[00:00.00]Narrator: Listen to a conversation between a student and a professor.[00:05.44]Female Student: Professor Jennings? I hope I'm not interrupting, but you wanted to see me?[00:09.98]Male Professor: Oh, hello, Suzanne. [00:11.30]Yes, yes, come right in. [00:13.22]How're you doing?[00:14.26]Female Student: Alright.
[00:15.05]Male Professor: Well, good. [00:15.88]The reason I wanted to talk to you was that while you were presenting your linguistics project in class the other day… well, you know, I was thinking, you're a perfect candidate for the Dean’s Undergraduate Research Fund.
[00:29.23]Female Student: Um, professor, I'm not really sure what the uh… Dean’s…[00:34.30]Male Professor: Undergraduate Research Fund is? It is a mouthful, I suppose. [00:39.65]OK, here's the thing, [00:41.82]every year the school has a pool of money to fund a number of research projects of undergraduate students because, [00:48.41]as you can imagine, in-depth research often requires monetary support.
[00:54.52]Female Student: I would like to expand on my research…
[00:57.42]Male Professor: Good. First a panel of professors reviews the applications for the grant, [01:02.44]and then they decide on which research projects should be funded. [01:06.14]The allotted money can be used for travel expenses—to attend a conference, for example—or for things like supplies, research equipment… resources that are necessary to conduct the research.[01:19.62]Female Student: I see…[01:20.43]Male Professor: Right. And I think you should apply for this grant. [01:24.14]Your project is definitely eligible. [01:26.70]And you could expand it if you had the necessary resources. [01:30.31][hopefully, rising tone] So, does it sound like something you’d be interested in?[01:33.36]Female Student: Oh yeah, it sounds great. [01:35.19]I thought the topic I worked on was really interesting. And it’s certainly relevant to my linguistics major. [01:41.15]I assume it would also look good when I try to get into graduate school. [01:44.52]But how do I apply for the grant?
[01:46.08]Male Professor: It’s pretty straightforward. [01:47.65]A brief description of your proposed project, and an estimated budget—[01:52.20]how much you’d need to spend and what you intend to spend it on. [01:55.85]Also, a glowing letter of recommendation from a linguistics professor wouldn’t hurt, which I’d be more than happy to write up for you.[02:03.19]Female Student: OK, cool. [02:04.50]I'm pretty clear on how to carry out my project, but I'm not sure where I can find more information on the subject…[02:10.48]Male Professor: Well, I've already thought of that. [02:12.60]There's this private library at a university in Boston—[02:16.15]by the way, because I graduated from that school, I can get you access to it, no problem—[02:21.66]see, the library houses lots of unpublished documents that are relevant to your topic.[02:27.57]Female Student: So I could put that in the application for the grant… that I plan on using material from that library for my research, and figure a trip to Boston into my budget?
[02:36.71]Male Professor: Exactly. I really think, judging from your work in class, and the relevance and clarity of this project, you really have a good chance of getting the funding.[02:47.31]Female Student: OK, I'll definitely apply then.
[02:49.61]Male Professor: Well, he sooner the better, [02:52.51]and I'll get that letter written up right away.