What opportunities are open to me?
There are many opportunities for Penn undergraduates to conduct research in any discipline—regardless of their previous experience. Research positions can be:
- Volunteer
- Arranged through work-study
- Paid -- funded directly through a faculty member’s grant or via a program that provides a stipend
- Conducted for academic credit, or
- Supported via a grant for which you apply.
Keep in mind that funding options are often specific to particular kinds of research, fields of study, grad year, etc. In addition, most (but not all) CURF funding is reserved for research conducted under the mentorship of a Penn faculty member.
Use the list below 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.
What grants should I apply for?
The Penn Undergraduate Research Mentorship (PURM) program is ideal for first and second-year students who have little to no prior research experience. For more advanced researchers, the College Alumni Society Research Grant, the Vagelos Undergraduate Research Grant, and the Class of 1971 Robert J. Holtz Endowed Fund for Undergraduate Research are good places to start.
Other options are often specific to particular populations or kinds of research (e.g. grants for international research, social-impact endeavors, or for juniors who have not done research before).
National Radio Astronomy Summer Research Assistantships
Deadline: 02/01/2025 (Tentative)Summer research opportunity for students interested in conducting cutting-edge astronomical research at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and Green Bank Observatory.
Moore Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program (MURAP) at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Deadline: 02/01/2025 (Tentative)The 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.
Harvard-Amgen Scholars Program
Deadline: 02/01/2025 (Tentative)The Amgen Scholars Program at Harvard is a summer research opportunity for undergraduates interested in biotechnology.
Princeton Neuroscience Institute (PNI) Summer Internship Program
Deadline: 02/01/2025 (Tentative)Princeton Neuroscience Institute (PNI) is offering a summer internship program for highly motivated undergraduates, providing education and hands-on research experience in the field of neuroscience.
The Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM) NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)
Deadline: 02/01/2025 (Tentative)The LRSM offers undergraduates interested in materials science and engineering research with Summer Research Fellowships through the National Science Foundation.
Summer Research - Early Identification Program (SR-EIP)
Deadline: 02/01/2025 (Tentative)SR-EIP is a fully paid summer internship that provides undergraduates with training and mentoring in the principles underlying the conduct of research and prepares them to pursue competitive applications to PhD or MD-PhD programs.
Biomedical Graduate Studies: Summer Undergraduate Internship Program
Deadline: 02/01/2025 (Tentative)Summer research program at Penn for undergraduates interested in conducting biomedical research with faculty in the Biomedical Graduate Studies group.
National Institute on Drug Abuse Summer Research Internship Program
Deadline: 02/02/2025 (Tentative)Summer research opportunity for undergraduates interested in learning more about the field of drug abuse and addiction research.
Undergraduate Translational Research Immersion Program (TRIP)
Deadline: 02/02/2025 (Tentative)The Translational Research Internship Program at the University of Pennsylvania is a 10-week summer research experience in clinical and translational sciences for undergraduate students from Bryn Mawr College, Franklin & Marshall College, Haverford College, Lincoln University, Swarthmore College, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Puerto Rico.
NASA Internships and Fellowships
Deadline: 02/02/2025 (Tentative)NASA’s internship programs provide training, mentoring, and career development opportunities while working with the best science, engineering, financial, information technology and business minds in the world.