Research Support: Robert P. Larsen Grant for Research in Career Development
History and Scope
The Robert P. Larsen Grant for Research in Career Development was created in memory of Bob Larsen, the first career counselor at the University of Illinois, to recognize his life-long commitment to and support of career counseling.
The Career Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign awards this grant to support research that addresses topics relevant to the field of career development and that will increase knowledge related to career and vocational topics.
The Award
The Robert P. Larsen Grant for Research in Career Development awards up to three grants per year. Maximum individual awards will be $1500 per year. Lesser amounts may be awarded.
Eligibility
Currently-enrolled graduate students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in good academic standing in Masters or Doctoral programs are eligible. Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research proposals will be considered.
The Larsen Symposium
Each spring semester, The Career Center hosts a Larsen Symposium, which is an opportunity for Larsen Grant winners to share their research findings with career development practitioners and researchers from the University of Illinois Community. Faculty, staff, and students are all welcome to attend. More details will be posted here soon.
Past Winners
Read below to meet the last ten years of Larsen Grant winners. Explore topics we have funded, and see how the research of Larsen Grant winners is making an impact. We’re proud to support this network of accomplished researchers contributing to the field of career development!
This grant program was established in 2003. To provide the most current view of research supported by the award, the list below features recipients from the past 10 years.
Robert P. Larsen Grant Recipients from the Past 10 Years
Yaning Cao and Viktoria Loidl
College of Education, Department of Education, Policy, Organization and Leadership
Project Name
Exploring Undergraduate Students' Utilization of ChatGPT for Career Development Purposes: A Mixed-Methods Approach
Keywords
Generative Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, Career Development Resources, Undergraduate Liberal Arts and Sciences Students, Technology Acceptance Mode
Xin Du
College of Applied Health Sciences, Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism
Project Name
From Leisure to a REAL Career: Career Path Development and Work-Leisure Dynamics Among Social Media Travel Influencers
Keywords
Social Media Influencer, Career Path Development, Career Skill Development, Work-Leisure Relations
Nicholas Heimpel
College of Education, Department of Educational Psychology
Project Name
Developing the Next Generation of Occupational Interest Profiles for Career Guidance
Keywords
Vocational Interests, Occupational Interest Profiles (OIPs), Broad Interest Dimensions, Basic Interests, SETPOINTS, CABIN, O*NET
Ha Young Choi
College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, Department of Human Development and Family Studies
Project Name
The Appeal of Rural Organizations and Communities that Accommodate the Career Development Needs of Young Employees: Implications for Reversing Young Workforce Shortage in Rural Areas
Keywords
Workforce Shortage, Career Development of Young Rural Employees, Retention, On-the-Job Embeddedness, Off-the-Job Embeddedness, Community Perceptions, Policy Implications
Brian Neighbors
College of Education, Department of Education, Policy, Organization and Leadership
Project Name
Rural Remote School District Hiring Processes and Principals’ Preferences for Teacher Characteristics
Keywords
Rural, Rural Remote, Strategic Human Resource Management, Person-Environment Fit, Screening, Selection, Retention
Patricia Tabarani
School of Labor and Employment Relations
Project Name
From Challenges to Opportunities: The Moderating Role of Career Adaptability on Adjustment and Resettlement among Working Refugees
Keywords
Employment Barriers, Work Adjustment, Work Resettlement, Refugees
Chu Chu
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology
Project Name
Development and Validation of a Pilot Career Chatbot
Keywords
Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing, Career Guidance, Accessibility
Yaqing He
School of Labor and Employment Relations
Project Name
Consequences of Work-Related Intimate Partner Aggression on Women’s Work and Career-Related Outcomes: A Self-Determination Perspective
Keywords
Work-related intimate partner aggression, Career adaptability, Self-determination perspective
Diana Lesmes, Jisoo Youn, David George Strauser
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology; College of Applied Health Sciences, Department of Kinesiology and Community Health
Project Name
Increasing Access to Interest Measures: The Pictorial Interest Profiler
Keywords
Vocational interests, Pictorial Interest Inventory, RIASEC, Interest Profiler, O*NET
Jisoo Youn
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology
Project Name
How do occupations differ across South Korea and the US: Studies of RIASEC Occupational Interest Profiles (OIPs)
Keywords
Vocational interests, Occupational Interest Profiles, work tasks, O*NET, South Korea, cross-cultural, text mining
No Awardees
Chelsea E. Greco
College of Applied Health Sciences, Department of Kinesiology and Community HealthProject Name
Assisting Individuals with Disabilities Post-Incarceration Career Development: Understanding the Role of Core Self-Evaluation on Employment and Community Integration
Keywords
Career Development, Community Integration, Functioning, Self-evaluation, Criminal Background, Vocational RehabilitationJana Lithgow
College of Education, Department of Education Policy, Organization & LeadershipProject Name
Perceptions of Access and Status Among Undergraduate Business Students
Keywords
Undergraduate Business School, Access, Status, Student InvolvementMagen Rooney-Kron
College of Education, Department of Special EducationProject Name
Teachers’ Perceptions of School and Community Work Based Learning Experiences for Students with Severe Disabilities
Keywords
Work Based Learning Experiences, students with disabilities, Teacher PerceptionsKelly Lynn Clary
School of Social Work
Project Name
Emerging Adulthood Theory Discovery Among Military/Veteran Members
Keywords
Military transition, Emerging adults, Military personnel, Veterans, Mental health, Development, Emerging adulthood theory
Marci M. Rockey
College of Education, Department of Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership
Project Name
Perceptions of College and Career Readiness Among Rural High School Seniors
Keywords
College and career readiness, rural students, college access
Alexis Hanna and Kevin Hoff
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology
Project Name
Interest in Context: Using Work Tasks to Measure Occupational Interests
Keywords
vocational interests, work tasks, measurement, occupational scales, O*NET
Jessamyn Perlus
College of Education, Department of Educational Psychology
Project Name
Impostor Phenomenon and Careers of Female Graduate Students
Keywords
Women’s Career Development, Self-Efficacy, Imposter Phenomenon, Career Barriers, mixed-methods
Gaeun Seo
College of Education, Department of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership
Project Name
Faculty Careers from Socio-Cognitive and Contextual Perspectives
Keywords
career decision-making, social cognitive career theory, cognitive information processing theory, doctoral workforce development
Tijan Sun and Bo Zhang
Labor and Employment Relations
Project Name
Overcoming Biased Vocational Interest Interpretations: Forcing Improved Measurement
Keywords
vocational interests, measurement
Lin Bian
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology
Project Name
The Pervasive and Early-Emerging Bias against Women in Careers Where Success is Thought to Depend on Intellectual Talent
Keywords
women, Career Development, bias, intellectual talent
Rachel Amrhein
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology
Project Name
Vocational Interest at Work: Examining the Daily Vocational Experience of Employees
Keywords
vocational interests, measurement
Sarah Marie Zehr
College of Education, Department of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership
Project Name
Student Internship Experiences and Learning Opportunities: A Mixed Method Study
Keywords
mixed-methods, experiential learning, internships