UPENN CURF |

Please note that CURF advisors remain available and are continuing to advise our undergraduate students about research and all students and alumni considering fellowships. In light of COVID-19, advising is currently occurring remotely. To make appointments with CURF staff, please use the links below:

The Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships

helps all Penn students deepen their academic experience through participating in research, applying for nationally competitive fellowships, or engaging intellectually within a cohort of scholars.

Undergraduate Research
Assist a faculty member or develop your own project, no matter your experience level or field of interest. Discover CURF's many options for securing research positions with faculty and grants to support your own research.

Nationally Competitive Fellowships
Take your leadership, academic, professional, and community engagement expertise even further with opportunities both in the U.S. and abroad. Fellowships are available from your first year through graduate school, and beyond.

Benjamin Franklin Scholars
Join a residential program of students from across all four undergraduate schools who share a passion for broad academic exploration. BFS Seminars allow students to delve into a wide array of challenging topics.

University Scholars
Connect with a community of intellectually dynamic students making the most of their undergraduate years by participating in undergraduate research and scholarly events.

Presidential Prizes
Create tomorrow's solutions to today's challenges through civic engagement and innovation.

Check out this quickstart guide (pdf) on how to get started in research and fellowships at Penn!

CURF's Mission:

The Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF) supports all students as they pursue transformative experiences through fellowships, scholars programs, and undergraduate research. CURF promotes connections between faculty and students, encourages mentorship, and educates the Penn community about opportunities for all students and alumni.

Recent News

Four Penn Juniors named Goldwater Scholars

March 27, 2020

Four juniors at the University of Pennsylvania have been selected as Goldwater Scholars by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship & Excellence in Education Foundation, which provides scholarships of as much as $7,500 to undergraduate students interested in pursuing research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics, or engineering. Each year Penn’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF) nominates four students for the award and provides advising. The 2020 Goldwater Scholars from Penn are Regina Fairbanks from Broomall, Pennsylvania; Samuel Goldstein from Jacksonville, Florida; Adam Konkol from Union Beach, New Jersey; and Shreya Parchure, from Fremont, California.

Mark Rinder (COL/WH '19) talks about his Fulbright application experience

February 22, 2020

As a participant in the Fulbright-García Robles Binational Internship, Mark will be paired with a company or NGO and study international business at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México. A graduate of the Huntsman Program, Mark majored in International Studies and minoredin Latin American and Latino Studies in the College; he also concentrated in Statistics and Business Economics and Public Policy in Wharton. On campus, Mark served as president of 180 Degrees Consulting, performing social impact projects for both domestic and overseas clients. After his Fulbright experience, Mark plans to pursue a graduate degree and career in the field of international development.

Penn announces seven 2020 Thouron Award winners

February 18, 2020

Four University of Pennsylvania seniors and three recent alumni have won a Thouron Award to pursue graduate studies in the United Kingdom. Each scholarship winner receives tuition for as long as two years, as well as travel and living stipends, to earn a graduate degree there. Established in 1960 and supported with gifts by the late John Thouron and his wife, Esther du Pont Thouron, the Thouron Award is a graduate exchange program between Penn and U.K. universities that aims to improve understanding and relations between the two countries.

Tiberiu Mihaila (SAS/GAS '19) discusses the Fulbright Award process

February 4, 2020

Tiberiu Mihaila was named a US Fulbright Finalist in the 2019 application cycle. He is currently using his Fulbright Award to conduct research at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Berlin, Germany, where he is using and developing optical nanoscopy methods to answer fundamental questions about protein aggregation. Tiberu completed the Vagelos Molecular Life Sciences Program, and he loves discovering the intricate mechanisms that make life work (or fail). His favorite thing at Penn was spending time in the Petersson lab in the Department of Chemistry and the Lee lab at the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research where he worked on projects investigating aberrant protein folding in neurodegenerative diseases. Upon returning to the U.S., he will continue doing what he loves, as he will begin an MD/PhD program.

Penn senior Srinivas Mandyam awarded Churchill Scholarship

January 30, 2020

University of Pennsylvania senior Srinivas Mandyam of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, has been awarded a Churchill Scholarship for one year of graduate research study at the University of Cambridge in England.