Call for 2017 URCA Abstracts

The Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Symposium Committee is pleased to announce the Call for Abstracts for the Eighth Annual College of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (URCA) Symposium. This event will highlight the research, scholarly, and creative activities of students throughout the College of Arts and Sciences, and will be held on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Please consider submitting your work to the Symposium!

All students who are declared majors in a program within the College of Arts and Sciences are invited to participate in this year’s Symposium. Please note that for group projects where there are members who are majoring outside of the College of Arts and Sciences, exceptions to this policy will be considered by the URCA Committee. Current students, as well as December 2016 graduates, are welcome to present their work. Presenters may choose to give an oral presentation, poster presentation, exhibition, or performance. All presentations should have a significant research or creative component; examples of such include, but are not limited to, summer research conducted at Ashland University or elsewhere, results of independent study projects, thesis work, literary readings or analysis, musical or theatrical performances, and exhibitions of artwork.

All abstracts submitted require approval of a faculty sponsor who is familiar with the student’s work and can attest to the quality of the work. At the time of submission, students will indicate who their faculty sponsor is. The URCA Symposium committee will then contact the sponsor via e-mail to confirm that the sponsor has viewed and approved the abstract. In approving a submission, a faculty sponsor is indicating that the abstract meets the faculty sponsor’s standard for professional work, and that the abstract is print-ready. Submissions that have not been approved by a faculty sponsor will not be accepted for presentation.

Students who wish to present at the Symposium should contact a College of Arts and Sciences faculty member who can act as a faculty sponsor. When the project is ready, the student should work with the faculty sponsor to prepare an abstract in Microsoft Word and email that Word document to the URCA Symposium Committee at au.urca@gmail.com. Students must copy their faculty sponsors on the email that contains the submission. The deadline for submitting abstracts is 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 27, 2017. This deadline is firm.

A complete submission must include ALL of the following:

1. Name of Student Presenter(s)
2. Campus AND Home Addresses of Student Presenter(s)
3. Class Year (e.g. junior, senior) and Major(s) of Student Presenter(s)
4. Name of Faculty Sponsor
5. College of Arts and Sciences program in which the work is focused (e.g. Biology, Psychology, Music)
6. Title of the Presentation
7. Preferred Format of Presentation (Poster Presentation, 12 Minute Performance, 12 Minute Oral Presentation, or Art Exhibition)
8. Special Equipment Required (PCs and projectors are provided; if no other equipment is needed, please indicate “No special equipment needed”)
9. Body of the Abstract (250 words or fewer)
10. Anticipated Scheduling Conflicts for Symposium on 4/11/17 (e.g. COBE/COE/CON class meetings, athletic events, or other commitments that cannot be moved on this date; if none, please indicate “No scheduling conflicts anticipated”)

Students who would like to see examples of acceptable abstracts may view abstracts from the prior years’ events on URCA blog. Additionally, these submission instructions and helpful hints for preparing submissions will be archived on the blog. The URCA committee will hold an abstract writing workshop in January in order to assist students in polishing their abstracts. In the meantime, should you have any questions about presenting at the Symposium or the abstract submission process, please don’t hesitate to contact Dr. Jeff Weidenhamer at jweiden@ashland.edu.