Pennsylvania only. Students must be in good academic and financial standing with the University.
  • Students are eligible to receive one grant per academic year.
  • Requests for grants to support opportunities offered by other organizations are contingent upon meeting all related policies and requirements.
  • Grants supporting internships are only awarded to internships at nonprofit organizations. The Kleinman Center is unable to support a student’s work at a for-profit institution.
  • If you are submitting a request for internship funding, please include in your description a pitch for a blog you will write in connection to your internship topic.
  • If you are applying for funding for the GREEN Program, please refer to our GREEN Program information sheet.

Please note that all awards are taxable income.

Ph.D. and doctoral students applying for funding for research projects should apply through our Research Grants Program. Doctoral students are eligible to apply using the student grants program for funding for specific needs including: conference attendance, event support, and internships.

“The trip to PJM helped me gain more insight in the energy field and has encouraged me to learn more about it in the future. A trip like this helps a freshman like me become familiar with some basics of an energy company.”

— Yide Zhao, School of Arts and Sciences

Submit an Application

Student Grants
Type of Funding Request *
Please provide a proposed budget, listing itemized expenses and estimated costs.
Funding start date should be at least one month after application deadline. (i.e. Dec 1 start date for Nov 1 deadline)
Please include any additional funding that you are pursuing, indicating if you have received the funding to date, or the decision date for funding not yet received. Include amounts and sources.
NOTE: All research projects must be reviewed and approved by a faculty advisor prior to requesting funding. If your proposed project has a research component, please provide the name of your faculty advisor.
Do your plans include travel outside the country? *
NOTE: Penn requires advanced approval for undergraduates traveling to regions on Penn’s list of heightened risk regions. You can find the list and the policy here: http://global.upenn.edu/global-resources/travel-safety. If you are traveling to a heightened risk region, please seek approval prior to submitting a grant request.

In addition to learning how to do your own research, you just meet so many people who have such different experiences. More than the research, the Kleinman Center opens the door to so many further opportunities.

Richard Ling (VIPER’20)