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 grantsAAPM Summer Undergraduate Fellowship Program
Deadline: 02/05/26 (Tentative)The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Summer Undergraduate Fellowship Program is a 10-week summer program designed to provide opportunities for undergraduate university students to gain experience in medical physics by performing research in a medical physics laboratory and shadowing at a clinical facility.
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.
Women+ and Advanced Mathematics
Deadline: 02/16/26 (Tentative)Women+ and Mathematics (W+AM) is an annual program with the mission to recruit and retain more women in mathematics through collaborative research and mentorship. W+AM is open to all that support its mission regardless of gender.
Summer Internship Program at the National Gallery
Deadline: 02/21/26 (Tentative)The Summer Internship Program at the National Gallery is crafted to provide a deep dive into the world of art through hands-on experience.
The Melvin M. Goldberg Undergraduate Fellowship of $5000 for Research in Israel
Deadline: 03/01/26 (Tentative)The Goldberg Fellowship supports summer travel to perform supervised technical research at one of Israel's universities or research centers.
José Miguel Oviedo Undergraduate Student Paper Award
Deadline: 03/07/26 (Tentative)The José Miguel Oviedo Undergraduate Student Paper Award is given annually to the best paper in Latin American and Latino Studies written by an undergraduate student at the University of Pennsylvania.
Mongolia Field School Program
Deadline: 03/14/26 (Tentative)The Mongolia Field School Program offers an educational travel experience blending academic insights and discussions with travel experiences that allow participants to interact with local people and locations off the usual tourist track.
Sigma Xi Grant
Deadline: 03/15/26 (Tentative)The 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.
College Alumni Society Undergraduate Research Grant
Deadline: 03/17/26 (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.
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.