How to Submit

Submitting Your Abstract and Presentation for a WVU Undergraduate Research Symposium

WVU Office of Undergraduate Research hosts three symposia each year: Fall, Spring and Summer Undergraduate Research Symposia. Undergraduates engaged in mentored research at WVU are eligible to submit to any and all of these events.

Abstracts must be submitted through the Symposium Platform by ForagerOne, which will be open in October. Symposium by ForagerOne is an all-in-one platform to host events and to maintain an archive of presentations. Once you create an account, you can use the button at the bottom of this page to submit your abstract. Once you upload your presentation, you will have a sharable link you can include on your resume, CV or job applications.

There are two steps to completing your abstract submission:

1. Submitting your abstract
2. Uploading your presentation

Fall Symposium 2025 Critical Dates:

Important: Be sure to provide your title and abstract to your mentor and any co-authors for their approval before you submit. You  MUST  include your mentor as a co-author. Before you begin your submission, you will need the following information. Please be prepared before you begin.

1. Submitting Your Abstract

Authors/Presenters and Co-Authors/Presenters:

1. The student presenter should be the lead author/presenter of the presentation.
2. The research mentor MUST be included as an "Additional Presenter/Co-Author" within the submission form. 
3. You may add up to 7 "Additional Presenter/Co-Author". Students should consult with their mentor to determine who should be included as an additional author. Additional authors are individuals who have made a significant and meaningful contribution to the research project.  For yourself and each co-author/co-presenter, you will need the information below:

• Full name

• email address 

• Level/classification (freshman, sophomore…graduate student, faculty, etc)

• Department name

• Institution. If the contributor is in industry or private, ask them how they would like their department and affiliation to read.

Title: 

Your title should be 14 words max  and be entered using title case. Capitalize the first letter of each main word. For example: "Success in Undergraduate Research at WVU". Your title should succinctly communicate the subject of your poster to a wide audience. Avoid technical jargon to engage the widest audience possible. Think of your grandparents or a family friend – will they understand your title? Share your title with your mentor and at least one non-specialist before you submit to be sure it makes sense, is grammatically correct, and has no typos or errors.

Abstract: 

Your abstract should be 160-250 words  and structured as a single paragraph that: 1) conveys the motivation for the work, 2) research question/hypothesis/purpose, 3) methods/approach, 4) results, and 5) significance of your work to science and/or society. Write for a general audience. Please note when pasting your abstract, certain formatting (e.g. bold, italics, etc.) may not be kept. Please do not include figures, tables, or references in your abstract. Images, tables and figures can be included in the media section. Please double check your abstract. BE SURE TO GET FEEDBACK FROM YOUR FACULTY RESEARCH/CREATIVE MENTOR AND ANY CO-AUTHORS ON YOUR ABSTRACT BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR FINAL VERSION.

Need help getting started writing your abstract? Try  How to Construct a Nature Summary Paragraph 

Field of Study:

You will be asked to choose the field that best aligns with your research. Typical fields of study include (see rubrics below):

• Arts, Humanities & Design 

• Biological & Biochemical Sciences

• Engineering & Technology

• Environmental & Agricultural Sciences

• Health Sciences 

• Physical Sciences 

• Social & Behavioral Sciences 

Presentation Format

• Oral presentation (Only in Fall and Spring symposia)
• Poster presentation
• Performance