2014 Undergraduate Symposium

Students Sharing Creative Ideas, Research, and Discoveries

UG Symposium graphic

SAVE THE DATE: The 7th annual Undergraduate Symposium will be on Friday, April 25, 2014

J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome & duBois Center (south campus)

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Join us for Northern Arizona University's 7th annual Undergraduate Symposium - a campus wide celebration of student achievement. More than 1,000 students from across all colleges will come together to share their creative discoveries and present in-depth research and scholarly work to their peers, professors, and the University and Flagstaff communities. 

More than 500 posters and 170 presentations showcase the diversity of the students' experiences - from creative endeavors like photographic exhibitions or a student-written and performed play, to more traditional research activities.

The Symposium will also spotlight student participation in service learning and collaborative projects, an invaluable learning experience that connects communities and applies passion to a purpose.

Events are free and open to the public, unless noted. 

Symposium poster presentation schedule 

Posters for all poster sessions must be on display for ALL day: 9:00am - 4:00pm. 

Student poster presenters will be assigned to be present at their posters during one of the following sessions:

  • Session 1 9:00am - 11:00am
  • Session 2 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Students should plan to put up their posters between 5:00pm - 8:00pm on Thursday (4/24/14) or prior to 8:30am on Friday (4/25/14).

Symposium oral presentation, performance, and exhibit schedule 

Exhibits should be on display ALL day: 9:00am - 4:00pm. 

Student exhibit presenters will be assigned to be present at their exhibit during one of the following sessions:

  • Morning 9:00am - 11:00am
  • Afternoon 2:00pm - 4:00pm

Times and lengths of oral presentations are determined by schedules for specific rooms or stages. 

Students presenting in the Dome will be able to put up their exhibit and/or test the available presentation technology between 5:00pm - 8:00pm on Thursday (4/24/14).

Student registration process

Registration period: February 10 - March 17, 2014

Applications from undergraduate students in all colleges to share their work as posters, oral presentations, exhibits, and performances should be submitted online during the registration period. 

CEFNS students may present only one poster. This includes both individual and group posters.  Hence, if you are listed as an author or co-author on an engineering capstone project, you may not present a second poster on your undergraduate research. 

NOTE: Only the primary author or presenter should register; all co-authors are to be listed by the primary author in the form.

  • Gather all necessary information PRIOR to going online to register (see attached blank registration form for required information)
  • Log into the online registration form and enter information.  
    • NOTE: If you will need to edit or add more information later, do NOT click "Done" on the final page....just save your work.  You should be able to log back in and complete the form later.  
    • Once you select "Done" your registration is final and no changes can be made.
  • Acceptance of a late application is contingent upon space available to present.
  • Late applications will NOT appear in the printed Symposium program.
EXAMPLES OF GREAT ABSTRACTS in business, creative arts & design, humanities, sciences, and social sciences for general audiences ARE AVAILABLE HERE.

Students: Click on the Poster Preparation Information link below for complete details about preparing and printing a poster.

Poster Preparation Information

Poster Creation: 

It is the responsibility of participating students to create posters for the poster sessions. Posters should be designed to be pinned or velcroed on a large display board (no tri-fold poster boards). For consistency and convenience, we recommend that you download and take advantage of the poster templates provided here. There is a landscape version and a portrait version with useful tips to help you quickly create an attractive poster, but we encourage you to be creative as well.

Download the NAU landscape poster template

Download the NAU portrait poster template

Download the CEFNS landscape poster template

Download the CEFNS portrait poster template

This is some basic information:

  1. Posters should be no larger than 34 inches x 44 inches to fit on the display board; a bit smaller is fine.
  2. All posters must be attached to the display board using Velcro. No tri-fold posters are permitted.
  3. Posters must be readable from at least four feet away.
  4. The presentation title must be at least two inches high.
  5. Beneath the title, the name(s) of the student author(s), faculty sponsor, and department/school must be at least one inch high. 
  6. All source(s) of your funding should be acknowledged on the poster

Additional information below and on the UG Research Poster Presentation Tips webpage.

  • You should create the poster the size you need (maximum size: 34” x 44”) in PowerPoint or PDF format. Trying to blow up an 8 ½ x 11 does NOT work well!!
  • The use of dark (especially black) solid color backgrounds is strongly discouraged...and will incur additional charges.
  • There are large format NAU logos to be found at http://www.physics.nau.edu/~anderson/LOGOS/posterlogos.html
  • Generally more graphics/less text is preferable!

Poster Printing Options:

On campus options:

CEFNS and HURA students ONLY: The student who registered the project for UGS/UGRADS must submit the poster to the Physics department by email to Ed.Anderson@nau.edu (3-7096) no later than 5:00pm, Friday, April 11, 2014.  Non-CEFNS HURA students should put HURA poster in the subject line of the email. Students should choose a white background to have a poster printed at no cost.

SBS College students only: Students may email a file for their poster in power point format to sbs.dean@nau.edu with the subject line “poster printing”.  It should be emailed no later than 1 week before the event; posters sent after this deadline will be printed only if time allows.  After completion, the student will be notified through email when the poster can be retrieved.  Posters that are the incorrect file, corrupted or incorrect in formatting and size will not be printed and will be the responsibility of the student to correct.  When picking up the poster the student will be required to bring a method of payment (credit/debit card or check).  Posters are printed on matte coated paper (this is NOT high quality photo paper).  Cost is $20 - $30.  Questions?  Please contact SBS Dean’s office at 523-2672.

SBS Psychology department:  Psychology students have priority, but other students can also print posters here.  Follow all instructions on the Psychology Department poster printing webpage and contact Janina Burton (3-0654); cost will be $30-$40.

SBS: Geography, Planning, and Recreation department: Students in any department may bring their PPT or PDF of their correctly sized poster (see instructions/templates above) to the GIS computer lab in Bldg #70, Room #10 to print a poster. Best to come early for heavy duty paper; otherwise paper is NOT heavy-duty.  Cost ~$10 charged directly to student’s account.  Contact Ke-sheng.bao@nau.edu (3-0587) for additional information.

Other local poster printing options:

  • Kinko’s FedEx: (1423 S. Plaza Way, 779-5159) ~$80 + tax (possible 10% discount with NAU ID)
  • Staple’s: (2625 N. Woodlands Village Blvd., 214-8424) ~$25 + tax (with their 50% off color promotion from 3/30 - 5/3, 2014)
  • Print Raven (1300 S. Milton #125, 773-1105) ~$52 (matte) or ~$62  (gloss) + tax
  • Need 24 hours notice and prefer PDF format; you will need to pay for the poster at the time you place your order.

Online options:

www.PosterPresentations.com: Price varies by size and quality ($45-$65); place order by noon (Pacific time) for poster to ship out the same business day (cost of shipping depends on delivery time: $0 - $60).

Parking

Unregistered vehicles may park in lots P66 (Dome) and P45 (duBois) during the Symposium on Friday, April 25th.  Faculty, staff, and student permit holders should continue to park in their designated parking lots for set-up on Thursday and all day on Friday. 

Click here to see NAU Parking Map.