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.
Keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive database of all the research opportunities available at Penn State. Please visit our Finding an Opportunity at Penn State section for other ideas for finding a research opportunity!
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sustainable Materials Laboratory Manager Assistant |
Research Motivation: The urgent demand for sustainable materials has never been greater. The building and construction sector is responsible for 37% of global process-related CO2 emissions and consumes over half of the resources extracted annually [1]. A major contributor to these impacts is concrete production. In the United States alone, we use over 120 million tons of cement [2] and 1.9 billion tons of aggregates [3] each year; resulting in ~95... |
Engineering |
Variable |
On campus |
August 1, 2025 |
| Frost Entomological Museum: Collections care and development |
The Frost Entomological Museum cares for a large (>1.3 million specimens), historical collection of insects and related arthropods from around the world. The collection is accessed frequently for use in research, education, and outreach. The collection is also constantly growing, with the addition of several thousand specimens annually. This use and growth requires a lot of management and curation. Example tasks include:
|
Agricultural Sciences, Environmental and Geosciences, Humanities, Life Sciences |
Credit, Volunteer |
On campus |
August 25, 2025 |
| Fossil insects in amber - 3D reconstruction |
Ensign wasps (Hymenoptera: Evaniidae) develop as predators of cockroach eggs. There are about 500 extant species in this family, with perhaps as many as 1,000 more to be described and named. These insects also have a relatively rich fossil record that extends at least to the Jurassic. My lab group recently scanned more than 20 amber fossils of these wasps, using a particle accelerator (synchrotron). The resulting data sets are analogous to the CT scans often used in medicine. That is, we have X-ray slices across the length of each fossil wasp, which can be studied individually and also assembled into a 3D representation of the whole insect. The resulting models can then be studied to better understand patterns of evolution across time and space, for this lineage. The main aim for... |
Environmental and Geosciences, Life Sciences |
Credit |
Hybrid |
August 25, 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 |
May 13, 2025 |
| Undergraduate Research Assistant in Finance and Economics |
Work with Penn State finance faculty members and advanced doctoral students on cutting-edge research projects in the areas of finance and economics. Recent topics of interest include:
|
Business, Engineering, Environmental and Geosciences, Information Technology and Computer Science, International Relations, Political Science, and Law, Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Statistics |
Volunteer |
Hybrid, On campus, Remote |
April 25, 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 |
| 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 |
| Soil Microbes and Antimicrobials |
In this project, participants will be working as part of the crowdsourcing activities of an international group of scientists working with students to find the next generation of antimicrobial agents from soils in our own backyards or campuses. Students will gather soil samples, perform testing on that soil for environmental recording, and then plate the soil samples to obtain specimens. We examine the specimens for potential antimicrobial activity and then test against known specimens to further characterize their activity. As much of this work needs to occur in our laboratory at Penn State Schuylkill, participants in this region of the state are highly encouraged to join. |
Life Sciences |
Credit, Volunteer |
On campus |
January 8, 2025 |
| Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) |
Penn State Schuylkill is part of this international effort to perform environmental monitoring and to help maintain data for our region. In this project, participants will be trained to record data at a site (which can be set up throughout the state so it is more accessible for students and can be in coordination with local groups). The data is then provided to the mentor for a check before being uploaded to the database system. Some measurements are recorded daily while others using basic equipment can be performed on a yearly/semiannual basis. Even though we are based in Schuylkill County, many measurements can be taken anywhere with minimal training and for specialized projects, we can (in most cases within the state of Pennsylvania) make arrangements to perform the testing ... |
Environmental and Geosciences, Life Sciences |
Credit, Volunteer |
Hybrid, On campus, Remote |
January 8, 2025 |
| Dynamics of Plant Cell Walls |
Research opportunities are available in the Anderson Lab in the Department of BIology to study the dynamics of plant cell walls, with applicability to the sustainable production of food, materials, and bioenergy from plants. Our group uses a combination of molecular genetics, microscopy, and biochemistry to study how plants assemble, modify, and degrade their cell walls. |
Life Sciences |
Credit |
On campus |
January 8, 2025 |