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 grantsMellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) Program
Deadline: 01/21/26 (Tentative)The MMUF Program at Penn provides a small cohort of extraordinary Humanities and Social Sciences undergraduates with an intergenerational, intellectual family that nurtures their disciplinary aspirations.
Penn Program for Public Service Internship Program
Deadline: 01/25/26The Penn Program for Public Service (PPPS) Summer Internship is an 11-week multi-faceted summer program that immerses undergraduates in real-world problem solving in the West Philadelphia-Penn community.
Center for the Advanced Study of India
Deadline: 01/26/26The 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.
NIST Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)
Deadline: 01/26/26The NIST Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) provides students with the opportunity to spend 11 weeks conducting hands-on lab research with world-class mentors in one of NIST's six labs or other offices.
Moore Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program (MURAP) at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Deadline: 01/30/26The Moore Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (MURAP) invites applications for a paid summer fellowship for undergraduate students (rising juniors or seniors) in the humanities, social sciences, or fine arts.
Park City Mathematics Institute's Undergraduate Summer School
Deadline: 01/31/26 (Tentative)The Undergraduate Summer School (USS) at Park City Mathematics Institute (PCMI) provides a unique opportunity for undergraduate students to learn some fascinating mathematical ideas in a setting that allows them to interact with mathematicians at all levels.
Quantitative Research in the Life and Social Sciences Program (QRLSSP)
Deadline: 01/31/26The Quantitative Research in the Life and Social Sciences Program (QRLSSP) is an intensive summer research experience hosted at Arizona State University that prepares undergraduate students for the rigors of graduate level research at the interface of mathematics, statistics, and the natural and social sciences.
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.
Biomedical Graduate Studies: Summer Undergraduate Internship Program
Deadline: 02/01/26 (Tentative)Summer research program at Penn for undergraduates interested in conducting biomedical research with faculty in the Biomedical Graduate Studies group.
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship
Deadline: 02/01/26The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program at UT Southwestern’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences is an intensive summer research training experience designed for college students who are preparing for Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. careers in biomedical research.