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 grantsDepartment of Religious Studies Awards
Deadline: 03/20/26 (Tentative)The Department of Religious Studies offers a number of prizes to stimulate excellent student research, such as the Ibn Sina Prize, the Israel Goldstein Prize, the Merle Saunders Schaff Memorial Prize, and the Ann Matter Prize.
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.
Carroll Smith-Rosenberg Senior Thesis Award in Women's Studies
Deadline: 03/21/26 (Tentative)Annual award for a superior senior thesis paper in the field of Gender, Sexuality & Women's Studies.
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.
Lynda S. Hart Award in Sexuality Studies
Deadline: 03/21/26 (Tentative)Annual award for a senior thesis or seminar/course paper in the field of LGBTQ Studies.
Samuel and Esther Goldin Endowment Award
Deadline: 03/21/26 (Tentative)This annual prize recognizes an outstanding thesis or research paper in the field of Jewish Studies.
Bodek Prize for Research on Interracial and Interfaith Relations
Deadline: 03/23/26 (Tentative)The Gordon Bodek Prize will be awarded annually to a student in any of the undergraduate departments and schools at Penn for the best paper addressing issues of interracial and interfaith relations.
Joseph Warner Yardley Prize
Deadline: 03/23/26 (Tentative)The Yardley Prize is awarded to the best thesis on political economy written by a member of the senior class in any undergraduate school at Penn.
Rose Award
Deadline: 03/23/26 (Tentative)The Rose Foundation generously funds the Rose Undergraduate Research Award recognizing outstanding undergraduate research projects completed by graduating seniors under the supervision of a Penn faculty member.
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.