Emory vs. UPenn: Which is better for undergraduate psychology research?

For the widest range of undergraduate psychology research options, Penn has a modest edge. Its Psychology Department is closely connected to research communities in neuroscience, cognitive science, behavioral science, psychiatry, medicine, and business, so students can explore topics from perception and memory to clinical, developmental, and decision-making research. The Philadelphia setting also creates links to large medical and research institutions, although access depends on each lab.

Penn fits a student who wants a large, fast-paced research environment and is prepared to contact many faculty members, read lab websites carefully, and pursue openings beyond the psychology department. Students interested in cognitive neuroscience, computational approaches, health-related research, or behavioral decision research may find especially broad interdisciplinary pathways. Sought-after labs can be competitive, so initiative matters early.

Emory is an excellent choice for a student who values close faculty relationships and a somewhat more navigable path into a lab. Its psychology department has strengths in clinical science, developmental psychology, cognition, neuroscience, and health-related behavior. Emory’s broader research ecosystem, including connections across neuroscience, medicine, public health, and the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, can be particularly compelling for students interested in biological, developmental, or translational questions.

For eventual Ph.D. admission, the decisive factor will be less the school name than whether you can sustain meaningful work in a lab, earn strong faculty recommendations, and ideally contribute to a poster, presentation, or publication. Penn may offer more total labs and interdisciplinary directions; Emory may make it easier for some students to develop deeper mentorship. Look closely at the current faculty labs at each institution and identify several whose recent projects genuinely match the questions you want to study.