Undergraduate Research Symposium FAQ

Regardless of school, class year, discipline, or methodology, all undergraduate students from WashU are welcome to register and present their research, creative, and experiential learning projects. The only requirement is that undergraduate projects have a faculty mentor (WashU or external) who has engaged with the project and provides permission for and input on the symposium presentation.

If you are uncertain whether your work is a good fit for the symposium, contact the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) to discuss! 

The symposium provides an opportunity for undergraduate students to share their work and receive feedback from a diverse audience, engage in peer networking and cross-disciplinary conversations, and develop presentation skills. To prepare for the symposium, students will exercise their academic and profesional skills, including articulating a research question or creative objective, synthesizing findings, translating these materials for a broad audience, and designing visuals or other presentation materials.

Summer Undergraduate Research Award (SURA) and Biology Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (BioSURF) awardees are expected to present at the fall symposium, unless they are abroad or have other extenuating circumstances. In that case, summer awardees may defer presentation until the following spring. 

Conference Travel Award and Academic Year Undergraduate Research Award (AYURA) recipients are expected to present at the subsequent symposium. For AYURA recipients, presentation timing may depend upon the project timeline; a student who receives an AYURA in fall semester for a project spanning the full academic year may present in spring semester. 

Finally, some courses and departments require their students to present at the symposium, e.g., honors thesis writers may be required to present at the spring symposium. 

Registration is required for all symposium participants; no one is automatically registered, even if their program, course, or department requires participation. 

Yes. If you are presenting collaborative group work, only one group member must complete the initial registration form, where they will be asked to provide the names and emails of up to 4 additional group members. For groups larger than 5, the OUR will follow up with the registering presenter for additional information. 

Students are not required to have completed their research. The symposium provides a great venue for students to communicate their ideas and receive feedback on works in progress.

The half-day fall symposium will include 6 different 50- to 60-minute sessions. These will comprise 60-minute poster presentations and 5-minute lightning talks, as well as creative exhibits or performance (pending student interest). 

Your mentor is the faculty member (WashU or external; tenure-line or teaching, research, and practice) who has engaged with the project and provides permission for and input on the symposium presentation. In short, your mentor is the faculty member who helped you with the project. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the OUR. 

Students must complete the online registration form by September 18, 2024, which requires a tentative title and abstract (max 250 words). Both title and abstract can be revised before final submission. The registration form will also ask you to indicate all presentation formats that you are willing to try, plus all session times you are available to present.

If your course or department requires that you present at the symposium, you must register; no students are automatically registered.

After receiving a session assignment on September 27, presenters will have one week to accept their assignment or request changes. Students who do not confirm participation by October 4 may forfeit their session assignment, providing the opportunity to other students.

All presenters must submit their final title, abstract, and a presentation file (e.g., PDF of poster, slides, or exhibit) for the online program by October 25. Poster presenters who submit by the October 25 deadline will have access to free OUR poster printing.

These materials will be VISIBLE TO THE PUBLIC as submitted, so it is critical for students to discuss their submissions with their faculty mentors. If there are IP concerns and information cannot be publicly disclosed, students may submit an alternative/placeholder file to the online program (e.g., a visual abstract or poster with sensitive information blinded) and coordinate with the OUR to print (if applicable) and present their materials in person. In other words, students can generate two separate visuals: one for their in-person presentation, which there will be no public record of, and one for the OUR's public-facing online program.

If you plan to use OUR printing, the poster must be sized 36 inches x 48 inches (landscape or portrait). If you are not printing through the OUR, make sure to check the dimensions required for the location where you are printing.

The foam backboard provided by the OUR will be 40" x 60". We will supply boards, push pins, and easels for poster presentations. Visit our page about making a poster for details.

As noted above, all materials submitted to the OUR's online symposium program - including title, abstract, and presentation file - will be visible to the public. For this reason, it is critical for students to discuss their submissions with their faculty mentors.

If there are IP concerns and information cannot be publicly disclosed, students may submit an alternative/placeholder file to the online program (e.g., a visual abstract or poster with sensitive information blinded) and coordinate with the OUR to print (if applicable) and present their materials in person. In other words, students can generate two separate visuals: one for their in-person presentation, which there will be no public record of, and one for the OUR's public-facing online program.

Dress for confidence and comfort. Business casual attire is recommended (i.e., no jeans, t-shirts, or flip flops). The goal is to look professional but also feel comfortable standing and interacting with fellow researchers. 

Logistics: As a general rule, students should arrive at least 15 minutes prior to their assigned session, check in at the registration table, and stay for the duration of their session. Oral presenters should test their slides and familiarize themselves with the session logistics and the AV system in the room. Poster presenters are responsible for bringing, setting up, and taking down their own posters, or having a friend do so instead.

Engagement: All presenters should be prepared to communicate their research with audience members from a variety of backgrounds, including those familiar with and totally naive to their field of research. The symposium is also a great opportunity to learn how inquiry is conducted by your peers in other disciplines. 

No, the OUR recognizes that everyone has other obligations to fulfill, including classes, labs, and other activities. That said, we expect you to remain for the entirety of your assigned session, and we hope you will explore other students' work.

At a minimum, presenters should extend a personal invitation to their mentors and co-researchers. Beyond that, we know from experience that many advisors, roommates, friends and family are eager to support their undergraduate researchers, so consider inviting them too!

Absolutely. The symposium is a great opportunity to talk to undergraduate students from all disciplines, class years, and backgrounds about how they got started and what it means to conduct inquiry in their field. It provides a forum for students to find inspiration and explore how they might apply their own course-based learning through hands-on, faculty-mentored inquiry.