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 grantsLynda 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Millennium Oceans Prize
Deadline: 03/30/26 (Tentative)The Millennium Oceans Prize supports students passionate about conserving, protecting, and sustainably using oceans, seas, and marine water and life.
Mind Your Brain Foundation Fellowship
Deadline: 03/31/26 (Tentative)Traumatic brain injury research fellowship available to Penn undergraduates with career interests related to traumatic brain injury research. Do not need to have a project or mentor already established. Fellowship includes a $2,500 award.
Seltzer Family Digital Media Awards
Deadline: 03/31/26 (Tentative)Each award will provide to $1,000 for the purchase of hardware or technology (with nominal spending on software and supplies) for students to use for 1 year to pursue a digital media project.