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).
Class of 1971 Robert J. Holtz Fund
Deadline: 03/15/2025 (Tentative)The Holtz Fund provides funds for students pursuing an independent scholarly project during the academic year or summer, where funds can be used for costs of materials and supplies, toward travel costs, or for costs of the project.
South Asia Undergraduate Research Grants
Deadline: 03/15/2025 (Tentative)The South Asia Studies Department will award up to two research/travel grants (maximum of $3000 each) for Spring-Summer to support undergraduate research projects involving travel to South Asia.
Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies Student Research Fellowship
Deadline: 03/15/2025 (Tentative)The Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies (PORES) is an undergraduate research program committed to conducting high-quality social research in the public interest on issues of national and international importance.
College Alumni Society Undergraduate Research Grant
Deadline: 03/15/2025 (Tentative)Undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences can apply for a number of grants supported by Penn’s College Alumni Society to fund a research or scholarly project.
Mind Your Brain Foundation Fellowship
Deadline: 03/15/2025 (Tentative)Traumatic 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.
NNCI Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program in Nanotechnology
Deadline: 03/15/2025 (Tentative)The National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) does not offer a network-wide REU program, but many of the NNCI sites conduct their own separate programs to provide an intensive 10-week summer research experience.
Frances Velay Fellowship
Deadline: 03/15/2025 (Tentative)Funding for undergraduate women in science to conduct a summer research project with a Penn faculty.
Andrea Mitchell Center Undergraduate Research Grants
Deadline: 03/15/2025 (Tentative)The Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy will award undergraduate research fellowships for projects that begin in the summer following successful application and are completed during the following academic year.
Penn Museum Field Research Grants
Deadline: 03/17/2025 (Tentative)The Penn Museum provides support for current Penn undergraduate and graduate students to pursue field research related to Archaeology and Anthropology.
Wolf Humanities Center
Deadline: 03/20/2025 (Tentative)The Wolf Humanities Center awards several Undergraduate Humanities Research Fellowships each year to further undergraduate research in the humanities.