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).
Mind Your Brain Foundation Fellowship
Deadline: 03/15/2025 (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.
Class of 1971 Robert J. Holtz Fund
Deadline: 03/15/2025 (Tentative)The Holtz Fund provides funds for students pursuing an independent scholarly project during the academic year or summer, where funds can be used for costs of materials and supplies, toward travel costs, or for costs of the project.
South Asia Undergraduate Research Grants
Deadline: 03/15/2025 (Tentative)The South Asia Studies Department will award up to two research/travel grants (maximum of $3000 each) for Spring-Summer to support undergraduate research projects involving travel to South Asia.
Penn Museum Field Research Grants
Deadline: 03/17/2025 (Tentative)The Penn Museum provides support for current Penn undergraduate and graduate students to pursue field research related to Archaeology and Anthropology.
Department of Religious Studies Awards
Deadline: 03/18/2025 (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.
Samuel and Esther Goldin Endowment Award
Deadline: 03/18/2025 (Tentative)This annual prize recognizes an outstanding thesis or research paper in the field of Jewish Studies.
Wolf Humanities Center
Deadline: 03/20/2025 (Tentative)The Wolf Humanities Center awards several Undergraduate Humanities Research Fellowships each year to further undergraduate research in the humanities.
Thune Summer Travel Fellowship Fund
Deadline: 03/20/2025 (Tentative)Funding for History of Art majors and minors to support summer travel as part of honors thesis research in the History of Art.
José Miguel Oviedo Undergraduate Student Paper Award
Deadline: 03/22/2025 (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.
Joseph Warner Yardley Prize
Deadline: 03/24/2025 (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.