Posted: October 12, 2023
The NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium (PSGC) PSU Undergraduate Research Internship Program is an annual research-focused program for students attending Penn State – University Park supported by the PSGC.The program offers first year students a two-semester (spring and fall semesters of one calendar year) faculty mentored internship in a research laboratory at Penn State-UP. During the internship experience, students have the opportunity to collaborate with a research team, learn the language of research, and conduct experiments. Mentored by a faculty member, students are engaged in research activities that may include attending lab meetings, collecting and analyzing data, and working on high-tech instrumentation and software. Student interns also often work closely with graduate students and lab managers to collect data for their project and present their results at the annual WMF research symposium.
Each year, research groups/labs at Penn State-UP from various colleges post projects available for student interns. Colleges that participate in WMF include Earth and Mineral Sciences, Education, Agricultural Sciences, Engineering, Health and Human Development, Liberal Arts, Information Sciences and Technology, and the Eberly College of Science. We carefully match student applicants with faculty mentors based on research interests, application information, and faculty preferences.
Students are awarded $700 dollars in scholarships for each semester, a total of $1400 dollars!
The PA Space Grant Research Internship Program has three pathways to apply: WISER, MURE, and FURP. Although they are named differently, all three pathways feed into one central internship program, and a student must qualify for at least one (or more) of the pathways described below to be eligible. We often refer to the internship program as WISER|MURE|FURP (or WMF for short).
WISER: Women in Science and Engineering Research.
Open to all first-year students but focuses on supporting outstanding women interested in pursuing research on campus.
MURE: Minority Undergraduate Research Experience
Supporting underrepresented minority students interested in pursuing research on campus that are in their first-year, sophomore, or junior years. Minority students are defined as African American, Hispanic, Native American, or Pacific Islander. Students of Asian descent are not considered minority students by NASA.
FURP: First-year Undergraduate Research Program
Open to all first-year students interested in research; those with economic hardship are encouraged to apply.
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO APPLY PLEASE GO TO: https://sites.psu.edu/wisermurefurp/
If you have any questions about the application, please contact spacegrant@psu.edu
