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.

Note: You may not receive academic credit and be paid for the same research experience in a given semester.

  • “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.
 

Hold Ctrl key or Command to select multiple options.
Title Description Research Area(s) Position Type(s) Work Setting(s) Updated Date
Survey Research Center Part-Time Positions

The Survey Research Center (SRC) provides high-quality, cost-effective survey research services to faculty around the University. The SRC is part of the Penn State Social Science Research Institute and supports interdisciplinary research that addresses critical human and social problems at the local, national, and international levels. For 20 years, the SRC has played a central role in data collection efforts with Penn State faculty, research scientists, and graduate students. In any given year, the SRC supports over 50 projects from across the university and larger research community. Services range from developing, designing, conducting and evaluating scientific surveys of the general public, to targeting specific populations such as high school students, business managers, cancer...

Business, Communications and Journalism, Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Paid
On campus
September 6, 2024
Semiflexible Conjugated Polymers

Conjugated polymers find uses in flexible electronic devices, such as solar cells. This class of polymer has chains that are naturally more rigid than standard flexible-chain polymers. Rigidity means that the polymers entangle more easily but also crystallize and perhaps form nematic phases above their melting point. Together with Professors Enrique Gomez and Scott Milner (both in Chemical Engineering) we aim to develop a better fundamental understanding of semiflexible conjugated polymers, using a combination of computer simulations and experiments.

Physical Sciences
Variable
Hybrid
August 30, 2024
Polyvinylalcohol Solution Rheology in collaboration with Proctor & Gamble

Proctor & Gamble uses poly(vinyl alcohol) for the casings of pods that hold laundry and dishwasher detergents. This polymer is good at hydrogen bonding and forms associating polymer solutions in water, which imparts interesting rheology (flow properties). Various other additives such as salts and surfactants can enhance the association effects in interesting ways. Adding hydrogen bond accepting molecules like dimethylsulfoxide or tetramethyl urea and lower the viscosity by preventing assoications. Our group studies aqueous poly(vinyl alcohol) solution rheology and the phase boundaries of these solutions. The best undergraduates involved get the opportunity to do summer or coop internships at Proctor & Gamble in Cincinnati.

Engineering
Volunteer
On campus
August 30, 2024
Polyelectrolyte Solution Rheology

Chemists who synthesize ion-containing polymers must grapple with a severe hindrance - that of accurately measuring the molecular weight of their products. The lack of generally effective methods for determining this fundamental quantity retards research on ionic polymers, which find uses in water purification, energy conversion and storage, massive industrial scale electrolysis and other molecular separations. We are developing four methods that utilize easily measured dynamic properties of semidilute unentangled solutions of ionic polymers to obtain the number-average molecular weight Mn. Each method relies on specific combinations of calibrated measurements so that each method directly determines the number density of chains in solution and thus Mn. These...

Engineering
Volunteer
On campus
August 30, 2024
Gene Regulation and Cancer Enzymes

Our laboratory is interested in how genes are turned off or on since such regulation is altered in cancer cells. Our goal is to determine how gene regulation complexes work using both biochemical and structural biology approaches. A focus of the lab is to determine the three-dimensional structure of epigenetic and chromatin complexes by cryoelectron microscopy and X-ray crystallography. Current undergraduate projects include (a) coexpression of protein complexes in E. coli and insect cells, (b) characterizing chromatin enzymes through chromatin enzyme activity and nucleosome binding assays, and (c) producing reagents to help the global science community perform molecular biology experiments.

Recent ...

Life Sciences
Credit
On campus
August 30, 2024
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
August 29, 2024
The Role of Cognitive and Mathematical Structures in Problem Solving Process

Our research group is interested in studying the cognitive role of mathematical aesthetics and strategic choices of problem solving solution methods and the relational role of item discrimination and difficulty. We examine how problem solvers' behavior might be affected or altered by elementary modifications of problem structures. This research position is open to undergraduate and graduate students.

Education, Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Statistics
Paid, Volunteer, Work Study
On campus, Remote, Hybrid
August 1, 2024
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Cyber-Physical Systems

We apply state-of-the-art artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques, including deep learning and reinforcement learning, to solve challenging and impactful computational problems in complex cyber-physical systems, such as transportation and power systems, focusing on sequential decision-making under uncertainty and combinatorial optimization.

Engineering, Information Technology and Computer Science
Credit, Volunteer
On campus, Remote
July 26, 2024
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. Chardee Galan, 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 perpetration of...

Social and Behavioral Sciences
Credit, Volunteer
On campus, Remote
July 22, 2024
Neuroscience research opportunities

We are neuroscientists interested in understanding what happens in the brain during sleep and how fluid (blood, cerebrospinal fluid) flow is controlled in the brain. We use microscopy, imaging, electrophysiology, and molecular biology techniques in rodent models.

More information on our research can be found here: Drew-lab

Engineering, Life Sciences, Mathematics, Physical Sciences, Statistics
Credit
On campus
June 3, 2024