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 grantsSigma Xi Grant
Deadline: 10/01/25The Sigma Xi Grants in Aid of Research (GIAR) program provides undergraduate and graduate students from a wide variety of disciplines with financial support for scientific research.
Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI)
Deadline: 10/01/25The Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship provides both undergraduate and graduates students through conducting research in one of 17 participating U.S. Department of Energy laboratories/facilities for summer or for a semester-long experience.
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Internship
Deadline: 10/15/25 (Tentative)Opportunity to conduct three months of hands-on, collaborative research at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama.
College Alumni Society Undergraduate Research Grant
Deadline: 10/19/25Undergraduate 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.
Vagelos Undergraduate Research Grant
Deadline: 10/19/25The Vagelos Undergraduate Research Grant funds an independent scholarly project conducted by an undergraduate student during the academic year.
Sachs Program for Arts Innovation
Deadline: 11/22/25 (Tentative)The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation provides numerous grants for Penn students and faculty in support of support teaching art, making art, and presenting art, as well as to provide Penn students with increased access to the arts and humanities.
Wilson Center Research Assistance Internship
Deadline: 12/08/25 (Tentative)Research Assistant interns have the unique opportunity to work directly with experts at the Wilson Center, as they examine issues of contemporary public policy or explore topics that provide the historical context behind today’s pressing policy debates.
Penn Undergraduate Urban Research Colloquium
Deadline: 01/15/26 (Tentative)The Undergraduate Urban Research Colloquium facilitates faculty- and doctoral student-mentored, urban-focused research through funding support and a semester-long, credit-bearing seminar (CPLN 528/URBS 428).
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.
CHOP Research Institute Summer Scholars Program (CRISSP)
Deadline: 01/31/26 (Tentative)The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Research Institute Summer Scholars Program (CRISSP) is a 10-week competitive summer internship program for undergraduate students interested in careers in the biomedical sciences.