Upcoming Events and Important Deadlines
Undergraduate Research Experience and Creative Activity
Did you know that you can get paid to do research while gaining valuable experience in a high impact practice? The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs administers University funds to directly support mentored undergraduate research through Undergraduate Research Experience and Creative Activity (URECA) grants. Awards range from $500 for beginners to $3,500 for experienced researchers.
URECA Grant Submission Fall 2023: Deadline to apply is Thursday, August 31st, 2023 by 4:30pm
Past Events
Scholars Week
Registration OPENS to present at the Research & Creative Activity Exposition: February 1, 2023
Scholars Week
Registration DEADLINE: February 28, 2023
Scholars Week 2023
Research & Creative Activity Exposition, March 24, 2023 from 10:30-2:30pm, in the Student Union Building Ballroom
Posters at the Capitol
February 15, 2023
SOAR Members Luncheon and Business Meeting
January 25th at 12:00pm ; STU 210
Spring 2023: URECA Application Deadline
January 26th
Fall Open House
November 3, 2022 from 11:00-1:00pm ; Science Building Atrium, 2nd floor
The Open House is an informal poster session that showcases undergraduate student research and creative projects at MTSU. All students, particularly new students and transfer students, are invited to attend.
Snacks and Abstracts
October 14, 2022 from 11:00-12:00pm ; LIB 264A
Are you planning to submit your research abstract for presentation at a local, regional, or national conference? Then this workshop is for you! We will walk through the primary components of an abstract, provide you with resources to review peer-reviewed abstracts to get your brain juices flowing, and then pair you up with an experienced student abstract writer to develop your abstract. End Goal: To leave the workshop with an abstract ready for submission.
And don’t forget the snacks – as in Chick-fil-A chick-n-minis!
SOAR Ambassadors Meeting
September 27, 2022 from 11:00am-12:00pm ; ING G012
Fall 2022: URECA Application Deadline
September 1st at 4:30pm
SOAR Luncheon and Business Meeting
August 29th from 11:30-12:30pm ; MT Center
URECA Workshop
August 23, 2022 from 12:30-1:30pm ; Student Union room 220
SOAR Ambassadors Meeting
August 18, 2022 from 12:00-1:00 ; ING G012
Scholars Week 2022: University-Wide Scholars Week Research & Creative Activity Exposition
Friday, March 25, 2022, Student Union Building (SUB)
Scholars Week is a week long tradition during which MTSU's academic colleges celebrate
scholarship, research, and creative activity through a variety of events and activities. Visit the Scholars Week website for more information.
2022 Posters at the Capitol
Wednesday, February 16, 2022, Tennessee State Capitol
Posters at the Capitol is the Undergraduate Research Center’s most prestigious annual
event, during which selected MTSU students present their research* to state legislators
at the state capitol alongside undergraduate representatives from other participating
Tennessee universities. To learn more, visit the Posters at the Capitol webpage. *The Posters at the Capitol event, co-coordinated by the Tennessee STEM Education Center, will now only include research from within STEM fields.
Scholars Week Workshops
James E. Walker Library, Room 272
Friday, February 4, 2022
1:00 - 2:00 pm
In this workshop, we will review the purpose of abstracts in scholarly communication
and review disciplinary conventions. Participants will practice creating an abstract
as means of developing one’s scholarly voices.
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Open House
Thursday, November 4, 11:00am – 1:00pm, Science Building Atrium, 2nd floor
This event is an informal poster session that showcases a sampling of current undergraduate
research and creative projects at MTSU. The Open House is a great opportunity for
students interested in research to meet current undergraduate researchers, check out
their posters, ask questions about how they designed their research, how they selected
a faculty mentor, and how they balanced coursework, extracurriculars, and research.
All students, particularly new students and transfer students, are invited to attend.
For more information visit our webpage.
SOAR Luncheon & Business Meeting
Friday, August 27, 12:00 – 1:00pm, Student Union Building, room 220
Interested in meeting students with similar research based interest? All are welcome
to join SOAR's first meeting of the semester. Lunch will be provided.
Registration is required. The registration deadline is Tuesday, August 24th at 8:00am.
To learn more or to join SOAR, visit https://www.mtsu.edu/urc/soar.php.
Posters on the Hill 2021
April 27-28, 2021, Digital event
Posters on the Hill is a critical element in CUR's advocacy efforts. It is more important
than ever that the voice of undergraduate researchers and their mentors are heard
on Capitol Hill. This prestigious event celebrates the impressive work of the accepted
students and supports the messages of the importance for undergraduate research at
the federal level.
2nd Annual URECA Distinguished Lecture & Luncheon
Featuring Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show
Tuesday, April 20, 2021, 11:00-12:00 pm
KUC Theatre
Did you miss this event? Watch Ketch Secor's dynamic lecture here. Watch Now!
The URC is excited to welcome Ketch Secor to MTSU as the distinguished lecturer for
our 2nd Annual URECA luncheon.
For the last twenty years, multi-instrumentalist Ketch Secor has been frontman and
fiddler for Old Crow Medicine Show, best known for the hit song “Wagon Wheel.”
Poster + Pitch
Tuesday, March 23, 2021, 4:00-5:00 pm
Digital event - Registration is required.
Design Stellar Research Posters and Memorable Pitches. Are you getting ready to design
a research poster for a class or academic conference/event? This free, one-hour workshop
will introduce you to design principles of research posters and accompanying elevator
pitches that consider audience, purpose, and mode. You will leave with strategies
on deciding what information to include in your poster and what to leave out, making
rhetorically-informed design decisions, and ways to craft and deliver an exciting
elevator pitch that supports your poster and piques your audience’s attention.
Abstract Writing Workshop
March 4 & 8, 2021, online event.
In this workshop, we will review the purpose of abstracts in scholarly communication
and review disciplinary conventions. Participants will practice creating an abstract
as means of developing one’s scholarly voice.
Author Workshop: How to Write a Great Research Paper, Use and Share Your Data Responsibly, and Get Published
Thursday, December 3, 2020, online event.
In this workshop the presenters will discuss identifying the right journal, navigating
data repositories, structuring your article, data reuse and publication, understanding
the peer review process, open access publishing, publishing ethics, how to get your
research noticed, and responsible sharing.
The presenters:
Dr. Angela G. Mertig is a Professor of Sociology at MTSU and serves on the editorial
board of the Journal of Environmental Psychology. She has published extensively in scholarly journals. David Parsons from Elsevier
is the former publisher of Data in Brief, an interdisciplinary Elsevier journal that
enables researchers to share and find research data sets. David has more than twelve
years of experience in editorial and marketing roles in academic publishing, and also
recently received his MS in Data Science from Syracuse University.
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Open House
In-person: Tuesday, November 10, 11:00am – 1:00pm, Science Building Atrium, 2nd floor
Virtual: Click HERE to view the 2020 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Open House
virtual exposition.
This event is an informal poster session that showcases a sampling of current undergraduate
research and creative projects at MTSU. The Open House is a great opportunity for
students interested in research to meet current undergraduate researchers, check out
their posters, ask questions about how they designed their research, how they selected
a faculty mentor, and how they balanced coursework, extracurriculars, and research.
All students, particularly new students and transfer students, are invited to attend.
For more information visit our webpage.
Library Research for the Undergraduate Researcher: A Two-Part Workshop Series
Part 1: The Library Research and Literature Review
Tuesday, October 13, 2:40 - 4:05 pm
Librarians will introduce a research proposal template, demonstrate how to conduct
library research about your area of interest, and discuss how to complete a literature
review.
Part 2: Completing the Research Proposal
Thursday, October 15, 2:40 - 4:05 pm
Librarians will expand on the components of the research proposal template and discuss
steps for completing the proposal, including the introduction, methodology, research design
and ethical considerations.
SAGE for Students Workshop
Tuesday, September 22nd and Thursday, September 24th, 2020.
Do you have a good research topic, but need a bit of help refining your research question
and process? Are you looking for guidance on your research project from beginning
to end? If so, SAGE Research Methods (SRM) is the right tool for you! Discover how
to find resources to help you write a more effective research question conduct a literature
review, select your research method, gather, analyze, and write up your research findings
and more!
Undergraduate Research Week
On November 16, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives declared the week of April 11, 2011, as "Undergraduate Research Week." This year, Undergraduate Research Week is April 20-24, 2020. Visit the Undergraduate Research Week webpage to celebrate MTSU's Undergraduate Research Community.
Scholars Week 2020
Scholars Week is a weeklong tradition during which MTSU's academic colleges celebrate scholarship, research and creative activity through a variety of events and activities. While the on-campus events had to be canceled due to COVID-19, we are excited to announce that the Poster and Creative Activity Exposition has been moved online!R. Neil Scott Undergraduate Research Award
Thursday, April 2, 2020In honor of Mr. Neil Scott, a former Walker Library professor and champion of student research, the library will be offering a $500 prize for the best undergraduate research project. Any undergraduate student who completed a research project during their MTSU academic career is invited to apply for this year’s award.
Criteria:
- Any format (i.e. essay, research paper, research proposal, research poster)
- Completed during any part of your undergraduate career at MTSU
- Must fill out the online application. Within this application, students must submit an electronic copy of their research project, as well as explain how they used library resources (examples of resources include scholarly resources such as databases, books, journals; librarians; library equipment).
Poster + Pitch Workshop
Tuesday, March 3, 2020, 3:30-4:30pm in the Library, Room 272Poster + Pitch is an collaborative effort between the Margaret H.Ordoubadian University Writing Center and the Undergraduate Research Center. This workshop is ideal for students looking to learn the principles of design and elevator pitches, strengthen design decisions, and learn how to capture your audience.
Posters at the Capitol
Wednesday, February 26, 2020, Tennessee State CapitolUndergraduates from the nine Tennessee state universities presented their research posters to legislators and guests at the Tennessee State Capitol. The students are selected to represent the best of the undergraduate research at their own institutions. For 14 years, undergraduates have been presenting our state legislators with their outstanding research results in a wide variety of academic disciplines.
SAGE Research Methods Workshop
Friday, November 22, 2019, 1:30-3:00pm in LIB 264aDo you have a good research topic, but need a bit of help refining your research question and process? Are you looking for guidance on your research project from beginning to end? If so, SAGE Research Methods (SRM) is the tool for you! In this workshop, you will discover how to find resources to help you write a more effective research question, conduct a literature review, select your research method, gather, analyze, and write up your research findings, and more. All students who attend the workshop will be entered into a $50 gift card!
Undergraduate Research Open House
Friday, November 15, 2019, 11:00am – 1:00pm, Science Building Atrium, 2nd floorThe Open House is a great opportunity for students interested in research to meet current undergraduate researchers, check out their posters, ask questions about how they designed their research, how they selected a faculty mentor, and how they balanced coursework, extracurriculars, and research.
Spring URECA Workshop
Tuesday, November 13, 2019, 3:00-4:00pm in the Student Union Building, Room 220If you have been contemplating applying for a URECA grant or just want to learn more about undergraduate research opportunities, we invite you to join us for this informational workshop. We will go over upcoming research opportunities, how to find a faculty mentor, what you need to include in your proposal including budget items and timeline. Other services offered by the Undergraduate Research Center such as free poster printing, upcoming workshops, how to join our student organization, and travel for conference presentations will also be covered.
