The upcoming Student Symposium on Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities will be held on the Cal State LA campus on Friday, March 6, 2026.
The Symposium is open to currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students involved in research, scholarly, or creative activities. Participants can either exhibit a poster or, for advanced projects, deliver a 10-minute oral presentation. See Symposium Details below for more information.
Gamma Epsilon Chapter will present a Phi Kappa Phi Award to the first-, second-, and third-place winners, with the top 10 presentations representing Cal State LA in the upcoming 40th CSU Student Research Competition to take place at San José State University, April 23 - 25, 2026.
Important Dates and Deadlines
Applications open:
Wednesday, November 4, 2025
Applications due:
Friday, January 23, 2026
Event:
Friday, March 6, 2026
University-Student Union and Golden Eagle Ballrooms
Required Application Materials
- Students, in consultation with their faculty mentor, must prepare an abstract (150 words) and if applicable, gather the approval numbers for research involving human subjects (IRB approval) or animals (IACUC approval).
- Students must then submit the abstract and, if applicable, provide the relevant approval numbers via the online application form.
- Upon submission the student and their faculty mentor will receive a copy of the submission details.
- Students who plan to present research involving human subjects must have IRB approval for the research being presented.
- Students who are conducting research involving animals must have IACUC approval for the research being presented.
If selected as a Cal State LA Delegate to the CSU Competition, you will be required to submit a research summary.
ABSTRACT
All presenters must submit a maximum 150-word, one-paragraph research abstract via the online application form. Due to the competitive nature of the selection process, abstracts should be written for a general audience. Do not re-use abstracts or write in the same style as you might use for abstracts written for and submitted to niche technical conferences or disciplinary society meetings. Avoid special symbols as you will paste your abstract text into the submission form.
There is no separate faculty approval form to be submitted.
Students must prepare their abstract and gather the appropriate IRB or IACUC approval numbers in consultation with their faculty mentor. Students are responsible for submitting their abstract and completing the application form. By signing the application form, students attest that their faculty mentor has reviewed and approved the abstract that they are submitting. If applicable, their signature also attests, that their faculty mentor confirms that IRB/IACUC approval for their study has been secured. Upon submission of their abstract, the student and their faculty mentor will receive a copy of the submission details.
Symposium Details
Eligibility
- Currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students involved in research, scholarly, or creative activities.
Class projects or equivalents, project proposals, and projects that have not yet collected data are better suited to be presented as posters.
Students may participate in the University Symposium in two ways – by delivering a 10-minute oral presentation or a poster presentation. The subsequent statewide competition is limited to oral presentations. Please note that poster presentations can be interpreted in ways appropriate for documenting the discipline, such as video and musical recordings and slides, as well as posters. Previous winners have come from a cross-section of departments representing all seven colleges.
Categories:
- Behavioral, Social Sciences, and Public Administration
- Biological and Agricultural Sciences
- Business, Economics, and Hospitality Management
- Creative Arts and Design
- Education
- Engineering and Computer Science
- Health, Nutrition and Clinical Sciences
- Humanities and Letters
- Interdisciplinary
- Physical and Mathematical Sciences
Students must apply via the online application form. Submissions are accepted between November 4, 2025, and January 23rd, 2026.
Presentations from all disciplines are invited. The ten categories are:
- Behavioral, Social Sciences, and Public Administration
- Biological and Agricultural Sciences
- Business, Economics, and Hospitality Management
- Creative Arts and Design
- Education
- Engineering and Computer Science
- Health, Nutrition and Clinical Sciences
- Humanities and Letters
- Interdisciplinary
- Physical and Mathematical Sciences
Note: The RSCA Steering Committee reserves the right to combine or subdivide the categories above, move an entrant from one category to another, or move an oral presentation to a poster session.
Each participant is limited to one presentation as the lead presenter. For group presentations (two or three presenters), please have the lead presenter complete the application and list each co-presenter within that application.
Proprietary research is excluded.
Presentation Procedures
Student oral presenters will deliver their talks before an audience and a jury. They will compete by discipline category. Each student will be allotted 10 minutes for the presentation and three minutes to respond to juror and audience questions. Standard forms of audiovisual equipment (e.g., PowerPoint program and projector) may be used. Entrants in the Creative Arts and Design category may present an audio and/or visual record of a performance they have given or a work they have created; their oral presentation should focus on the rationale and historical context underlying their interpretation of the material. Students may be recorded to aid the judges' deliberations when deciding on the best presenters.
Class projects or equivalents, project proposals, and projects that have not yet collected data are recommended to be presented as posters. If you need at least three minutes to describe the results of your project, then your study is likely advanced enough for an oral presentation.
Students will be judged both on their oral presentations and their written abstracts using the following criteria:
- Clarity of purpose
- Appropriateness of methodology
- Quality of analysis and interpretation of results
- Ability to present the research or creative activity
- Organization of the presented materials
- Ability to handle questions
- Value of the research or creative activity to the discipline
Judges will select at least one outstanding presenter in each discipline category. The overall top 10 presentations will be selected to compete in the statewide competition during the spring semester. In addition, the Gamma Epsilon Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi will bestow three presenters with an award.
Student poster presenters will set up their posters on the 3½’ x 5’ poster boards and easels provided for their use. At minimum, one author must be stationed alongside the poster during the assigned time to respond to inquiries from judges and other viewers. Any additional equipment requiring an electrical outlet must be arranged in advance. Judges will select one outstanding poster in each discipline category.
Students will be judged on the poster and their responses to questions using the following criteria:
- Legibility of material on poster
- Organization of poster
- Sufficient background information
- Stated objective and/or hypothesis
- Appropriateness of methodology
- Clarity of results
- Stated summary and/or conclusion
- Contribution to the field
- Effective and engaging presentation
- Presenter’s ability to handle questions from judges
Participant Recognition
Cal State LA Student Symposium Awardees
Our panel of judges will present the Gamma Epsilon Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi Awards for first, second, and third place.
Ten oral presentations will be selected to represent Cal State LA in the Annual CSU Student Research Competition.
Annual CSU Student Research Competition
The annual event brings together scholars from the 23 CSU campuses. The competition showcases undergraduate and graduate research, scholarship, and creative works by recognizing outstanding student accomplishments. Students who compete in the CSU Student Research Competition can win $500 for first place and $250 for second place recognition in their session. The 2026 CSU-wide competition will be held at San José State University, April 23 - 25, 2026.