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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Solutions of Native Cellulose in Ionic Liquids |
Certain ionic liquids are good at breaking hydrogen bonds and can dissolve native cellulose and chitin, the two most abundant polymer natural resources on Earth. For many years humans have chemically modified cellulose to make it soluble for fiber spinning and coating. By dissolving native cellulose in ionic liquids, all the hydrogen bonding in wood allows higher modulus fibers and since the ionic liquids can be easily recovered, this new processing of native cellulose is very green and sustainable. Our group studies rheology (flow properties) of ionic liquid solutions of polysaccharides that currently include cellulose, chitin , pullulan and xanthan. |
Physical Sciences |
Volunteer |
On campus |
January 8, 2025 |
| Context and Development Lab (CDL) – Undergraduate Research Assistants |
Research interests in the lab involve understanding how context shapes adolescents’ development and how race, ethnicity, and other cultural attributes interact with contextual characteristics to influence adolescent outcomes. Past projects in the lab (FAN-C: Families, Adolescents, and Neighborhoods in Context; PLACES/LUGARES) have explored the roles of different contexts such as residential neighborhood, school, family, etc. on African American and Latino adolescent’s academic outcomes, beliefs, and behavior. Our current projects are PARADE explores family, peer, and neighborhood influences on youth behaviors, and a qualitative data analysis project analyzing parent and youth focus groups for major themes. Other lab projects led by Dr. Witherspoon and graduate students are available... |
Social and Behavioral Sciences |
Volunteer |
Hybrid |
January 8, 2025 |
| THE STRUCTURES OF CRYSTALLINE AND QUASICRYSTALLINE INTERMETALLIC COMPOUNDS |
X-ray diffraction and crystal chemistry studies of the atomic arrangements in various intermetallic compounds containing aluminum, rare earths, or other metals are being carried out. Each material presents some interesting challenges. Some materials exhibit twinning, some are high temperature phases, and some have large unit cells. Of interest are the quasicrystalline phases which exhibit symmetries forbidden in crystalline structures. Methods for the study of the structures of these strange materials are being studied. In addition to X-ray diffraction techniques, synchrotron radiation measurements are frequently employed to characterize them. |
Physical Sciences |
Volunteer |
Hybrid |
January 8, 2025 |
| Wild Sourdough and Antimicrobials |
In this project, participants will create sourdough cultures from their home environments and nurture them over several weeks collecting daily samples from their feedings. These samples will then be cultured in the Penn State Schuylkill Microbiology laboratory. Upon culturing, specimens of interest will be set against safe relatives of know pathogens to determine if there is any antimicrobial activity against those strains. Students can also expand their project by examining how the microbial diversity changes over the life of the starter and compare that to development of starters using other flour types and other conditions. Since other scientific projects have shown that local conditions can impact the microbial activity, having participants from around the state... |
Life Sciences |
Credit, Volunteer |
Hybrid, On campus, Remote |
January 8, 2025 |
| Science of Agar Art: Bringing Science and Art Together |
Agar Art has become a more popular area of microbiology over the last few years with increasing attention from the American Society of Microbiology's annual competition highlighting the beautiful effects that this media can illicit using organism. Agar Art utilizes microorganisms placed on a medium called agar to create imagery that can change based on environmental and chemical exposures. Modifications to media and even the organisms can completely change an image's appearance. This experience would explore changes we can make to standard media to see the adaptive changes the organisms undergo. Students will design an image that can be tracked over time and with our different changes. |
Any |
Credit, Volunteer |
On campus |
January 8, 2025 |
| Bacteriophage Discovery: Finding Diamonds from the Dust |
Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria. These viruses generally kill their hosts, which can provide a potential source of future medical treatments. In fact, phage therapy was developed before our expansion of antibiotic treatments and exists as a tailored treatment set for specific infections. The aim of this work is to continue to find new phages and test their host ranges. |
Any |
Credit, Volunteer |
On campus |
January 8, 2025 |
| Bioinformatics of Fruit Fly Genomes |
Understanding the location and functions of genes within an organism's genome is useful for scientists to learn more about the relationship between organisms. We look at several features of fruit fly genomes as part of the Genomics Education Partnership. We use online software to make judgements about start and stop sites on exons within the genomes. Students can participate remotely, though sessions with the PI are needed for training and initial workthroughs. |
Life Sciences |
Credit, Volunteer |
On campus, Remote |
January 8, 2025 |