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Penn State is a leading research university with countless opportunities to engage with projects.
University faculty often embrace the opportunity to engage with Schreyer Scholars in their labs. As an undergraduate researcher, you'll gain experience often reserved for graduate students. You'll also be contributing to solutions to real-world problems.
Penn State and Schreyer offer many opportunities to showcase your research, and Schreyer provides a variety of grants to fund research-related expenses. Early research experiences may also naturally lead to your honors thesis.
Finding Undergraduate Research Positions
When looking for an undergraduate research position, consider your interests and your goals. You may reach out to faculty members who are working on a topic that interests you to inquire about working with them.
Students often begin exploring research opportunities through their college and academic department's websites, where they can find research centers and projects led by Penn State faculty.
The Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowship Mentoring (URFM) is a great place to start if you need ideas about where to look or how to reach out. To explore undergraduate research positions, you can also browse the URFM database.
Presenting Your Work
Once you have a research position, you may be interested in showcasing your work.
One way to do so is at the Undergraduate Exhibition, held each spring. You may also have the opportunity to present the results of your research at a professional conference. Schreyer has grants available to assist with travel or other conference-related expenses.
Explore the Undergraduate ExhibitionResearch Grants
With a little work, you can find many ways to fund your research. Schreyer offers research grants to support scholarly work. These grants can cover things such as thesis-related expenses, living expenses for summer research, or travel for international research.
Students can also find a variety of internal and external grants, fellowships, and scholarships through the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowship Mentoring (URFM). These includes grants, such as the Erickson Discovery Grant, which provides summer funding for an independent research project, as well as major fellowships, such as the Goldwater Scholarship, which provides funding for STEM students pursuing careers in research.