Student Presenters
Important registration notes for nominees:
- The deadline to register is March 6, 2025. Student presenters must submit a complete registration by the March 6 deadline, including the abstract and title to be published as written in the conference program. Please ensure that you contact
- Once a presenter has registered, they have until March 6 to edit any aspect of their registration, including the project title and abstract. Updates to abstracts are not accepted after March 6.
- Students are encouraged to present individually, but they may present in pairs or trios. Students who worked in collaboration with more than one other student must break themselves up into groups of no more than 3 students.
- Students presenting in pairs or trios must each register separately.
- For students presenting in pairs or trios, please work together to produce a single abstract, and use the same abstract for each individual registration. If each student in a pair has a different abstract, we will randomly choose one to be included in the program.
- If you answer "yes" to the question "DOES YOUR ABSTRACT OR PRESENTATION INVOLVE PROPRIETARY RESEARCH THAT CAN NOT BE PUBLISHED OR MADE PUBLIC?" your abstract will not be included in the online program. Make sure to get your mentor's approval before submitting your abstract.
- URH will host a "How to Present @ URC" webinar on April 2, 12:00 - 1:00 pm. Register to learn how to prepare your presentation and learn about details related to the conference.
How to Write an Abstract
Click below to watch the video on how to write a research abstract.
Undergraduate Library Research Prize
- All students who participate in the Undergraduate Research Conference are eligible to apply for the Undergraduate Library Research Prize, an award that recognizes excellence in using Library resources in your research project.
- This year's deadline is April 27, 2025.
Oral Presentations
- Oral Presentation Guidelines (scheduled in a series of other presentations with a 12-minute presentation with 3-minute Q&A) (15-minute presentation): These are traditional presentations where students present their research findings or projects to an audience using slides or other visual aids. We will provide the presenting order closer to the event, but please plan to attend the full hour of your scheduled session in order to support and be respectful of other presenters.
- Each individual presenter will be given 12 minutes to discuss their work. Groups of two will be given 15 minutes to present. Groups of 3 will be given 17 minutes to present. There will be time for a brief Q&A after each presentation (approximately 3 minutes).
- Presentations will be grouped by discipline into panels of 3-5 presentations. Each panel discussion lasts 60 minutes.
- Each student presenter (or group) must have a presentation with slides or accompanying visual material (not a poster) ready for the conference. If there is any sound we encourage students to test the presentation with a friend, mentor, or coordinator before the day of the conference.
- Each discussion will be facilitated by a moderator--typically a faculty member, postdoctoral research fellow, graduate student, or university researcher.
- URH will host a "How to Present @ URC" webinar on April 10, 12:00 - 1:00 pm. Register to learn how to prepare your presentation and learn about details related to the conference.
- This presentation will be recorded and sent to all registered presenters for those who are not able to attend.
Attendance
Check in and breakfast service will begin at 8:15 a.m. on April 19, 2025.
Student presenters are expected to attend the welcome remarks, which begin at 8:45 a.m., and throughout the day.
To support your fellow presenters, please attend different panel discussions when you are not presenting. Not only is this is a great opportunity to see what your peers are doing, but it is also considered collegial etiquette. You may attend multiple panels during one session if you wish (to see select presenters), but do not enter or leave a room while a presentation is in progress. Wait outside of the room until you hear applause, which is a good indication that a presentation has just ended.
FAQs
My research is still ongoing and I can only present what I have at the time of presentation. Is this OK?
At the Undergraduate Research Hub (URH), we understand that research is never "complete"--it is an ongoing process and the significance of previous outcomes can be changed at any point based on new data or analyses. It is perfectly fine to present on a project that is not yet finished, as long as you clarify that this is the case. This is, in fact, a common occurrence at scholarly conferences.
Can my friends/research team/family etc. attend?
Yes! We encourage you to invite anybody who has been part of your ongoing intellectual
journey, however directly or indirectly.
Who will be in the audience? How should I pitch my presentation?
Most attendees will be members of the UC San Diego community, including other undergraduate presenters like yourself, members of the research groups to which the various presenters belong (PIs, colleagues, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, research scientists, labmates), and staff. There may also be members of other institutions in the San Diego area. Many of these attendees will be somewhat familiar with the material you're presenting. However, you should expect members of the broader community to be present who do not have any knowledge or expertise on your presentation topic. While you do not have to create a presentation that is accessible to the lay person, you should be prepared to answer questions from someone who is not an expert in your field without using too much specialized jargon.
What should I wear?
We suggest dressing in business casual attire. Try to avoid overly casual items like sweatshirts, hoodies, and tank tops, and try try to avoid items with overly bold prints, graphics, or logos that might be visually distracting. Be sure you are wearing wearing clothes and shoes that are comfortable.
What is the deadline to upload the presentation?
We will not require the presentation to be uploaded ahead of the conference. On the day of the conference, presenters must go to the room ahead of their discussion and upload their talk to the laptop/set up the presentation so that it will be ready to go at the start of their discussion panel time. This can be done during the break between each session.
Is there a template to use for the slides?
No, we do not have a slide template to use. You can utilize any template you wish for your slides.
