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 grantsScience Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI)
Deadline: 05/21/25The 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: 06/02/25The 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.
Fund for Latino Scholarship
Deadline: 06/15/25The Fund for Latino Scholarship through the American Political Science Association (APSA) is designed to encourage and support the recruitment, retention, and promotion of political scientists students and scholars who study and research Latina/o politics (especially students and tenure track junior faculty).
Joy of Giving Something (JGS) Fellowship
Deadline: 07/15/25The goals of the JGS Fellows Program are to elevate photography and digital media as pathways for undergraduate students to pursue their careers and to make a difference in their communities.
NARA Voluntary Internship Program
Deadline: 07/31/25 (Tentative)The NARA Voluntary Internship Program is an unpaid occupational experience through the National Archives designed to complement formal academic training in a wide range of disciplines.
Project in Humanities, Urbanism, and Design
Deadline: 09/04/25 (Tentative)Small research grants will be awarded to support interdisciplinary design/humanities projects undertaken by undergraduate and graduate students in humanities and design disciplines that focus on the built environment. Eligible research must draw from both humanities and design disciplines.
NASA Internships and Fellowships
Deadline: 09/12/25NASA’s internship programs provide training, mentoring, and career development opportunities while working with the best science, engineering, financial, information technology and business minds in the world. Please review each internship's eligibility guidelines, application details, and deadlines closely as they are different for each specific program.
Vagelos Undergraduate Research Grant
Deadline: 10/13/25 (Tentative)The Vagelos Undergraduate Research Grant funds an independent scholarly project conducted by an undergraduate student during the academic year.
Sachs Program for Arts Innovation
Deadline: 11/22/25 (Tentative)The 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.
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) RISE Program
Deadline: 11/30/25 (Tentative)RISE (Research Internship in Science and Engineering) Germany offers undergraduate students from North American, British, and Irish universities with the opportunity to conduct summer research at a top German university or research institution.