Regardless of major or discipline, UMCUR offers an opportunity for UM students to present on their research and creative scholarship through oral and poster presentations, performances, and exhibits. Group presentations are also welcome!

While many students present on their senior thesis, presentations from all years and types of projects are accepted - as long as you played a significant role in the project. This can include major in-class projects, presentations on experiential learning (practicums, internships, etc.), a research project you completed as part of a lab or group, creative or non-fiction writing, visual or creative arts, literature reviews, etc.

Abstracts/Artist Statements (circa 300 words) must be specific to this presentation. It should not be an abstract that you previously submitted for an award application; rather, it should be revised to reflect your most recent work on the project. Artist statements may be submitted in lieu of an abstract to the Visual & Performing Arts category. Entries should also include research or explanation of artwork, sculpture, painting, writing, reading, dancing, playing an instrument, etc.

• Title – Describe your topic in language that is intelligible to a general audience.
• Purpose – State your main thesis or rationale.
• Methods – How did you carry out this project?
• Significance – Explain the contribution of this project to your field and/or to society. Your explanation can include reasoning or inspiration for choosing this topic, or what details lead you to this research.

Yes. You are welcome to submit an abstract if you are a current UM undergraduate, regardless of where you performed the research. You will still need the faculty mentor you worked with to approve your abstract.

Yes. Students can present on ongoing or early stage research, and it is perfectly acceptable to present on preliminary results or anticipated findings.

Research categories are used to put similar talks together. You will need to select a research category when you submit your abstract that reflects the field of your work. The five research categories with examples of the fields are:

• Humanities – ancient and modern languages, literature, philosophy, ethics, history and art history, law, religion, journalism, communication, critical and theoretical approaches to the arts
• Life Sciences – study of living things, e.g., ecology, biology, botany, wildlife biology, microbiology, genetics, physiology, neuroscience, biochemistry, paleontology
• Physical Sciences – astronomy, physics, chemistry, meteorology, geology
• Social Sciences – anthropology, archeology, economics, political science, psychology, sociology
• Visual and Performing Arts - presentations focused on student-created arts; e.g., music, drama, dance, film, art, sculpture, poetry, creative writing, etc. 

Franke Global Leadership Initiative (GLI) presentations are their own category.

• Oral presentations are 15 minutes long (12 minutes for presentation and 3 minutes for questions). Presenters will have the option to use presentation slides during their talk. Oral presentations are a good option if you (1) have a detailed project that you can walk the audience through, (2) are comfortable with or looking for practice giving professional talks, and (3) would like to engage with many people at once.
• During a poster presentation, you will stand by your poster and talk with people who are interested in your work. Poster sessions are an hour long, and you will be asked be in front of your poster for the entire hour. A poster presentation can be a good option if you (1) would like to engage in more informal, 1-on-1 conversations, (2) have visually complex information or very technical information, or (3) have a project that is in the early stages or that you are looking for suggestions and conversations around.   

Yes. All applicants must have their faculty research mentor review and approve the abstract prior to submission. Submitters will be asked to provide the name and department of their mentor in the submission form and asked to verify that their mentor reviewed the abstract. 

Abstracts are submitted through the ScholarWorks Online Submission Form using your NetID email: first initial + last initial + six numbers (ex: AA123456@umconnect.umt.edu). The submission portal will open in January. In addition to your abstract, you’ll be asked to select your research category at the time of submission, and provide a name and email address for your faculty mentor.

You can find specific information on the Submit Your Abstract page. 

The NetID format is two letters (first initial, last initial) and six numbers (e.g. "ab123456"). You can find more information on the NetID page.

Posters need to be either 36" x 44" or 44" x 36".

Oral presentations are scheduled for 15 minutes – 12 minutes for the presentation and 3 minutes for questions from the audience. Conference rooms will be set up with a laptop and projector, and presenters can bring a PowerPoint presentation on a flash drive.

You can find a list of important dates on the Important Dates page.

OUR@UM will be working with the Writing and Public Speaking Center to offer several workshops to support students interested in presenting at UMCUR. Workshops will be held throughout the spring semester. You can find more information on workshops and dates on the Workshops & Resources page.

• Participate in the UMCUR Abstract Writing Workshop. We'll walk through how to write an effective abstract, and we’ll also provide information on submitting your abstract through ScholarWorks.
• You can review sample abstracts from all research categories on our Sample Abstract webpage.
• If you need additional assistance, you can also make a 1-on-1 appointment with the Writing and Public Speaking Center.

• Student presenters are encouraged to participate in our workshops offered throughout the semester. These workshops will include tips on how to develop your oral or poster presentation, important skills for presenting research, as well as the opportunity to get feedback on your presentation.
• If you would like additional assistance with developing your presentation or practice in presenting, you can make a 1-on-1 appointment with the Writing and Public Speaking Center.

Student presenters are no longer required to participate in the Presenting Academic Research in a Professional Setting workshop. This is a change from previous years. Of course, student presenters are still encouraged to participate in our workshops offered throughout the semester. These workshops will include tips on how to develop your oral or poster presentation, important skills for presenting research, as well as the opportunity to get feedback on your presentation.

Posters appropriately loaded into ScholarWorks by the upload deadline of midnight on April 12 will be printed for free (UMCUR will cover the cost of printing 1 poster per person). Paw Print will contact you by phone to let you know your poster is ready for pick up.

Alternatively, you can choose to have your poster printed at a print shop of your choice without loading it in ScholarWorks, but you will need to cover the cost and logistics of printing.

Student presenters will be given an assigned 1-hour presentation window no later than March 13. This time slot will be based on the time availability you provided during abstract submission. While your presentation is only 15 minutes, we ask that students and their supporters plan to stay for the entire 1-hour session to show support for all presenters.

If your availability has changed since you submitted your abstract, please get in touch with Alexis Gibson immediately to request a different time slot. Requests received after March 15 will be more difficult to accommodate.

We ask that students make a good faith effort to commit to their assigned time. Last minute requests for changes and drop outs impact the overall conference program and make it difficult to build a robust conference experience for the other presenters and attendees.

3-5 presentations are scheduled as a 1-hour session. To ensure presenters are ready and to reduce noise/distractions in the room, we ask students to stay for their entire 1-hour session and plan to be there 10 minutes before their session starts. You will be able to see the exact time and order for your presentation 2 days before the conference.

Yes. We strongly encourage students to invite anyone they think would be interested in the event! UMCUR is free and open to the public. We just ask that any supporters (mentors, community partners, friends, etc.) plan to stay for your entire 1-hour session to show respect and support to other presenters.

A general conference program with session information, talk titles, and presenters will be released by March 28. A conference program with specific times for each talk will be available before the conference on the UMCUR website.

Conference abstracts are available through ScholarWorks and will be published by April 17.

Please see the conference schedule on the UMCUR homepage. 

Upload your presentation slides to Box before your presentation time. You will receive an email the week before the conference to the Box folder where you should upload your slides.

Hang your poster before the conference starts - between 8:30-9:30am. Pins will be available.

ScholarWorks is UM’s open access, online repository. It helps you document, archive, and share the research and creative scholarship that you present at UMCUR. It will give you a permanent link to your conference abstract and your poster or presentation that you can share with future employers, graduate schools, or family members. ScholarWorks also helps UM document and celebrate undergraduate student research over time (take a look at the conference archives), as well as helps future undergraduate students learn about research opportunities at UM.

A ScholarWorks submission portal will open in early February for you to submit your abstract. At the time of submission, you’ll be asked to fill out the following information:

• Title
• Author names
• Presenter phone number
• Are you a student in the DHC?
• Will you have co-presenters?
• Presentation type: oral or poster
• Faculty mentor’s full name
• Faculty mentor’s department
• Faculty mentor’s email
• Abstract/Artist statement (~300 words)
• Research category: Humanities, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Social Sciences, Visual and Performing Arts, Franke Global Leadership Initiative
• Preferred presentation time: 2-hour windows for presentation slot
• Has your mentor reviewed your abstract?

More information can be found on the registration page.

We suggest uploading your final abstract by the abstract submission deadline (February 17). However, if you need to edit your abstract, data, or authors, you can do so before the upload deadline on April 16. The registration page will have more information on how you can make those updates.

If you would like your poster, presentation slides, or video presentation to be part of the publicly accessible ScholarWorks record, you can upload these materials by the upload deadline on April 12. The registration page has information on how to add these files.

Yes. Poster presenters who want Paw Print to print their poster need to upload their appropriately sized poster file by April 12 at midnight. You will need to revise your abstract submission through ScholarWorks to add your poster file; the registration page has information on how to do this.

If you or your faculty mentor/advisor DO NOT wish to make your work openly available online, you may choose a campus access restriction and/or an embargo upon submission to ScholarWorks after the conference. Please contact Wendy Walker at the Mansfield Library if you need help with or information about these options.

You can find past UMCUR abstracts and presentations (if added by students) on the UMCUR Awards and Archives page.

UMCUR will present awards to the top oral and poster presentations from each of the five research categories (Humanities, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Social Sciences, and Visual & Performing Arts). 

**The Franke Global Leadership Initiative will present an award to the top GLI capstone team oral presentation.

All presentations will be judged during the in-person sessions. 2-3 judges will review each presentation using the judging rubric. 

Franke Global Leadership Initiative (GLI) presentation judges will be using the GLI Rubric.

You can find information on past awardees on the UMCUR Awards and Archives page.

Yes. Faculty must approve their students' abstracts for them to be included in UMCUR. Students will be asked to verify that their mentor approved the abstract when they first submit it through ScholarWorks. 

The conference program will be posted to the UMCUR website by mid-March. This will allow you to search for students and find the session time and location.

UMCUR relies on volunteers to help the day run smoothly. Volunteers help with things like welcoming conference attendees at the front desk, answering questions about where to find rooms or schedules, hanging posters, and keeping track of time during sessions. Some professors give students extra credit for volunteering. Please visit the Judges and Volunteers page to learn more about how you can support the event.

UMCUR projects are assessed through a system of day-of judging. Ideally, presentations are assessed by 2-3 judges from the student’s general field of research or scholarship. We need at least 75 judges to cover all the sessions. Even if you can only participate in one session, your service will be valuable. 

Please visit the Judges and Volunteers page for more information on supporting the event.

UMCUR is a celebration of undergraduate research on campus! This is a chance for earlier-year students to be inspired, for students to support their peers, and for faculty to encourage a culture of research and creative scholarship.

Encourage your students to participate in the conference by:

• Letting students know about deadlines for participation and encouraging them to present
• Offering extra credit for students to volunteer, present, or attend sessions
• Bringing your class to a session related to the course

Please contact the director of the Office of Undergraduate Research (Alexis Gibson) if you would like to financially support UMCUR or undergraduate research at UM.