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 grantsGates Summer Internship Program
Deadline: 02/02/26 (Tentative)The Gates Center Summer Internship Program (GSIP) provides hands-on research experience in cell biology and regenerative medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Princeton Neuroscience Institute (PNI) Summer Internship Program
Deadline: 02/03/26 (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.
Leonard Davis Summer Undergraduate Mentored Research Program (SUMR)
Deadline: 02/03/26 (Tentative)The Summer Undergraduate Mentored Research Program (SUMR) 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.
Summer Research Early Identification Program (SR-EIP)
Deadline: 02/03/26 (Tentative)SR-EIP is a fully paid summer internship that provides undergraduates with training and mentoring in the principles underlying the conduct of research and prepares them to pursue competitive applications to PhD or MD-PhD programs.
PennLab Summer Internship (PLSI)
Deadline: 02/07/26 (Tentative)Interns will gain valuable exposure and experience while exploring the different areas in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
Perry World House Student Fellows
Deadline: 02/09/26 (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.
SNF Paideia Fellowship
Deadline: 02/10/26 (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.
FactCheck.org Undergraduate Fellowship
Deadline: 02/11/26 (Tentative)Year-round, paid fellowship program for undergraduates interested in utilizing journalism and scholarship to increase public knowledge and understanding of US politics.
Wharton Social Impact Research Experience (WSIRE)
Deadline: 02/12/26 (Tentative)Grants to support summer research on topics that promote economic and social value for Wharton undergraduate students.
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Internship
Deadline: 02/15/26 (Tentative)Opportunity to conduct three months of hands-on, collaborative research at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama.