Fall Symposium of Student Scholars

If you do not have an account in Digital Commons, you will need to make one. Please note that this is NOT your KSU netid and password -- you will need to create a new login and password unless you've used Digital Commons before.

Please note: You will receive a confirmation email once your application is submitted. If you do not receive a confirmation email, we did not receive your abstract and you will not be scheduled for the Symposium.

You will need the following for your application:

• Title of project
• Presenters/Authors
  • Please add ALL authors, including faculty members, who contributed to the project/presentation
• Confirmation Email Acknowledgment Statement
• Abstract, maximum of 300 words, as a single paragraph
  • Please review and edit abstracts prior to submission as the abstract will be printed verbatim in the program.
• Academic department under which the project should be listed
  • This is typically the department of the faculty Primary Investigator (PI). If you are unsure, please check with your faculty research mentor.
• Primary Investigator (PI) -- name, email, department
  • Please list all faculty PIs on the project
• All students on the project -- name, email, department, undergraduate/graduate student
  • Please gather this information in advance
• Project Type
  • Undergraduate or Graduate
• Briefly describe how your project meets the definition of research (1-2 sentences). If your project does not meet this definition, please do not submit your project for this event.
  • We use the following definition of research (adapted from the Council on Undergraduate Research): "A mentored investigation or creative inquiry conducted by students that seeks to make an original scholarly or artistic contribution to knowledge." Projects submitted to the Symposium of Student Scholars must meet this definition.
• Month and year you began working on this project
• Institutional Review Board (IRB) status of project if applicable
• Project type
  • Poster, Oral Presentation, Performance, Visual Display
• How you prefer to present: In person or virtually
  • First choice
  • Second choice
    • This is specifically for student submitting an oral presentation/performance abstract for consideration. If you are not selected as one of your college's four presentations, you will automatically be switched to your second choice.
• Any conferences, journals, etc. where this work will be or has been presented/published (if applicable)
• Document Sharing?
• Time conflicts for the date of the event
  • Please provide time conflicts for ALL presenters, and your faculty PI, so we can accommodate your presentation. Please note, in-person oral presentation/performance times are pre-assigned, so if you/your group are not available to present during the time noted in the schedule above, please choose a different presentation type or modality.

If you have never written an abstract before, please watch this short (12-min) video for some pointers.

Abstracts in most disciplines typically have these components (adapted from the guidelines for the National Conference on Undergraduate Research): 

1. Clearly state the central research question and/or purpose of the project.
2. Provide brief, relevant scholarly or research context (no actual citations required) that demonstrate its attempt to make a unique contribution to the area of inquiry.
3. Provide a brief description of the research methodology.
4. State conclusions or expected results and the context in which they will be discussed.
5. Include text only (no images or graphics)
6. Be well-written and well-organized. 

Abstracts in the Visual Arts should follow these conventions: 

1. Clearly state the central research question and/or purpose of the project.  (Provide an artist statement.)
2. Provide brief, relevant scholarly or research context (no actual citations required) that demonstrate its attempt to make a unique contribution to the area of inquiry. (In the statement, cite your influences and inspirations: other established artists; movements that are referenced or serve as inspiration; political/ cultural/ social issues that the work responds to; personal events, adventures, medical diagnosis; etc.)
3. Provide a brief description of the research methodology. (What techniques were used?  It could be as basic as oil painting on primed canvas, or a more in-depth explanation of the experimental process.)
   State conclusions or expected results and the context in which they will be discussed. (What did you learn?  What was successful?  What are things to be addressed in future pieces?  How does this piece fit into your portfolio or future works?)
4. Include text only (no images or graphics)
5. Be well-written and well-organized.
   • All of the following issues should be addressed in your abstract, however, as each covers a unique influence that alters the interpretation the work, speak more to one or two components of your “research” in depth
     • Was the work a response to Art History?  
     • Or was the focus the experimental process?
   • While it is assumed you will very briefly respond to all of these requirements, it is also expected that only a few will be the central focus of your statement.

Abstracts in the Performing Arts should follow these guidelines:

1. Clearly state the central research question and/or purpose of the project. A statement discussing compositional or performance aspects of the work.
   • Why did you compose this work or choose this work to perform?
   • What aspects of music are you exploring?
2. Provide brief, relevant scholarly or research context (no actual citations required) that demonstrate its attempt to make a unique contribution to the area of inquiry.
   • How does the composition and/or performance advance the development of your creative output?
3. Provide a brief description of the research methodology.
   • Provide a brief description of the musical work from a compositional or performative standpoint.
4. State conclusions or expected results and the context in which they will be discussed.
   • How did the composition of the work or preparation for the performance affect your musical understanding and output?
5. Include text only (no images or graphics).
6. Be well-written and well-organized.