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).
Penn Program for Public Service Internship Program
Deadline: 01/28/2025 (Tentative)The Penn Program for Public Service (PPPS) Summer Internship is an 11-week multi-faceted summer program that immerses undergraduates in real-world problem solving in the West Philadelphia-Penn community.
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.
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.
EPFL School of Life Sciences International Summer Research Program
Deadline: 01/31/2025 (Tentative)The Summer Research Program in Life Sciences and Technology at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) offers an intensive research training opportunity to undergraduate students interested in research careers in life sciences.
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.
Penn Undergraduate Urban Research Colloquium
Deadline: 01/31/2025 (Tentative)The Undergraduate Urban Research Colloquium facilitates faculty- and doctoral student-mentored, urban-focused research through funding support and a semester-long, credit-bearing seminar (CPLN 528/URBS 428).
Leonard Davis Institute Summer Undergraduate Minority Research Institute
Deadline: 02/01/2025 (Tentative)The Leonard Davis Institute Summer Undergraduate Minority Research Program provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to receive a stipend to conduct health services research on a topic of their choice, under the guidance of Penn faculty.
Princeton Neuroscience Institute (PNI) Summer Internship Program
Deadline: 02/01/2025 (Tentative)Princeton Neuroscience Institute (PNI) is offering a summer internship program for highly motivated undergraduates, providing education and hands-on research experience in the field of neuroscience.
The Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM) NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)
Deadline: 02/01/2025 (Tentative)The LRSM offers undergraduates interested in materials science and engineering research with Summer Research Fellowships through the National Science Foundation.
Biomedical Graduate Studies: Summer Undergraduate Internship Program
Deadline: 02/01/2025 (Tentative)Summer research program at Penn for undergraduates interested in conducting biomedical research with faculty in the Biomedical Graduate Studies group.