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 grantsJumpstart for Juniors
Deadline: 03/17/26 (Tentative)The Jumpstart for Juniors program provides students with the opportunity to gain invaluable investigative skills in the summer after their junior year. These funds may be used to continue an established, ongoing independent research project under the supervision of a faculty mentor or to gather necessary data prior to embarking on a senior thesis or other significant independent research project.
Penn Museum Field Research Grants
Deadline: 03/17/26 (Tentative)The Penn Museum provides support for current Penn undergraduate and graduate students to pursue field research related to Archaeology and Anthropology.
Pincus-Magaziner Family Undergraduate Research Fund
Deadline: 03/17/26 (Tentative)2nd or 3rd year students majoring in Art History, English, Literature, Biology, Mathematics, or Neuroscience are eligible to apply for research and travel support from Pincus-Magaziner funding each Fall and Spring semester through the College Alumni Society Research Grant program.
Gelfman International Summer Fund
Deadline: 03/17/26 (Tentative)The Gelfman International Summer Fund has been established by Robert W. Gelfman (Wharton ’53) to create opportunities for personally enriching international research and/or service for students in the summer between their junior and senior year. The Fund is expected to cover two or three students each summer. Penn juniors from any of Penn’s undergraduate schools and in any discipline are eligible.
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.
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.