Celebrating 25 Years of Discovery, Scholarship & Leadership
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Support for the Penn Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships

2026


Research at Penn is not reserved for faculty and graduate students alone; it is also a defining feature of the undergraduate experience.

Long before they cross the graduation stage, Penn students seek meaningful engagement. They pursue hands-on learning opportunities that allow them to confront complex global challenges with curiosity and purpose.

This drive for discovery fuels the University’s deep commitment to fostering faculty-student collaboration. It is within these partnerships that ideas take shape, questions deepen, and future leaders begin to emerge.

For 25 years, the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF) has made this level of engagement not just possible, but transformative. This milestone anniversary offers a powerful moment to reflect on CURF’s impact—and to invest in its future—ensuring that generations of Penn students continue to translate intellectual curiosity into insight, innovation, and meaningful global impact.

Give to CURF
students gathered in conversation at an event
female student with glasses, pictured in a lab setting with beakers
male student standing at a presentation board, sharing with another student about his project

CURF offers undergraduates opportunities for intellectual rigor, discovery, and innovation.

At the center of Penn’s commitment to creating new knowledge in service to humanity, CURF advances the University’s academic excellence.

It equips undergraduate students to engage deeply with their intellectual and personal pursuits, and prepares them to take ownership of their academic journeys, guiding them as they explore questions that matter—to their fields, to society, and to themselves.

Through individualized advising and strategic partnerships with faculty, campus collaborators, and alumni, CURF connects students to research and fellowship opportunities that foster meaningful discovery. In doing so, CURF emphasizes growth through process—encouraging students to embrace challenge, navigate uncertainty, and develop the resilience and curiosity that underpin lifelong impact.

Over the past quarter-century, CURF has funded nearly 10,000 faculty-mentored student research opportunities, fueled by the following programs:

  • Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program (PURM), Jumpstart for Juniors, and Grants for Faculty Mentoring Undergraduate Research, which all support research collaborations between Penn’s world-class faculty and students—connections that last well beyond the lab or library.
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  • Benjamin Franklin Scholars and University Scholars programs, which spark integrated learning and independent research across disciplinary boundaries.
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  • Our Nationally Competitive Fellowships program, which prepares future Rhodes, Marshall, Fulbright, Truman, and Goldwater Scholars. In particular, thanks to CURF, over the past decade Penn has had:
Penn student reading a packet of papers very closely


Impact on Students

With CURF's support, Penn students advance scientific discovery, inform public policy, enrich the arts, and address urgent social challenges. Their achievements reflect more than accolades. They represent young lives shaped by sustained inquiry, resilience, and bold thinking.

The following student and alumni testimonies demonstrate just some examples of the career and life-shaping experiences made possible through CURF.

Finding CURF as a sophomore was a turning point in my academic and professional journey. At CURF, I found committed advisors who helped me refine and pursue my goals, and connected me to research and professional opportunities that encouraged my growth as a student, advocate, and person. Opportunities like the Hassenfeld Foundation Social Impact Grant allowed me to explore my public service interests, while programs like University Scholars helped me clarify my academic interests and goals. Even after graduating, advisors at CURF were a source of support and encouragement.
​-- Carson Eckhard (C’21, History and English)
Carson Eckhard


​Since graduating from Penn, Carson Eckhard has received Marshall and Knight-Hennessy Scholarships and is now pursuing a PhD in history and a JD at Stanford University.

Om Ghandi


​Om Ghandi is a Rhodes Scholar and NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholar pursuing a Ph.D. in Immunology.

The most difficult and rewarding part of the fellowship journey is learning to clearly articulate the passion that has always driven you. Many of us are guided by a deep sense of purpose we have never had to fully explain, and when we try, it can come out scattered or unclear. What CURF provided was a space to refine that idealism with people who asked thoughtful, probing questions, helping transform an intuitive but unstructured passion into a clear, compelling narrative. Through that process, I gained not only the articulation that led to a Rhodes Scholarship but also a lasting clarity about my work.
​-- Om Gandhi. C,'25, ENG,’25 (Neuroscience and Health & Societies; Bioengineering)
Over my four years at Penn, CURF has been a constant source of support in my academic pursuits. CURF has not only been instrumental in connecting me to opportunities but also supported me time and again through the often-challenging application processes. I’m deeply grateful to the CURF team for helping me find my niche and discover my passions — their support has been pivotal to my successful application to the Fulbright US Student Program.
​-- Hannah Tsai, C,’25 (International Relations and East Asian Area Studies)


​Hannah Tsai will spend next year teaching English in South Korea through the Fulbright program.

Amplify CURF and its indelible impact on students.

Through sustained curiosity, ambitious exploration, and meaningful mentorship, students gain more than research experience. They develop perspective, confidence, and the habits of mind that define true leadership. These experiences shape not only what students learn, but who they become.

As it strengthens students' pathways to research and fellowships, CURF is also driving a bold vision for the future of the research university—expanding access, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and ensuring that every motivated student has the opportunity and support to pursue discovery.

CURF students standing in a group on the stairs

Your investment in CURF is a powerful and tangible way to advance Penn’s academic mission.

We hope that you will consider helping Penn celebrate and honor CURF's 25th anniversary through philanthropy.

With your support, Penn can open doors for more students and accelerate innovation. A partnership would offer a direct and visible way to strengthen Penn’s academic mission and empower the next generation of innovators, scholars, and leaders—in science, medicine, policy, the arts, and fields yet to be imagined.

Give to CURF

Nadina Deigh
​Associate Vice President, Development and Alumni Relations
​University of Pennsylvania
​2929 Walnut Street, Ste 300
​Philadelphia, PA 19104-5099
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Phone: (215) 898-3639
​Email: deighn@upenn.edu