ANNOUNCING

THE TWENTY-THIRD ANNUAL

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY

STUDENT RESEARCH COMPETITION

Campus Competition

California State University , Fullerton

Application Deadline: Check back for update

CSU System-Wide Competition

California State University , Los Angeles

May 1 & 2, 2009

Purpose

The competition is held to promote excellence in undergraduate and graduate scholarly research and creative activity by recognizing outstanding student accomplishments throughout the twenty-three campuses of the California State University.

Who May Apply

Undergraduate or graduate students currently enrolled at any CSU campus, as well as alumni/alumnae, who received their degrees in spring, summer, or fall 2008, are eligible. The research presented should be appropriate to the student's discipline and career goals. Proprietary research is excluded. Presentations from all disciplines are invited. There will be separate undergraduate and graduate divisions for each of the following categories (unless a division has fewer than three entrants, in which case undergraduate and graduate divisions will be combined). The steering committee reserves the right to adjust categories as numbers of submissions necessitate. The nine categories are as follows:

•  Behavioral and Social Sciences

•  Biological and Agricultural Sciences

•  Business, Economics, and Public Administration

•  Creative Arts and Design ( creative projects are welcome-see "Competition Guidelines" )

•  Education

•  Engineering and Computer Science

•  Health, Nutrition, and Clinical Sciences

•  Humanities and Letters

•  Physical and Mathematical Sciences

A campus delegation may include up to ten entrants in the nine categories. (A small team of students making a single presentation counts as one "entrant.")

How to Apply

Interested students should submit their research summary to the Office of Academic Programs in MH-111 at Cal State Fullerton (Deadline to be announced). All who submit their documents by the deadline will be included in the campus competition and they will be scheduled to give an oral presentation of their research at CSUF at scheduled times. Only those students selected from the Campus Competition will compete at the CSU System-Wide competition.

All students will submit a Student Delegate Registration Form and six copies of their written research summary to the Office of Academic Programs in MH-111. The rules governing this written summary are as follows:

  • Each copy must include the name of the student and the title of the presentation.
  • The written summary may not exceed five doubled-spaced pages. Use fonts and margins that ensure legibility.
  • Appendices (bibliography, graphs, photographs, or other supplementary materials) may not exceed three pages.
  • It is expected that the student will not make an oral presentation by simply reading directly from this summary.

 

Campus Competition

You will make a ten-minute presentation to a panel of jurors followed by three minutes to respond to questions.

If you are selected to participate at the CSU System-Wide competition, you will need to submit an original plus five copies of the written research summary, and an original plus five copies of the delegation registration form to the Academic Programs office. These will be mailed to CSU Los Angeles. Please check back for deadlines.

Guidelines for the System-Wide Competition

Students will present their work orally before a jury and an audience. Students will compete by discipline category and class standing (undergraduate/graduate), as described above in "Who May Apply." Each student will have ten minutes for an oral presentation of his or her work and three minutes to listen and respond to juror and audience questions. All entrants may use audiovisual material as appropriate, and presenters are encouraged to use delivery techniques that promote interaction with the audience. Entrants in the Creative Arts and Design category may present an audio and/or visual record of a performance they have given or a work they have created; their oral presentation should focus on the rationale and historical context underlying their interpretation of the material.

Each entry (oral presentation and written summary) will be judged on the following:

  • Clarity of purpose - 15%
  • Appropriateness of methodology - 15%
  • Interpretation of results - 15%
  • Value of the research or creative activity - 15%
  • Ability of the presenter to articulate the research or creative activity - 15%
  • Organization of the material presented - 15%
  • Presenter's ability to handle questions from the jury and general audience - 10%

Awards

At the system-wide competition at CSU Los Angeles, based on the recommendations of the juries, cash awards will be provided to the outstanding presenter and the runner-up in both the undergraduate and graduate divisions of each category. If a category has been combined because there are fewer than three presenters in one division, awards will be provided to the outstanding presenter and the runner-up without regard to class standing. In any division with just three entrants, only one award will be given. In divisions with more than ten entrants, two runner-up awards will be presented.

Questions

Student questions should be directed to Emma Hernandez in the Office of Academic Programs, MH-111 or by calling her at (657) 278-3744. E-mail address is: emhernandez@fullerton.edu