UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State first- and second-year undergraduates from all campuses are invited to apply to the Spark Program, which helps students prepare for fellowship and scholarship opportunities.
Two versions of the program — in-person and remote — will be offered in spring 2023. The in-person version will meet from 5-6 p.m. on Tuesdays at the University Park campus. The remote program will be offered through Zoom from 4-5 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesdays. Both versions of the program will meet for seven weeks starting the week of March 14 and end the week of April 18.
Spark consists of a series of workshops featuring speakers from a wide range of experiences, including a student panel of Spark alumni and a research mentor panel. Participants also are expected to meet individually with representatives from Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Mentoring (URFM) and University Libraries.
The Spark Program has helped numerous students become better prepared for the rigors of fellowship applications such as Fulbright; U.K. scholarships such as Rhodes, Mitchell and Marshall; Summer Institutes; and the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, as well as Penn State-sponsored programs such as the Erickson Discovery and Student Engagement Network grants.
Applications for the Spark Program are open now and will close Feb. 22. Faculty can recommend students to the Spark Program. Eligible students must submit an interest statement and commit to attending at least five of the six workshops.
To learn more about University Libraries, visit libraries.psu.edu. Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Mentoring is part of Penn State Undergraduate Education.