Spotlight

FEELING THE URGe

NU wants to give you money for your research.

BY ALYSSA WISNIESKI

Undergraduate research is not a foreign concept to a university like Northwestern. From the first day students arrive on campus, they receive countless emails, flyers and reminders about these nifty little things called Undergraduate Research Grants (URG). But with more types of grants than you can count on one hand, confusion is inevitable.

According to its website, Northwestern offers multiple different grants to help research-oriented students accomplish their goals. Two very popular options include Summer Research Grants and the Undergraduate Research Assistant Program (URAP).

Summer Research Grants:

These grants provide $3,000 for “full-time eight week independent academic and creative work” relevant to your faculty-advised research project. The money can be used to cover both living and research expenses.

Weinberg sophomore Jo Machesky received her grant last year. She spent the summer on Northwestern’s campus and worked in the lab at the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology. She looked at the interaction of nanoparticles that could leak from batteries with her research group. As a chemistry major with Ph.D. aspirations, she valued the opportunity to start her independent research so early in her college career.

“It was fantastic,” she says. “The URGs are available for every subject, which is very helpful. The experience of figuring out what research is and if that research is right for you is great.”

Undergraduate Research AssistProgram (URAP):

Simply put, this grant pays students $10 an hour to work on a faculty member’s research project with them. This is a good way to ease into the URG scene on campus.

Communication senior Sarah “Sasa” Schwartz, who works in the Hearing and Language Lab, started there the summer after her freshman year and continued throughout her junior year as well. As part of the URAP, she teamed up with a faculty member to facilitate audiology studies with toddlers and adults.

“I would definitely recommend [the URAP],” she says. “It’s a great bridge for figuring out how research really works and all the work that goes in behind the scenes. You get a lot of oversight from whoever is creating the project so you don’t have to do everything on your own.”

Study break Need extra cash? Try these research studies.BY NICK GARBÁTY

Who?

PSYCHOLOGYKELLOGG

SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION

What?

Psych studies have a focus in clinical, social, cognitive, brain, behavior and cognition, and personality and health psychology Topics include: personal preference, consumer behavior, decision-making in strategic situations, political media messages, brand perception and neural basis of decision making School of Communication studies have a focus in audiology, social media, bilingualism, child studies and speech pathology

Where?

Usually in Swift Hall or Cresap Laboratory Usually in the Jacobs Center Usually in Swift Hall or Searle Hall

Psych studies have a focus in clinical, social, cognitive, brain, behavior and cognition, and personality and health psychology

Usually in Swift Hall or Cresap Laboratory

Between 20 minutes and an hour

Between $5 and $15 per session

Topics include: personal preference, consumer behavior, decision-making in strategic situations, political media messages, brand perception and neural basis of decision making

From two minutes for an online survey to an hour

Between $5 and $20 per session and possible raffle entry for a $25 gift card

Usually in the Jacobs Center

Pays $10 per hour

From one to four hours

How much?

HELP WANTED

Make that dough, on or off campus.

BY MIRA WANG

When you attend one of the 100 most expensive colleges in America, everything costs a lot of money. Slept in and missed your 9 a.m. lecture? May as well burn $102.18 (based on the $49,047 sticker-price tuition for the 2015- 2016 school year, found on U.S. News & World Report).

For a lot of us, finding a job is a necessity, and NBN is here to help.

For hipster artists who like art in weird places

Alley Gallery

Tucked in the alley across from CVS, the aptly named Alley Gallery boasts a decades-long legacy of museum-quality custom framing, a wide collection of art from local artists and its own talking parrot named Jessica.

JOB: Part-time framer WHO: Art history majors who want to learn custom framing from expert framers—no experience required WHAT: Learn how to make frames HOW MUCH: $8.25 per hour

ARTica

If you’re into underground art, literally, look no further than the Norris Underground’s ARTica Studios, where you’ll help other Northwestern students discover the joys of ceramics, sewing machines and so much more.

JOB: ARTica attendant (Work-study) WHO: Crafty work-study students with great customer service skills WHAT: Assist with area’s development and daily operation, promotion and advertising, equipment usage, safety HOW MUCH: $8 per hour HOURS: 8 to 12 hours per week

For gym buffsMail and Package Center

Who says squats and bicep curls are reserved for the gym? Work your muscles as you lunge for that package and shoulder-press those textbook deliveries.

JOB: Clerk (Work-study) WHO: People who would rather be paid to work out WHAT: Sort, deliver and forward mail to residents; keep track of packages as they enter and leave the mailing center HOW MUCH: $8.50 per hour (starting) HOURS: 8 to 15 hours per week

For history (or fashion) junkies

Crossroads Trading Co.

A historical crossing between humans with and without clothes, this consignment store echoes with the sound of mysterious lives lived while wearing fashionable apparel.

JOB: Floor staff WHO: People who love fashion WHAT: Assist with fitting rooms, keep store clean andorganized, conduct ongoing merchandise processing, answer phone calls, perform point-of-sale tasks and assist with interior and window displays and store security HOW MUCH: Pay commensurate with experience, competitive with other retail jobs HOURS: Flexible depending on schedule, but 15 to 30 hours per week generally

For smooth talkers

Phone-A-Thon

Get over your millennial phone-phobia by repeatedly cold-calling alumni and asking for money, all while earning some money for yourself. Added bonus: You get to interact with some great future employers!

JOB: Phoneathon aide (Work-study) WHO: People who want to make networking connections with alumni WHAT: Contact alumni and ask for donations HOW MUCH: $9.25 per hour (starting) with raises as you gain experience HOURS: Students are expected to work two full threeand-a-half hour shifts per week

For foodies, and obsessive eaters

Northwestern Dining

In terms of numbers, our dining halls actually outrank NU academics. Food website The Daily Meal ranks us the fifth-best college for food last year. Go ‘Cats! Join the awesome NU Dining team as an intern and learn what makes us number five.

JOB: Graphic design intern WHO: Computer-savvy students who are interested in marketing WHAT: Work with event coordinators to create flyers and materials—think business cards and promotional videos—for upcoming dining events HOW MUCH: $10 per hour HOURS: 12 hours per week between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday