Undergraduate Research Opportunities Database
Our database is a great resource in helping students find exciting undergraduate research opportunities at Penn State.
To get the best results, we recommend that you select all of the research areas that interest you. We also recommend that you conduct multiple searches.
Campus – Select the campus(es) where you would be interested in participating in research. Depending on the time of year when you are using the database, consider whether your location changes. For example, do you spend your summers closer to a different campus than where you regularly attend school?
Research Area – Select the area(s) of research that interest you most, keeping in mind that research is often interdisciplinary so it might be appropriate to select more than one area. For example, if you are interested in health you might want to search for opportunities in the physical sciences, life sciences, and nursing and health sciences, because these research areas could all be relevant to your interest in health.
Position Type – Select the position type(s) that are most appealing to you. If you prefer whether you earn credit versus being paid, be sure to narrow down the search results using this field.
- “Work Study” is only available to students who have received a federal work-study (FWS) award. You can verify if you have an FWS award by visiting LionPATH and reviewing your "Financial Aid Summary.” If you do not have a federal work-study award, your mentor can also inquire with the Office of Student Aid - 814-865-6301 - to determine if you are eligible to be awarded one.
Mentors interested in creating an account or posting an opportunity should visit the Posting Undergraduate Research Opportunities section.
| Title | Description | Research Area(s) | Position Type(s) | Work Setting(s) | Updated Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remote Research Judge in The Coping and Regulation of Environmental Stress Lab |
The Coping and Regulation of Environmental Stress (CaRES) Lab within the Psychology Department is seeking several part-time remote judges for a children's speech task during a large randomized controlled trial investigating coping trajectories of youth. The Building a Strong Identity and Coping Skills (BaSICS) project will work towards confirming the effectiveness of the BaSICS intervention program in treating and preventing mental health problems in young adolescents from low income households and to evaluate its potential to mitigate the youth mental health crisis by offering group-based services to youth assigned to waitlists at treatment facilities. Are you interested in gaining a unique research experience to add to your resume/cv and ... |
Social and Behavioral Sciences |
Volunteer |
Remote |
March 6, 2025 |
| Paid undergraduate research opportunity in water quality (field/lab-based) |
Research interests: Water quality, stream pollutant transport, watershed management, nutrient biogeochemistry, conservation practices, ecohydrological modeling The Valappil Research Lab in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (University Park) primarily works on integrating field and modeling-based research to study stream water quality, pollutant transport and cycling, and the impact of conservation practices on stream health. Our field-based projects involve testing for pollutant concentrations (nutrients and sediments) in various locations around Centre County, PA, as well as conducting tracer studies (injecting salts in streams and tracking their transport) to estimate nutrient uptake and its variability. Our projects also have a key Extension... |
Agricultural Sciences, Engineering, Environmental and Geosciences, Physical Sciences |
Paid |
Community-based, On campus |
March 5, 2025 |
| Paid undergraduate research opportunity in water quality (field/lab-based) | The Valappil Research Lab in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (University Park) is looking for an undergraduate student to work on a research project studying the impact of conservation practices on stream water quality. The project involves testing for pollutant concentrations (nutrients and sediments) in streams adjacent to properties that plan to implement management practices (eg: a new barn, vegetated stream buffer, etc.). By testing for water quality variables in the field and testing the samples in the lab over a long period of time, we aim to analyze the impact of these practices in improving water quality. In addition, we will conduct tracer studies (injecting salts in streams and tracking their transport) in various streams to estimate the nutrient... |
Agricultural Sciences, Engineering, Environmental and Geosciences, Physical Sciences |
Paid |
Community-based, On campus |
March 5, 2025 |
| Bee research opportunities in the Hines Lab |
Impact of Pollen Nutrition on Bumble bees [Guided Independent Research] An opportunity is available for an undergraduate researcher to assist in research examining the impact of protein in pollen on bumble bee health outcomes. Bumble bees prefer high levels of protein compared to other bees and the lab is assessing how protein levels consumed impact health outcomes of these bees. Honey bee pollen is fed to bumble bees reared for both research and agricultural pollination, however this pollen tends to be low in protein. The student would test the impacts of different protein supplements in this pollen on bumble bee health outcomes to determine if they could be of value for improving rearing success. This research would involve handling live bumble bees... |
Agricultural Sciences, Environmental and Geosciences, Life Sciences |
Variable |
Hybrid, On campus |
February 21, 2025 |
| Research Assistant Positions in the Dismantling Racial inEquities Around Mental health (DREAM) Lab |
Description of Lab: The Dismantling Racial inEquities Around Mental Health (DREAM) Lab at Penn State is recruiting volunteer research assistants! The DREAM Lab is directed by Dr. Chardée Galán, an Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Child Clinical Area (https://galanlab.org/). Our lab aims to: 1) advance research on the mental health effects of racism on youth and families of color, including work on racial trauma; 2) develop and test interventions that leverage cultural strengths to promote resilience and mitigate the detrimental effects of racism on youth and families of color; and 3) address key drivers of racial inequities in mental health, including the lack of culturally humble mental health providers and the... |
Social and Behavioral Sciences |
Credit, Volunteer |
On campus, Remote |
February 7, 2025 |
| Pitch Exploration Lab |
You’re invited! A research group called the Pitch Exploration Lab meets weekly each semester. This space is intended for undergraduates or graduates from any major on campus to explore music/brain/psychology topics but we especially welcome research questions related to pitch processing and psycho-motor activity. Students from Acoustics, Psychology, Neuroscience and all other majors are welcome, as well as students with any background coursework or experience in statistics. Please contact the lab director, Dr. Bryan Nichols at bnichols@psu.edu for more information. |
Social and Behavioral Sciences |
Volunteer |
On campus |
February 7, 2025 |
| Department of Psychology Undergraduate Research Opportunity |
The ADAPT Lab (PI: Dr. Yo Jackson) in the Pennsylvania State University is searching for volunteer undergraduate research assistants to support the PAIR Project! The PAIR Project studies intergenerational transmission of trauma and how early life adversity impacts a child's emotional and cognitive health. We are looking for motivated and detail-oriented students to help us with behavioral coding. This position requires rigorous behavioral coding training. After passing the training, the RA would independently code video recordings of parent-child dyads participating in study tasks. There may also be opportunities to work on independent projects and collaborate with other lab team members. If you have any questions, please email us (gml5495@psu.edu... |
Any |
Credit, Volunteer |
On campus |
February 6, 2025 |
| Astronomy & Astrophysics Research on Active Galaxies and Cosmic Surveys |
Professor Brandt's interests largely focus on observational studies of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and cosmological X-ray surveys. Specific objects investigated include actively accreting SMBHs (i.e., active galactic nuclei: AGNs), starburst galaxies, and normal galaxies. The work utilizes data from facilities at the forefront of astrophysical discovery, including the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the XMM-Newton satellite, the NuSTAR satellite, and the Hubble Space Telescope. For further details, I would suggest you watch the YouTube videos in the following two playlists: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwQ-l1lnSF61ebOpVpdUfzwGVRppNb14F ... |
Physical Sciences |
Credit, Paid, Variable |
Hybrid, On campus |
January 23, 2025 |
| The Child Health Study |
Study Purpose: The primary purpose of this study is to learn more about the different ways in which the environment and biology can affect a person’s health over their lifetime. Children beginning at the age of 8 along with one of their caregivers spends a day visiting The Center for Healthy Children at Penn State to help us learn about their different life experiences and environments and how these shapes human development. The information we gather during these visits will help us achieve our long-range goal of understanding more about children, adolescents, and their families to improve health outcomes. Research Assistant Benefits:
|
Communications and Journalism, Life Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences |
Credit, Variable, Volunteer, Work Study |
On campus |
January 8, 2025 |
| Computational Astrophysics |
I mainly study massive star winds that are driven by radiation. However, it involves significant amount of numerical computation, visualization and analysis of large data sets. However, I am seeking student involvements in a wide range of other topics that require numerical computations/computer modeling. For example, supernovae, accretion disks, solar winds, planetary magnetospheres (like Jupiter) etc. I have experience with a number of different astrophysical numerical codes such as Zeus-MP, FLASH, PLUTO, AMRVAC. Most of them use Fortran, but PLUTO uses C programming language. These codes are very versatile and I will be happy to guide any interested student in learning and applying these tools. An ideal student will be familiar with Unix/Linux type of computer operating system... |
Engineering, Mathematics, Physical Sciences |
Credit, Volunteer |
On campus, Remote |
January 8, 2025 |