One of the great strengths of the University of Pennsylvania is its capacity to offer significant research experiences to its undergraduates. Members of Penn's alumni community have created a number of grants to support research and scholarly work of undergraduates in the College of Arts and Sciences.

• College Alumni Society Grants
  
  • The Ernest M. Brown, Jr. College Alumni Society Undergraduate Research Grant, for students in the life sciences or preparing for medical school.
    
  • The College Alumni Society Board of Managers and Presidents Undergraduate Research Grants
    
  • The Allison Lazo Hallingby College Alumni Society Undergraduate Research Grant, for undergraduates in Architecture.
    
  • The Ruth Marcus Kanter College Alumni Society Undergraduate Research Grant
    
  • The Kelson Family College Alumni Society Undergraduate Research Grant, for projects in environmental studies, theater arts, architecture or Russian studies.
    
  • The Kanta Marwah College Alumni Society Undergraduate Research Grant, for projects in economics.
    
  • The Mary L. And Matthew S. Santirocco College Alumni Society Undergraduate Research Grant, for projects in classics, humanities, or biomedical studies.
    
  • The Cabanne C. Smith College Alumni Society Undergraduate Research Grant, for theater arts.

1. The project shall represent original research or scholarship allowing the student to make a significant contribution to knowledge.
2. The project shall be largely conceived and executed by the student and not simply represent faculty research in which the student assists.
3. While students inherently must investigate their projects before applying for funding, grants will be made only for projects to be carried out after the proposal has been approved. Decisions will be made in April of each academic year for projects that are to be conducted during the summer or the following academic year. In no case will projects already completed be funded.
4. Each project shall have a faculty advisor who will normally be a member of the SAS standing faculty. In some cases, a qualified advisor from outside the SAS faculty may be appropriate, subject to the approval of the student's undergraduate chair or program director.
5. Students awarded these grants are expected to prepare a formal research paper on their project and to present their work orally at a meeting of faculty and peers. Presentation meetings will be organized by CURF and held during or before the next Alumni Weekend. Copies of the papers shall be submitted to the alumni donors as well as the College Alumni Society or other funding organization as appropriate. Recipients are expected to complete their projects before graduation, and therefore students in their final semester are ineligible to apply.
6. Funding provided should be used to help defray the student's research costs and should not be a substitute for financial aid nor for the advisor's research funding. Types of expense to which the funds may be applied include travel to libraries, museums, archives, and research sites; living expenses that would enable the student to remain at the University during the summer; research equipment and supplies, including books, films, and photocopying; computer or laboratory fees; and, specialized computer peripherals and software. (Reimbursement of living expenses may be taxable.) Items that cost $500 or more with a useful life of one year or more must be purchased with a University purchase requisition and will remain the property of the University. Last year's awards ranged from $750 to $1,000; the maximum for each award this year is expected to be about $1,000. Students will be expected to submit a final report of expenditures to CURF.
7. All applicants must be members in good standing of the University of Pennsylvania community.

1. Completed Application Form
   Download Application form Printed copies are available at CURF.
2. Short abstract (on a separate page; no longer than 100 words)
3. Objectives and Methodology (2 pages maximum)
   • State the objectives and relevance of the proposed work in terms intelligible to an educated non-specialist.
   • Evaluate existing knowledge and work in the area and provide a brief background summary to the proposed work.
   • Describe the design and procedures to be employed and provide a timetable and implementation plan for completion of the project.
4. Itemized Budget, plus total (on a separate page). List each budget item in order of priority and justify it in terms of the work proposed. The amount given may be less than requested.