Max and Shirley Kogan Museum Experience Fund

Students applying for grants must meet the requirements for Kogan Museum Experience funding as outlined here. Students may consult with the director of experiential learning to ensure that their grant applications meet the criteria for funding.

Faculty who are requesting funding on behalf of students must aim to meet the requirements for funding. If faculty cannot meet the requirements for funding, they must explain in their application how their museum visits, internship opportunity, or conference attendance will benefit students and provide them with significant museum experience that meets the criteria of the Kogan Museum Experience Fund. Faculty must explain, for example, how they are providing students with special access to a museum exhibition, collection, or professional that the student could not access on their own.

The following checklists will help confirm that the requirements for funding are met. The director of experiential learning can assist students and faculty applying on behalf of students in meeting the requirements for funding and requesting additional funding, as needed, based on the type of museum experience they choose.

All conferences, internships, and museum visits must be in the United States and must be located away from the student’s home campus at the time the experience takes place. Experiences with art, history, cultural, anthropological, and science museums are eligible for the Kogan Museum Experience Fund.

Requirements Checklist for Museum Visits

1. Students must plan to visit at least five museums and allow sufficient time to adequately experience the museums’ collections and exhibitions.
2. Students must pre-arrange a meeting to interview at least one museum professional at at least one of the museums visited.
3. Students must take part in at least one museum tour or guided experience at at least one of the museums visited.
4. Students must participate in at least two museum programs organized by at least one of the museums visited either in-person or virtually before or after their visit.

Requirements Checklist for Museum Internships

1. Internship must include at least 50 hours working in a museum.
2. Students must interview at least one museum professional during their internship experience.

Requirements Checklist for Professional Museum Conferences

1. Students must make at least one significant contact with a museum professional at the conference who can assist in the student’s career aspirations.
2. The museum conference can be at the national, regional, or state level.
3. Applicants are encouraged to be innovative and consider how their engagement experience will lead to (1) personal growth, (2) professional readiness, and/or (3) community/social impact.

• Students must be currently enrolled as undergraduate students at Penn State. Students who graduate in the spring/winter, completing their Penn State degree, are not eligible to receive funding the following semester/cycle. Students must also be in good academic and disciplinary standing with the University. First preference will be given to third-year students and second preference will be given to second-year students.
• Applicants will be required to provide a budget explaining specific use of funding using the budget template provided in the application process.
• Awardees are required to follow all federal, state, University, and CDC safety and travel (see Travel Safety Network guidelines) protocols during the experience.
• Awardees must complete their experience during a single semester. 
• Awardees will be assigned a Penn State experiential learning coach upon funding and will receive specific instructions after the awarding period.
• Awardees may be required to complete a Canvas course, “Upskill Penn State: The Experiential Edge,” to receive full funding, which includes completion of pre- and post-experience surveys, activities, reflection journals, check-in meetings, and POSTER assignment. “Upskill Penn State” is a free, non-credit course.
• Failure to attend coaching sessions and/or complete Canvas course assignments/activities may warrant a change in funding status and/or retraction of funds.
• Awardees must meet with grant funder Jason Kogan during or after the awarded semester.

The NACE Competencies

While the primary goal of the Kogan Museum Experience Fund is to introduce students to museums and the museum field, experiences gained through these grants should help students develop competencies in one or more of the following areas: career readiness, communication and critical thinking skills, professional experience, and teamwork. These competencies, among others, are considered essential for college graduates to successfully transition into the workplace. Awardees are asked to reflect on the NACE Competencies aligned with resiliency, career readiness, and student success.