With so many options for students to share their research and creative activity, and obtain funding and awards to support this work, the Office of Undergraduate Research encourages faculty to connect course-based research activity with the following opportunities.
Research Presentations
If you’re asking students to present their work, consider structuring the assignment so that the end product can serve as a submission to the Texas Student Research Showdown, the Longhorn Research Poster Session (LRPS), or another on-campus research event relevant to your discipline.
Texas Student Research Showdown: In this creative outlet for sharing scholarly activity, students submit 2-minute videos explaining their work to a general audience. The videos are voted on by the student body and a panel of faculty judges, and creators receive prizes recognizing their excellence in research communication—*$2500*, $1000, and $500 for the top three videos, and $1000 for the audience choice winner. Videos are scored on how well they capture an audience’s attention, how well they tell a narrative about the work, whether the methods suggest a rigorous scholarly activity, and how well the student is targeting a general, rather than expert, audience. The Showdown is the perfect format for practicing research communication and spreading the word about impactful projects. Individual and group submissions are welcome. The 2019-20 Showdown submission deadline is Feb. 17, with winners announced at a reception March 11.
Longhorn Research Poster Session: Students from all academic disciplines present research posters at this interdisciplinary, campus-wide event. Research posters for this event (and for most other campus poster sessions) are sized 50” wide x 42” tall. The Office of Undergraduate Research offers research poster design workshops and templates; we can also visit your class to give a more targeted workshop. $2000, $1000, and $500 awards are presented to the top student posters, in addition to a $500 poster design award. Poster award winners are selected by a panel of faculty judges, who score the posters for ~20 finalists (as selected from LRPS participants by the dean’s offices of the academic colleges). Posters are scored on the clarity of the research question or impetus for creative activity; clarity of methods; presentation of results; how well justified the conclusions are; oral presentation; and visual design of the poster (communicates findings visually; is aesthetically pleasing in terms of typographic design, layout, images).
Funding Opportunities
The Office of Undergraduate Research offers three scholarships for researchers: the Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Research or Conference Travel Scholarships and Student Researcher Awards. Consult the table below to see which funding opportunity is best for your students.
| Type of Project | Eligibility | Considers financial need? | Amount | Deadlines | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate Research Fellowship | |||||
| Covers specific costs associated with academic research projects | Independent research project | Full-time student (12-hour min) | No | Up to $1,000, ~50 awarded | Sept. 30 and Feb. 3 |
| Research or Conference Travel Scholarships | |||||
| Travel to conduct or present research | Independent research project/research assistantship | Full-time student (12-hour min) | Yes | Variable; typically $100-600, ~10 awarded | Nov. 15 and March 13 |
| Student Researcher Awards | |||||
| Grant to directly support student researcher | Independent research project/research assistantship | Full-time student (12-hour min) | Yes | $1,000, 2 awarded | March 13 |