A few dozen Ohio University undergraduate students will get the chance to start their graduate research a bit early.
Fifty-five OU undergrads have won grants totaling $50,000 to pursue research under the Provost's Undergraduate Research Fund (PURF) Projects.
Through the program, students on the Athens campus can win between $100 and $1,500 to fund original research and creative projects, said Jan Hodson, assistant dean of the Honors Tutorial College.
She added that the program is meant to show (undergrads) what it takes to do research at the graduate level by teaching them how to prepare professional-quality proposals and be accountable during the research itself.
Twenty-one of the 55 recipients are students in the HTC. In total, 143 students applied for funding.
A committee of faculty, chosen from each college, meets each fall to review the grant applications and distribute the $50,000 in funding.
The committee has awarded the grants each year since 2001 with money set aside by the provost.
While other universities have programs to fund undergraduate-led research, OU makes it a priority, Hodson said.
All grant recipients must present their research at the Ohio University Student Research and Creative Activity Expo, she said.
This year's expo is scheduled for May 14, and will be held in the Convocation Center, she said.
The projects earning grants range from studies of modern linguistics to interpretive dance projects.
Justin Lucas, a senior studying media arts and studies in HTC, won a $300 grant to buy source materials for his undergraduate thesis, according to a university news release.
Called Beneath the Cape and Cowl: Why Superheroes are Stealing the Show in Hollywood
his project will analyze the Batman movies and their relationship to the original comics, according to the release.
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Frank Thomas
