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.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Human-Food Interface (Hopfer Research Lab) |
My group is interested in the human-food interface, and how food composition and structure affects human perception and food choice, particularly aroma and flavor. We combine human sensory and consumer science with analytical chemistry, instrumental analysis, and multivariate statistics, to elucidate the impact of production, processing, storage, and presentation on perception. We are also interested in improving flavor of fruits and vegetables by linking sensory science to the breeding process more effectively. We apply these methods also to non-food samples. Interested students usually start working alongside a graduate student to gain the necessary skills, before they develop their own research projects. |
Agricultural Sciences |
Credit, Variable, Volunteer |
On campus |
January 8, 2024 | |
| 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 at the... |
Environmental and Geosciences, Life Sciences |
Credit, Volunteer |
On campus, Remote, Hybrid |
January 5, 2024 | |
| 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 5, 2024 | |
| 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 5, 2024 | |
| 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 5, 2024 | |
| 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 5, 2024 | |
| 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 with... |
Life Sciences |
Credit, Volunteer |
On campus, Remote, Hybrid |
January 5, 2024 | |
| 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 |
December 21, 2023 | |
| 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 |
December 13, 2023 | |
| 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 |
December 6, 2023 |