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51³Ô¹ÏÍø State’s spring Undergraduate Research Symposium will be held April 13-14 in the Colvard Student Union.

This event is open to all undergraduate students engaged in research and provides the opportunity for students to showcase faculty-guided research and creative activity. Students from diverse departments, colleges and research centers across campus and other universities participate in poster and oral presentation sessions.

 There are two important modifications from last year:

—Replacing the main competition judging with use of comment cards.  Students provided positive feedback about the use of comment cards during the past summer showcase. These were noted as being helpful for their growth as researchers, for providing timely feedback and for being inclusive of varied types of audiences (from research specialists to peers to other research consumers). Sponsorship and efforts will be devoted to supporting this activity. The university will solicit help from faculty, research staff and graduate students by visiting URS projects and providing comments to student researchers.

—Request for proposals for new sub-competitions. We recognize competitions can be motivating, and judging for these are best handled by experts in specific fields. Competitions beyond the general categories can be more meaningful and better evaluated. In addition, much research cuts across disciplines and may be theme-driven, and sub-competitions can best evaluate that work. Departments, colleges and other units are encouraged to consider planning and supporting a sub-competition. If interested in more information, email urcd@msstate.edu for a fact sheet about sub-competitions. The deadline to get involved is Nov 15.

It is exciting that the spring Undergraduate Research Symposium and summer Undergraduate Research Showcase at MSU have been hallmark events for students and growing in popularity.  This past year featured 288 projects and more than 400 visitors. These events cost approximately $20,000 annually to host. We appreciate funds to help with the costs. To help sponsor the Undergraduate Research Symposium, email Corrine Jackson at cjackson@honors.msstate.edu.

If you have questions, contact Anastasia Elder at ace24@msstate.edu and 662.325.8503.

For more information on the Undergraduate Research Symposium and to visit previous abstract booklets, visit: .

To download spring’s infographic flyer, visit .