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).
SURE (Summer Undergraduate Research Experience): Natural and Biomedical Sciences Program at Emory College
Deadline: 02/04/2025 (Tentative)The SURE (Summer Undergraduate Research Experience): Natural and Biomedical Sciences Program supports undergraduates who wish to explore, experience, and conduct full-time independent and mentored research for the summer.
Humanity in Action Fellowships
Deadline: 02/04/2025 (Tentative)The Humanity in Action Fellowships allow fellows to explore issues of social justice, human rights, politics of memory and remembrance culture, and civic engagement with several different location options to apply to.
AAPM’s “DREAM” Program - Diversity Recruitment through Education and Mentoring Program
Deadline: 02/05/2025 (Tentative)Summer research program aimed at increasing the number of women and racially underrepresented groups in medical physics through offering hands-on research opportunities.
AAPM Summer Undergraduate Fellowship Program
Deadline: 02/05/2025 (Tentative)The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Summer Undergraduate Fellowship Program is a 10-week summer program designed to provide opportunities for undergraduate university students to gain experience in medical physics by performing research in a medical physics laboratory or assisting with clinical service at a clinical facility.
Wharton Social Impact Research Experience (WSIRE)
Deadline: 02/08/2025 (Tentative)Grants to support summer research on topics that promote economic and social value for Wharton undergraduate students.
Perry World House Student Fellows
Deadline: 02/09/2025 (Tentative)The Perry World House Student Fellows Program is an experiential learning opportunity for Penn undergraduates interested in collaborating on policy-relevant research projects about global issues.
Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship
Deadline: 02/09/2025 (Tentative)The Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship is designed to encourage the study of less commonly taught languages by providing undergraduate and graduate recipients with a stipend and funding to take courses in South Asian Language and Area Studies for either a full year or as part as a summer intensive language program.
FactCheck.org Undergraduate Fellowship
Deadline: 02/11/2025 (Tentative)Year-round, paid fellowship program for undergraduates interested in utilizing journalism and scholarship to increase public knowledge and understanding of US politics.
SNF Paideia Fellowship
Deadline: 02/12/2025 (Tentative)The fellowship is a unique, three-year program that bridges students’ academic interests with experiential development of skills essential to becoming an engaged global citizen both while a student at Penn and beyond.