When Ohio University student Chris Whitney wanted to study Shaolin Kung Fu in China, he got the university to help pay for it.
After taking a grant-writing course last spring, he was able to secure funding from the Provost's Undergraduate Research Fund (PURF), a student-enhancement grant and a study-abroad grant.
Whitney, of Cleveland Heights, will spend six months in China studying Tai Chi, Kung Fu, Mandarin Chinese and Buddhism at a Shaolin Kung Fu school, he said.
People don't think they can get funding because their research isn't academic enough
the dance major said. But if you take the time to explain it people will help.
The PURF is one of many grant funds on campus, but it is the only one set up specifically for undergraduates, said Jan Hodson, assistant dean of the Honors Tutorial College, who administers the fund.
The fund distributes $50,000 a year among students, with awards of up to $1,500 per student, though more students apply each year than the money can cover. Funded projects have included not only more traditional scientific research, but also scholarly and creative projects.
Students have used their grants to pay for many different items, such as pregnant rats, research subjects, airfare or paint for theater productions. One year, a student used her grant to buy hip waders to collect frogs for her research, Hodson said.
The PURF was set up during the 2000-2001 school year not just to award funding to undergraduates, Hodson said, but also to teach them how to write grant applications, manage grant money, present grant proposals to a committee, be accountable and report back to the committee.
The fund's selection committee is made up of faculty from every college except the Honors Tutorial College and University College. Sorting through and reviewing the applications is a huge process because the committee reads every word of every application Hodson said.
Another way students can do research is by working with a professor on his or her research project, said Jack Bantle, vice president for research.
You get a chance to work in the discipline and find out if you like it
Bantle said. You don't just want to read about chemistry; you want to do chemistry.
It's only a matter of finding a topic and a professor
Bantle said. You can make education an active pursuit versus a passive pursuit.
Bantle speaks from experience. While he was a student, he also sought guidance from a professor and became involved with their work.
It completely changed my direction
Bantle said.
Hodson encourages students to apply for the PURF and other sources of funding and to take the applications very seriously. If students itemize their budget and tell the selection committee exactly what they will spend the money on, they could increase their chances of receiving a reward, Hodson said.
If you're lax
why would the committee give you money? Hodson said.
Stacy Fisher, a painting major from Mason, used funds from the PURF and an award from the College of Fine Arts to fund her creative project. Talk to your advisors
she said, because there is money out there.
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