Penn offers many resources for students conducting research. Please note that funding options are often specific to particular kinds of research, fields of study, grad year, etc. Also, CURF funding is reserved for research conducted under the mentorship of a Penn faculty member.
Use the Funding Opportunities database (below the highlighted opportunities) 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.
Highlighted CURF Opportunities
Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program
PURM provides students completing their first or second undergraduate year the opportunity to spend a summer conducting cutting-edge research under the guidance of a standing Penn faculty member. No prior experience is required.
Learn more about PURM
Summer Humanities Internship Program
Each year the College of Arts and Sciences and CURF fund approximately twenty-five summer research internships for students in the humanities and social sciences. Internships provide undergraduates with the opportunity to work in a cultural, historical, or archival setting.
Learn more about SHIP
Independent Research Grants
Undergraduates pursuing an independent or semi-independent research project with a Penn faculty member can apply for funding to offset research-related expenses. Multiple opportunities are available each fall and spring. Click below and then scroll down to see a filtered list of CURF-administered research grants.
browse CURF grantsHayden Scholars
Deadline: 03/28/25The Hayden Scholars program aims to build a community of undergraduate researchers in the geosciences at Penn through extra-curricular, independent research experiences affiliated with the Department of Earth and Environmental Science.
Millennium Oceans Prize
Deadline: 03/30/25The Millennium Oceans Prize supports students passionate about conserving, protecting, and sustainably using oceans, seas, and marine water and life.
Mind Your Brain Foundation Fellowship
Deadline: 03/31/25Traumatic brain injury research fellowship available to Penn undergraduates with career interests related to traumatic brain injury research. Do not need to have a project or mentor already established. Fellowship includes a $2,500 award.
Seltzer Family Digital Media Awards
Deadline: 03/31/25Each award will provide to $1,000 for the purchase of hardware or technology (with nominal spending on software and supplies) for students to use for 1 year to pursue a digital media project.
Holden Furber Undergraduate Writing Prize in South Asia Studies
Deadline: 04/01/25 (Tentative)Annual award for the best undergraduate essay on any topic related to South Asia.
Asian American Studies (ASAM) Undergraduate Research Fellowship
Deadline: 04/04/25ASAM Undergraduate Research Fellowship is an interdisciplinary program that provides students with comprehensive academic training in archival research, methodology, and theory to enhance their critical thinking and writing skills.
Hoesley Digital Literacy Fellows Program
Deadline: 04/11/25The Hoesley Digital Literacy Fellows Program encourages creative exploration of technologies commonly used in our rapidly evolving 21st century workplace and beyond through hands-on training and support as they design and develop a digital project and curate their professional digital presence.
LGBTQ & Gender Studies Undergraduate Student Research Expense Grants
Deadline: 04/15/25Grants designed to support research-related expenses for undergraduate students working on projects related to LGBTQ and/or gender studies.
The Hassenfeld Grant for Undergraduate Research in Urban Studies
Deadline: 04/25/25The Hassenfeld Grants for Undergraduate Research in Urban Studies provide Urban Studies majors and minors with the opportunity to explore questions arising out of their internship or other coursework in Urban Studies by supporting independent research in the summer before senior year.
The Urban Studies Program Gordon Fellowship
Deadline: 04/25/25Winners of the Gordon Fellowship will receive a $5,000 stipend to explore careers that would lead to improving the quality of life in cities, whether in the public, non-profit, or private sectors and will benefit from career mentoring through alumni activities during the school year.