Am I guaranteed a space at the event if I submit a proposal?

Submitting a proposal does not mean you are guaranteed a space in the event.

 

After you submit your proposal, it will be reviewed by your faculty research advisor. They will be asked to consider whether your project is sufficiently developed and whether the results can be publicly shared.

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When should I submit my proposal?

The recommended submission date is Friday, March 14 at 11:59 pm. Submitting by the recommended date has several advantages, including the following:

• Capacity at this event is limited, and the order of submission will impact the probability that your proposal will be accepted. Many students participate in Undergraduate Research Day as a part of their affiliation with a UMD program (Honors, Scholars, FIRE, etc).  We suggest submitting your proposal early to ensure you can represent your program.

• Submission by this date will make you eligible for consideration for an OUR Excellence in Research Award.  

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What is an OUR Excellence in Research Award?

​​These awards recognize Undergraduate Research Day presenters who have undertaken projects that meaningfully advance key conversations in their field and who have demonstrated creativity and resilience in the research process.

• OUR will e-mail advisors of all students who submit abstracts by the recommended deadline and invite them to nominate a student for this award.

• After an initial review of nominations, some nominated students will be invited to discuss their projects with project evaluators during the Undergraduate Research Day poster session. If you will be visited by project evaluators during the event, OUR will notify you in advance.

• Project evaluators will complete assessments that will be used in the determination of the final awards, which will be announced 1-2 weeks after the event.

• You do not need to contact your advisor or OUR to request consideration for an award, and we ask that you do not do so.

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What is the final date to submit a proposal?

The final deadline for proposal submission is Sunday, April 6, 2025 at 11:59 pm.

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A team of researchers undertook the project I would like to present at Undergraduate Research Day. Who should be listed as a presenter in the proposal?

Undergraduate team members who will be present for all or part of the time to discuss the project should be listed in the proposal form as presenters.

 

Undergraduate team members who will not be present and faculty, staff, and graduate student team members should not be listed on the form as presenters. However, Undergraduate Research Day posters may list them as research collaborators or advisors.

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I am part of a group of undergraduates interested in presenting a project on which we all worked together. Should each of us submit a separate proposal form?

No. Your group only needs to submit one proposal form.

 

The group members should review the form and prepare an abstract together, then designate one person to input information into the form on behalf of the group.

 

The person who fills out the form will also be expected to serve as the group's point of contact with OUR (although other group members listed on the form will receive email updates about the status of the group's proposal).

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Who should be listed in the proposal form as the faculty research advisor for my project? 

Your faculty research advisor is the faculty member who supervised the project that you wish to present. Even if you worked on your project in the context of a research group in which you had more day-to-day contact with a graduate student or postdoctoral associate, the faculty member who led the research group should be listed on the form.

 

Regarding research projects conducted at other universities or research institutes, please provide the name of the researcher with whom you worked at the external organization.

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How will my faculty research advisor receive a copy of my proposal form to review?

You will be asked to enter your advisor's name and email address in the form. Once the form has been submitted, they will receive an email with the information they need to review it.

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The faculty member who advised my project is not contactable or cannot review the form. What should I do?

Please ask another faculty member in the field in which your project was conducted if they can review your form.

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What should I discuss in my project abstract?

In your abstract, please do the following:

• Succinctly explain the question or problem that your project addresses.

• Highlight how your project relates to the broader literature in your field.

• Discuss the methods used in your project.

• Summarize key results from your project.

• Briefly comment on the implications of your results for our understanding of the question or problem. 

 

Should I write my project abstract for a general audience?

We ask that you prepare an abstract appropriate for a disciplinary audience, but also that you avoid creating unnecessary barriers to non-specialists' understanding when writing your abstract.

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We recommend that you begin by drafting an abstract that you feel would be appropriate to submit to a conference in your field. In other words, it should be written for an audience that knows your discipline or area of study well, but may not know much about your specific research question. ​​​

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Once you have drafted your abstract with a disciplinary audience in mind, please review it critically. Does it include inessential jargon, unnecessary references to discipline-specific concepts, etc. that would be obstacles to non-specialists' understanding? If so, please excise them. 

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Reflecting on the perspective of non-specialists as you write your abstract will be useful preparation for the Undergraduate Research Day poster session. Attendees will come from a wide range of fields; as you prepare to answer questions about your work at the event, you should consider how to explain your project to people from a wide range of perspectives, ranging from an expert in your field to someone with little knowledge of it.

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How long should my project abstract be?

Your abstract should be no longer than 1700 characters. The project title should be no longer than 80 characters.

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