Undergraduate Research Opportunities and Resources | Penn State College of Health and Human Development

4 types of participation

Your participation in undergraduate research could take any of the following forms.

two students measuring height in a clinical setting

1. As a volunteer

If earning course credit is not important and being paid is not an option, you can gain research experience by volunteering for a project or team. Be sure to still include your participation on your résumé.

2. For course credit

You can earn credits by taking a research-based course or working with a faculty member and enrolling in a research project (-294, -494). To earn credit, you will want to talk with your research mentor and/or academic adviser to complete the necessary paperwork.

Some courses may be helpful in getting started on research. Courses that cover statistics or research methods may give you some good background. Taking one of these classes early in your academic program may enable you to connect with research groups. To earn course credit for your research experience, contact the Center for Student Advising and Engagement to discuss relevant rules and prerequisite courses.

Two young men in lab coats smile during a conversation at a bench in a wet lab.

3. Through grant funding

There may be grants available that can support the costs associated with your research or creative activity. For example, the Erickson Discovery Grants and the College of Health and Human Development Smith Research Grants and other funds support student-initiated projects, and the Student Engagement Network funds engagement experiences, including undergraduate research and unpaid internships for summer, fall, and spring. Individual departments, colleges, and campuses may also have grant funding available.

Learn more about finding an opportunity

4. For pay

If a faculty member or department has funding available (internal or external), you might be able to be paid for your work. Or, if you have received a federal work-study (FWS) award, tell your mentor! Your mentor can work with the undergraduate research office so that you earn work-study wages for your work on a research project or team.

Whether you choose to participate can depend on your personal and professional goals, as well as other activities competing for your time. We encourage you to meet with staff in our Undergraduate Office to discuss your interests, as well as talk with your professors, and teaching assistants about any research that they have in progress.

Resources for HHD undergraduate research

There are a number of unique research opportunities across Penn State that are open to HHD Undergraduates.

Three related programs supported by the NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium (PSGC) offer different pathways to the same program. Learn more about the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), Minority Undergraduate Research Experience (MURE), and First-Year Undergraduate Research Program (FURP).

Undergraduates can present research at department and college events, and at the annual Penn State Undergraduate Research Fair and the annual Student Engagement Expo.

The University maintains databases that list many (but not all) undergraduate research opportunities at Penn State and another or research opportunities outside of Penn State.

Funding sources

Undergraduate research grants

Erickson Discovery Grant Program

Undergraduate Research Conference Travel Scholarships

Student Engagement Network grant program

Other University resources

Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Office

Undergraduate Research Ambassador Program