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 grantsUndergraduate Clinical Scholars Program (UCSP)
Deadline: 01/10/26 (Tentative)The Undergraduate Clinical Scholars Program (UCSP) is a 9-week rigorous summer research enrichment program for undergraduate students with an interest in clinical/epidemiologic research, with an eventual goal of MD, PhD, or MD-PhD degrees.
RealArts@Penn Internships
Deadline: 01/20/26 (Tentative)RealArts@Penn Internships help students jumpstart their chosen artistic lives and career paths through paid internships with creative professionals across the country.
Grants for Faculty Mentoring Undergraduate Research
Deadline: 01/20/26 (Tentative)Grants for Faculty Mentoring Undergraduate Research will be awarded to offset undergraduate research expenses, such as to provide stipends for undergraduate students or for any other expenditure necessary to facilitate continued support of undergraduate research.
Penn Program for Public Service Internship Program
Deadline: 01/26/26 (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.
Department of Medicine Undergraduate Student Scholars Program (USSP)
Deadline: 01/31/26 (Tentative)Summer program hosted by the NIH Center for Molecular Studies in Digestive Liver Diseases at Penn that combines summer lectures and presentations with research experience in an affiliated laboratory.
NIST Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)
Deadline: 01/31/26 (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.
Park City Mathematics Institute's Undergraduate Summer School
Deadline: 01/31/26 (Tentative)The Undergraduate Summer School (USS) at Park City Mathematics Institute (PCMI) provides a unique opportunity for undergraduate students to learn some fascinating mathematical ideas in a setting that allows them to interact with mathematicians at all levels.
National Radio Astronomy Summer Research Assistantships
Deadline: 02/01/26 (Tentative)Summer research opportunity for students interested in conducting cutting-edge astronomical research at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and Green Bank Observatory.
Biomedical Graduate Studies: Summer Undergraduate Internship Program
Deadline: 02/01/26 (Tentative)Summer research program at Penn for undergraduates interested in conducting biomedical research with faculty in the Biomedical Graduate Studies group.
Undergraduate Translational Research Immersion Program (TRIP)
Deadline: 02/02/26 (Tentative)The Translational Research Internship Program at the University of Pennsylvania is a 10-week summer research experience in clinical and translational sciences for undergraduate students from Bryn Mawr College, Franklin & Marshall College, Haverford College, Lincoln University, Swarthmore College, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Puerto Rico.