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 grantsPaul and Kathleen Barthmaier Award
Deadline: 03/17/26 (Tentative)Financial support to assist with travel expenses related to intellectually enriching undergraduate research or fellowship experiences.
Center for the Advanced Study of India
Deadline: 03/17/26 (Tentative)The Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) offers several opportunities for Penn students, including the Summer Internship Program in India and summer research funds.
Wolf Humanities Center
Deadline: 03/19/26 (Tentative)The Wolf Humanities Center awards several Undergraduate Humanities Research Fellowships each year to further undergraduate research in the humanities.
Wharton Summer Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR)
Deadline: 03/20/26 (Tentative)SPUR provides Wharton undergraduates with a funded opportunity to develop, design, and complete an independent research project with a faculty advisor.
Jewish Studies Administered Research Awards
Deadline: 03/21/26 (Tentative)Each fall and spring the Jewish Studies Program offers Goldfein Research Awards, Brenner Special Opportunity Awards, and Schwartz Awards to both undergraduate and graduate Penn students to cover research projects and study programs in or related to Jewish studies.
Hayden Scholars
Deadline: 03/28/26 (Tentative)The 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: 03/30/26 (Tentative)The 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: 03/31/26 (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.
Seltzer Family Digital Media Awards
Deadline: 03/31/26 (Tentative)Each 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.
Asian American Studies (ASAM) Undergraduate Research Fellowship
Deadline: 04/04/26 (Tentative)ASAM 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.