Ambitious, cash-strapped undergraduate students who want to study insects abroad or produce their own film now have funding opportunities available through the Ohio University Provost's Undergraduate Research Fund (PURF).
The fund awards money to aid students in creative projects, scholarly work or scientific research. Awards range from $100 to $1,500. The money can be used for supplies, materials or travel necessary to complete research projects.
Almost anything you want to do
the PURF can help you do said OU junior political science major Mike Jacobson, one of last year's recipients.
Former OU Provost Sharon Brown founded PURF in 2000. Each year, $50,000 is put into the fund to provide research opportunities for undergraduates.
Of 66 applicants last year, 46 received funding, and a total of $48,302.62 was distributed, said Jan Hodson, PURF coordinator.
Hodson, assistant dean of the Honors Tutorial College, said she is not expecting many applicants this year.
I'm afraid the funding cycle change might result in fewer applications she said. But we want to encourage everyone to apply. It's not a huge process.
The deadline, Sept. 26, is a change from the usual date in February in order to attract more senior applicants and to allow upperclassmen more time to work on projects, Hodson said.
Students must complete the projects before they graduate. Jacobson, who plans to study Bolivian culture, history and the Quechua language in South America, is saving his PURF money for later.
I thought I was going to forfeit it
then I realized I had two more years to use it
he said. His PURF money will pay for airfare to Bolivia. Most scholarships are designed to help pay for tuition
room and board and travel within the country
Jacobson said. Most people overlook that the airfare is over $1
000 just to get there.
Any full-time undergraduate student can complete a three-page form describing the proposed project, the process he or she will follow and the ultimate goal of the research, Hodson said. Students also must specify the amount of money needed. Each applicant must name a faculty adviser to oversee the project, and the adviser and the students' department chair must sign the application.
After receiving all applications, a faculty committee of representatives from each college on campus will discuss each one and determine this year's recipients.
Students also can use the money for travel to present their results at the conclusion of their research, Hodson said, which is a change from last year.
Some past research projects include trips to Shakespeare workshops in London, musical performances at Carnegie Hall, hormone and gene research and works of art.
OU sophomore Miranda Nixon, a Spanish major, plans to apply for funding to assist with her thesis research in Mexico.
I want to work with indigenous communities
to look at the status of their language
bilingual education
the support the government is providing
