What opportunities are open to me?
There are many opportunities for Penn undergraduates to conduct research in any discipline—regardless of their previous experience. Research positions can be:
- Volunteer
- Arranged through work-study
- Paid -- funded directly through a faculty member’s grant or via a program that provides a stipend
- Conducted for academic credit, or
- Supported via a grant for which you apply.
Keep in mind that funding options are often specific to particular kinds of research, fields of study, grad year, etc. In addition, most (but not all) CURF funding is reserved for research conducted under the mentorship of a Penn faculty member.
Use the list below to identify research programs, grants and opportunities at Penn, elsewhere in the US and abroad. While CURF strives to maintain a thorough and up-to-date website, these listings are not comprehensive and students are encouraged to conduct their own funding searches.
What grants should I apply for?
The Penn Undergraduate Research Mentorship (PURM) program is ideal for first and second-year students who have little to no prior research experience. For more advanced researchers, the College Alumni Society Research Grant, the Vagelos Undergraduate Research Grant, and the Class of 1971 Robert J. Holtz Endowed Fund for Undergraduate Research are good places to start.
Other options are often specific to particular populations or kinds of research (e.g. grants for international research, social-impact endeavors, or for juniors who have not done research before).
Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI)
Deadline: 05/22/2024The Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship provides both undergraduate and graduates students through conducting research in one of 17 participating U.S. Department of Energy laboratories/facilities for summer or for a semester-long experience.
Penn IUR Fellows in Urban Leadership
Deadline: 05/31/2024 (Tentative)The Penn IUR Fellows in Urban Leadership Program, open to Penn undergraduates, engages a small cohort of selected students with high-level local, regional, and national leaders drawn from government, business, and civil society to discuss decision-making in urban places.
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Internship
Deadline: 09/15/2024Opportunity to conduct three months of hands-on, collaborative research at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama.
Vagelos Undergraduate Research Grant
Deadline: 10/22/2024 (Tentative)The Vagelos Undergraduate Research Grant funds an independent scholarly project conducted by an undergraduate student during the academic year.
The Water Center at Penn Student Research Support Program
Deadline: 12/08/2024 (Tentative)The WCP Student Research Support Program provides support for undergraduate research in water science, policy, and sustainability.
RealArts@Penn Internships
Deadline: 01/15/2025 (Tentative)RealArts@Penn Internships help students jumpstart their chosen artistic lives and career paths through paid internships with creative professionals across the country.
Sachs Program for Arts Innovation
Deadline: 01/22/2025The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation provides numerous grants for Penn students and faculty in support of support teaching art, making art, and presenting art, as well as to provide Penn students with increased access to the arts and humanities.
NIST Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)
Deadline: 01/31/2025 (Tentative)The NIST Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) provides students with the opportunity to spend 11 weeks conducting hands-on lab research with world-class mentors in one of NIST's six labs or other offices.
CHOP Research Institute Summer Scholars Program (CRISSP)
Deadline: 01/31/2025 (Tentative)The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Research Institute Summer Scholars Program (CRISSP) is a 10-week competitive summer internship program for undergraduate students interested in careers in the biomedical sciences.
Quantitative Research in the Life and Social Sciences Program (QRLSSP)
Deadline: 01/31/2025 (Tentative)The Quantitative Research in the Life and Social Sciences Program (QRLSSP) is an intensive summer research experience hosted at Arizona State University that prepares undergraduate students for the rigors of graduate level research at the interface of mathematics, statistics, and the natural and social sciences.