- Academics & Programs
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- Undergraduate Research and Creativity
- Annual Research and Creativity Symposium
Annual Research and Creativity Symposium
The annual Simpson College Research and Creativity Symposium (RCS) is a multi-disciplinary event that showcases outstanding student work through the presentation of papers, performances, posters and panel discussions. The symposium gives students an opportunity to share their knowledge with instructors and peers in a scholarly, supportive environment that thrives on inquisitiveness and interaction.
At Simpson College, research, scholarship and creative work provide an opportunity for individual students or small groups of students to explore an issue of interest to them in a manner consistent with the discipline and to communicate their results to others. Projects may involve inquiry, design, creation, investigation, research, analysis, discovery, application, writing and/or performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
You are strongly encouraged to work closely with your faculty sponsor in writing and editing your abstract. Your faculty sponsor may be willing to look over your abstract in advance and offer you help; check with them. Remember that the abstract is the only way for your work to be judged during the submission and acceptance process, so please make sure it is of the highest quality. Your abstract is limited to a total of 300 words. Please use the following webpages for preparing abstracts:
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Association for Advancing Participatory Sciences
For helpful tips and guidelines related to posters and presentations, please use the following link. For other helpful tips related to posters and presentations, please check this Purdue webpage.
We suggest that posters be presented on a 36-inch high by 48-inch wide tri-fold poster board. Lettering should be large enough to be legible at a distance of 5 feet. Presenters will be expected to display their work (Black Box Theatre, Kent Campus Center) during the morning registration session and return to stand with their posters during the Poster and Exhibit Session in the afternoon. They will discuss their work with judges at this time and answer any questions attendees may have.
Please use the following webpages for preparing abstracts:
Presentations will be organized into sessions grouped by topics or disciplines, with each presenter allotted 12 minutes to speak and 3 minutes for audience questions. For work with multiple authors, the authors can decide among themselves their various roles in presenting within the 12 minute limit.
Please use the following webpages for preparing abstracts:
Requirements vary according to the medium, so please consult a member of the Symposium committee for specifics. Performances should last no less than 10 minutes and no more than 20.
Visit main RCS webpage for specific dates and locations. For more precise times, see the schedule.
All currently enrolled undergraduate Simpson students are eligible to participate.
As long as it is your work, it is eligible for consideration. If your work involves collaboration with another individual, you must obtain their permission for you to present it at the Simpson Symposium; if your partner(s) is a Simpson student, you may present your work together.
Presentations may be either individually or collaboratively created; however, though there is no limit on the number of authors involved in a project to be presented, due to time constraints no more than three students may make an oral presentation at the Symposium. Larger groups may wish to consider organizing a panel, but they will need a Simpson faculty member to apply for one.
Posters may present findings of a work that is currently still in progress. All other presentations, performances and exhibits must be in a completed state, according to the standards of their particular field, by the time of the Symposium.
Yes to both. Each project and/or format must have its own application, however. For example, if you wish to submit a visual art exhibit such as a painting for consideration and you also want to give an oral presentation on your painting, you must apply twice, once for the exhibit and once for the oral presentation.
Only one student will apply per presentation, poster, or performance, listing other presenters on the application.
No; each student application is for a single presentation, performance or poster (even if done collaboratively). Groups that wish to make multiple presentations on a related theme should work with a faculty member, who could apply for a panel with discussion on the topic.
We encourage students to ask the faculty member who helped them with the research to be their sponsor. If the research was conducted at another institution, we would suggest you connect with a trusted Simpson College faculty member for sponsorship.
You will be notified by email by March 22nd.
A committee of faculty from the Division in which the student’s work is undertaken will review abstracts with the assistance of Symposium organizers.
The unexpected is to be expected with research! Unless something major happens that would prevent you from completing your project, however, you do not need to inform the Symposium committee. When in doubt, consult your faculty sponsor.
No. If you have a conflict with your scheduled time, please contact a member of the Symposium committee as soon as possible.
If your project involves human or animal research, you must have obtained such approval, unless you are clearly presenting your work as a proposed project and make it clear that absolutely no research has yet been conducted. Such criteria would be met only in the poster sessions; anyone giving an oral presentation on a project involving human or animal research must have an IRB or IACUC approval.
Absolutely!
We hope to have an online journal in which we will publish select papers presented at the Symposium.
No. The Symposium is free for participants and attendees.
Requirements vary according to the medium, so please consult a member of the Symposium committee for specifics. Performances should last no less than 10 minutes and no more than 20.
Attire should be business casual or more formal (jeans are highly discouraged). The Symposium is open to the public and many members of the Simpson community will attend along with their family and friends, so you should strive to make a good impression.
You are strongly encouraged to arrive at the room in which you are presenting at least 10 minutes before your session starts to introduce yourself to the session moderator. You should plan on attending the entire session in which you are presenting. The Symposium committee encourages you to attend as many Symposium sessions as possible to support and celebrate outstanding work completed by Simpson students.
A faculty sponsor is a member of the Simpson faculty who endorses your proposal and work as appropriate for submission to the Symposium. A faculty mentor is directly involved with your work, closely monitoring it and advising you throughout the process. A sponsor may also be a mentor but does not have to be.
All information will be sent directly to your Simpson email address.
The poster session and reception runs from 3:00-4:00 in the Black Box in Kent Campus Center with closing remarks following from 4:00-4:15. Posters need to be picked up immediately afterwards. If you cannot stay after 4:15, please make arrangements for someone else to pick up your poster.
Yes, presentations will be evaluated, and feedback sheets will be distributed to presenters in the weeks following the symposium.
Awards will be presented at the end of the day to students who have presented at the symposium for multiple years.
You are encouraged to practice your presentation before friends and your faculty sponsor. Be sure to time yourself. For specific questions about your presentation, consult a member of the Symposium committee.
Yes! Generally this would be under an “Awards and Honors” section of your résumé or curriculum vitae.
