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The Undergraduate Student Symposium, sponsored by the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences, presents student projects and performances through oral presentations, paper submissions, and poster displays. The annual event showcases the outstanding scholarship of undergraduate students at NSU. This year's symposium will take place on Friday, April 9, 2010, beginning at 1:00 p.m., in the Performance Theatre, located in the Performing and Visual Arts Wing of the Don Taft University Center.

The Undergraduate Student Symposium is open to undergraduate students from all disciplines. Projects cover areas of student scholarship ranging from the experimental, the applied, and the computational, to the theoretical, artistic, and literary. They are taken from class assignments as well as from independent projects. The research does not have to be complete; presentations can represent any stage of a project's evolution, from proposal and literature review to fully completed experiments. As in past symposia, the definition of scholarship will be sufficiently broad to include work presented in the biological and physical sciences, the social and behavioral sciences, computer science, mathematics, humanities, nursing, education, and business. Submissions can include journalism, literary analysis, philosophical and historical analysis, original films, and public speaking (informative or persuasive).

Students interested in participating should contact their academic division or college for more information and seek a faculty sponsor for their project. Participants must submit an online application. After filling out the online application, participants are required to print the application and obtain necessary signatures before delivering the hard copy to the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Office of the Dean by the application deadline of Friday, February 26, 2010, prior to 5:00 p.m. A correctly formatted electronic copy of the abstract must also be sent via email to the Office of the Dean (uss@nova.edu) before the application deadline.

For more information regarding the Undergraduate Student Symposium, please contact Rehana Seepersad, coordinator of special projects in the college's Office of the Dean.

2010 Symposium Schedule

Friday, April 9, 2010

Mandatory Training for Research Involving Human Subjects

CITI Training

For research projects involving humans, researchers, and the faculty sponsor must complete CITI training prior to submission of a project for Institutional Review Board approval. This training also is required for projects that seek IRB exemption.

The training is online and can be accessed through the CITI training Web site. Investigators must register, personally, prior to completion of the training modules. Please complete the online form with your faculty sponsor.

Investigators who will be conducting research in science/biomedical areas must complete (at a minimum) the following modules:

• History and Ethical Principles
• Basic Institutional Review Board
• Informed Consent
• Records-Based Research
• Genetic Research
• Vulnerable Populations: An Overview
• Hot Topics

Investigators who will be conducting research in social/behavioral sciences or humanities (if human subjects are involved) must complete (at a minimum) the following modules:

• History and Ethical Principles
• Defining Research with Human Subjects
• The Regulations and the Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Assessing Risk in Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Informed Consent
• Privacy and Confidentiality
• Research with Children
• Research in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools

As appropriate, additional training modules may be required depending on the specific research.

Judging Criteria and Prizes

All participants in the Undergraduate Student Symposium gain valuable experience, presentation skills, and recognition by their peers and the college. Judging takes place during all presentations and prizes will be awarded at the end of the day for outstanding projects in various categories. As you plan your presentation, be sure to address each of these aspects. (Review sample templates)

Note: Poster setup is required by 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 8, 2009, for judging. Posters should remain in the Alvin Sherman Library until 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 10, and must be removed by a research participant from your group.

Research projects will be judged on the following criteria:

• significance and importance of the topic
• appropriateness of the research question
• choice of research methods and procedures
• successful interpretation of results
• creativity and originality
• clarity of the oral presentation
• level of professional quality and appearance

Oral performances will be judged on the following criteria:

• choice of material/topic
• research (if applicable)
• delivery

American Association of University Women

NSU's branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) is offering an NSU Bookstore gift card to the best symposium submission that focuses on issues faced by women.

Submissions must be related to gender issues as defined below and in line with AAUW's missions: Advancing equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. Any project type (poster, completed, in progress, proposed, or literature review) is eligible for submission.

1. Projects may be submitted from any field or division participating in the USS;
2. The project being submitted must be connected to issues (biological, sociocultural, political) that are directly related to gender;
3. Students submitting project abstracts will be notified by email as to whether or not their project is being considered for the AAUW award;
4. The award application must be signed by a supervising faculty member familiar with the student and/or project.
5. To be considered for the AAUW award, students also must participate in the Undergraduate Student Symposium (this includes completing the application for the Undergraduate Student Symposium in addition to the AAUW application at time of submission).
   

The student researcher must present the project at the NSU Undergraduate Student Symposium to be considered for this award. Please denote interest on the Undergraduate Student Symposium application. Since 1881, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) has been the nation's leading voice for promoting education and equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research.

AAUW - USS Award Criteria:

1. Competence in applying methodologies of the field/discipline;
2. Familiarity with concepts, theories, and/or works within the field/discipline, specifically as related to gender;
3. An original or creative research question that advances knowledge in the sphere of gender;
4. A delivery method/presentational form that is clear, effective, professional, and consistent with the discipline/field.