The Office of Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities is pleased to announce the
29th Annual Virtual Student Symposium
on Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities
Friday, March 12, 2021
Apply online
/orsca/annual-student-symposium-rsca
Online Applications are due on Friday, February 12, 2021 by 11:59 PM (PST)
The 29th Annual Virtual Student Symposium on Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity, sponsored jointly by the Office of Research, Scholarship, has been scheduled for Friday, March 12, 2021.
The event is held annually to recognize student accomplishments in research, scholarship, and creative activities, and to provide a local forum for our students to gain experience in delivering a professional presentation. Three winners will be presented the Gamma Epsilon Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi Travel Awards first, second and third place. Also, the top 10 oral presentations will be selected to represent Cal State LA in the 35th Annual CSU Student Research Competition to be hosted by Cal Poly Pomona campus April 30 - May 1, 2021.
The Symposium is open to all majors and to both undergraduate and graduate students. All students who are engaged in scholarly research or creative activity, including term projects and independent study endeavors should participate.
Students can participate in the University Symposium in two ways – by delivering a 10-minute oral presentation or by exhibiting a poster presentation. The subsequent statewide competition is limited to oral presentations. Please note, 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 six colleges. The topics of presentations can be in any of the following categories:
- Behavioral and Social Sciences
- Biological and Agricultural Sciences
- Business, Economics, and Public Administration
- Creative Arts and Design
- Education
- Engineering and Computer Science
- Health, Nutrition, and Clinical Sciences
- Humanities and Letters
- Physical and Mathematical Sciences
Students can enter by applying online beginning Wednesday, November 25, 2020. The deadline for submitting the online application is Friday, February 12, 2021. The application procedures and guidelines, as well as, the online application link are below:
NOTE:
Students who plan to present research involving human subjects must be listed on an approved IRB procotol for that study.
Students who are conducting research involving animals must be listed on an approved IACUC protocol for that project.
Faculty members from all disciplines are encouraged to volunteer as judges. Due to the wide range of topics that are covered in student presentations, judges from various departments are essential. If you wish to participate as a judge, please email [email protected] with one of the above disciplines as your preferred category. You will be contacted with further details.
Oral Presentation Judges will be asked to watch a set of 10-minute pre-recorded student presentations and read their abstract by Thursday, March 11, 2021. On Friday, March 12, 2021 Judges will bee virtually with students to ask questions.
Judges should be able for:
- Oral Judging Process meeting
- Question and Answer Session
- Judges' meeting per session
- Judges' final voting
Poster Judges will be asked to watch a set of five-minute pre-recorded student presentation explainin their posters and read their abstracts by Thursday, March 11, 2021. Judges can email students questions.
Judges should be available for:
- Poster Judging Process meeting
- Judges's meeting per group of posters
Thank you in advance for your participation and assistance in the Symposium.
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Online applications can be accessed through the following steps:
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WHO MAY APPLY
Currently enrolled Cal State LA undergraduate or graduate students, as well as recent graduates who received their degrees the previous year’s spring, summer, or fall term are eligible. Each participant is limited to one presentation as the lead presenter. The Symposium is open to students from all majors, and to both undergraduate and graduate students. Proprietary research is excluded. Presentations from all disciplines are invited. The steering committee reserves the right to combine or subdivide these categories, move an entrant from one category to another, or move an oral presentation to a poster session as the numbers of submission necessitate. The nine categories are as follows:
- Behavioral and Social Sciences
- Biological and Agricultural Sciences
- Business, Economics, and Public Administration
- Creative Arts and Design
- Education
- Engineering and Computer Science
- Health, Nutrition, and Clinical Sciences
- Humanities and Letters
- Physical and Mathematical Sciences
Application Materials
Presenters must upload the following materials to the online application:
ABSTRACT
All presenters must submit a maximum 200-word, one paragraph research abstract. 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.
Please use the following format:
- Must be formatted in MS Word
- Single-spaced
- Arial font
- 10-pt. font
- Student name (First Last) bold and 12-pt.font
- Name of presentation in italics
- One-inch margins
- Align justified
- Save as "Last, First name, Abstract"
- See Sample Abstract on application for more details
The following information must appear single-spaced on the upper left portion of the page:
- Name(s) of presenter(s)
- Degree objective and major
- Title of presentation (in italics)
- Faculty mentor(s)
Example: /orsca/symposium-sample-abstracts
Applicants must use DocuSign to obtain Facutly Advisor Signature and upload the provided approval page as a PDF. Visit /its/docusign for more information on how to use DocuSign.
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Here is Approval Page Form to complete: |
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- If selected as a Cal State LA Delegate to the CSU Competition, you will be required to submit a five-page research summary.
- 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.
PROCEDURES FOR ORAL PRESENTATIONS
Student oral presenters submit a pre-recorded 10 minute PowerPoint presentation (more details to follow) by 03/05/2021, and attend a virtual question and answer session with judges on 03/12/2021. 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 will be judged both on their pre-recoreded oral presentations and their written abstracts using the following criteria:
- Clarity of purpose
- Appropriateness of methodology
- Interpretation of results
- Value of the research or creative activity
- Ability of the presenter to articulate the research or creative activity
- Organization of the material presented
- Presenter’s ability to handle questions from jury and audience
Judges will select one outstanding presenter in each discipline category. The top 10 presentations will be selected to compete in the statewide competition during the spring semester. In addition, three winners will be presented with the Gamma Epsilon Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi Travel Awards for first, second, and third place.
PROCEDURES FOR POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Student poster presenters will submit their posters, pre-recored five-minute presentation (more details to follow and may need to answer emailed questions from the judges.
Students will be judged both 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 and audience
Judges will select one outstanding poster in each discipline category.
ACCESS TO ONLINE APPLICATIONS
- Go to https://calstatela.infoready4.com/
- Click on Login at the upper right hand side corner.
- Click on the blue button that says "Cal State LA Login" and login using your Cal State LA credentials.
- DO NOT Login for Other Users.
- On the top menu, click on the Calendar Tab.
- On the right hand side click on "List View" to find the application.
- Complete the application form.