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 grantsThe 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.
FBI Honors Internship Program
Deadline: 03/01/26 (Tentative)The FBI Honors Internship Program is a full-time, 10-week paid summer internship for undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral college students and offers exposure to the world’s premiere law enforcement and intelligence agency while also serving as a pipeline for entry-level positions after graduation.
MindCore: Undergraduate Summer Fellowship Program in Interdisciplinary Mind and Brain Studies
Deadline: 03/02/26 (Tentative)Paid 10-week summer research program for Penn undergraduates (1st, 2nd, and 3rd years) as well as select students from other institutions interested in interdisciplinary approaches to the study of the mind and brain.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Native American Scholars Initiative Undergraduate Internship
Deadline: 03/03/26 (Tentative)The Native American Scholars Initiative Undergraduate Summer Internship provides students interested in Native American and Indigenous Studies with hands-on opportunities to conduct research and explore career possibilities in archives and special collections.
Andrea Mitchell Center Undergraduate Research Grants
Deadline: 03/07/26 (Tentative)The Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy will award undergraduate research fellowships for projects that begin in the summer following successful application and are completed during the following academic year.
Center for Africana Studies Annual Prizes
Deadline: 03/07/26 (Tentative)The Center for Africana Studies offers multiple prizes for excellent writing.
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.
Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies Student Research Fellowship
Deadline: 03/07/26 (Tentative)The Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies (PORES) is an undergraduate research program committed to conducting high-quality social research in the public interest on issues of national and international importance.
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.