Guidelines

GENERAL INFORMATION:

• The Expo is open to all Northwestern University undergraduates in any field and in any class year.  Students who have or will be presenting their projects at other forums are eligible and encouraged to apply.
• All submissions will be made through our on-line application system.  Note that there are separate applications for Poster/Oral Presentations and for the Creative Arts Festival. CLICK HERE TO APPLY.
• To fill out an application, you will need the following information: your contact information; the names and contact information of any undergraduates who will be co-presenting with you at the Expo; the name, phone, and email of your faculty supervisor(s); the class name/number or other auspices under which you conducted your research project; and an abstract of 250 words or less describing your project.  If you are accepted, this description of your project will be printed in the Expo program.
• Abstracts should be intelligible for an educated, but non-expert, non-technical audience.  People from all backgrounds and fields should find this description of your project accessible. Please consult our Guide to Writing an Abstract for the Exposition for advice and sample abstracts.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered.  You may open a submission file, save it, and return to complete it at a later date.  Please make sure to spell-check and proofread your proposal.

POSTER PRESENTATIONS:

• There will be two poster sessions during the Expo: one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  Each session will last 1 ½ hours.
• Posters should be intelligible for an educated, but non-expert, non-technical audience.  People from all backgrounds and fields will be visiting students' posters and hearing what they have learned.
• Group presentations are welcome.
• You will be required to stand by your posters during the session and make brief (3 minutes or less) presentations about your work.  Again, the presentation should be intelligible for an educated, but lay audience.
• Two workshops will be offered for interested students to help prepare an effective poster presentation.   
• Faculty judges will be assigned to every poster.  Awards will be given to the best posters, as judged by the faculty, in each session.  Awards will be broken down by the three research divisions: Natural Sciences and Engineering, Social Sciences and Journalism, and Arts, Humanities, and Performance.
• In addition, a People’s Choice Award will be given to the favorite poster from each session, as voted on by attendees.  Bring your friends!
• Award winners will be notified in the days following the Expo.
• For information on preparing and setting up your poster, please see Guidelines for Poster Presentations and How to Prepare a Poster.
• You will be asked which session is better for your schedule, but due to the logistics involved, all requests can not be guaranteed.

ORAL PRESENTATIONS

A limited number of students will be selected by the Expo Steering Committee to give an oral presentation. If you want to be considered for an oral presentation, please indicate this preference on the standard application.

• Those projects chosen will be placed on themed panels led by a faculty moderator.
• All oral presentations will be 8-10 minutes long.
• You will be required to attend two presentation workshops prior to the Expo to aid with the process of transitioning your work to this format.  No matter what your background or previous experience is, you will be required to attend both workshops if you would like to present your work in this format.
• Oral presentation panels will be part of “Lunch and Learn” sessions at the Expo.  There will be two sets of oral presentation panels: one starting at 11:00 and the other starting at 1:00.  Lunch will be served to all in attendance. 

MSC JUDGE

• For the past few years, the Expo has collaborated with the Meaningful Science Consortium (MSC) program.  This program looks to promote and develop interest in science and engineering in students from disadvantaged schools within the Chicago Public School system.
• MSC students hold their own poster sessions, and starting in 2010, we offered student judging of them.  Undergraduate students were paired with someone from The Graduate School to judge a set of posters.
• Awards are given to students based upon your score sheets.
• If you are interested in being a judge, please contact the Expo Coordinator at undergradresearch@northwestern.edu.
• You do not need to submit an application via the online system.  Simply explain your interest and background in your email.

CREATIVE ARTS FESTIVAL

See the next tab over.

CREATIVE ARTS FESTIVAL

The night of the Expo is dedicated to the incredible creative work done on campus.  We will be holding an amazing event mixing the work of different student-artists together.  During the event, performances will move from student films to dance and theater performances to music to the spoken word (poetry, short stories,etc.). The event will have a professional jury chaired by Sundance winning writer/actor/director Tom McCarthy (The Station Agent, The Vistor, Win Win).  Other judges include Mickie Paskal and Jennifer Rudnicke of Paskal Rudnicke Casting Agency.  The jury will choose winners in four categories: Creative Writing (spoken word), Student Film, Visual Arts, and Performance Arts (music, theater, dance, etc.). In addition, they will select a "Best of the Festival" overall winner.  Winners will be announced at a reception following the event.  The performnces will take place between 6:30-9:00.  Here is a great opportunity to share your work with a broad audience.

• To apply, please submit a Creative Arts Festival application, indicating in which category you would like to submit.  You may submit multiple entries.

• A panel will judge the applications and select participants for the Creative Arts Festival.
• The event will occur in the Norris McCormick Auditorium.  Plan to adapt your performance to the space provided.  Expected performance times are 5-8 minutes long.  Part of the challenge is to find your best material to fit within this time framework, but you are free to make an argument for why you need more time.

• You will be required to attend a tech meeting/rehearsal prior to the Festival.

• For film submissions, please indicate how long your film is.  In the applciation is a place for you to provide a link to where the review committee can see the film.

• For performance submissions, any type are welcome: musical ensembles, monologues, stand-up, scenes from a directing/devising class, original music are just a few of the types of performances we encourage you to submit.  Indicate how long your performance will be and what sort of staging you will need.   Please list any significant props, set pieces, and/or costumes in your application, noting that no open flames, firing guns, and smoke are allowed.  Applications may be reviewed by the Office of Risk Management to ensure safety regulations are followed.
• For creative writing submissions, please include the work that you plan to present.

• For visual art submissions, diverse forms of art are welcome: photography, sculpture, painting, mixed-media are just a few of the types of art forms we encourage you to submit.  In your submission, please include the dimensions of your work, and what you will need to display the work.  Chosen pieces will also have the opportunity to be displayed during the entirity of the day-long Expo.

• Questions?  Contact Peter Civetta.

Contact Us

Questions regarding Poster Presentations should be directed to Jana Measells.  For other questions about the Expo (oral presentations, Creative Arts Festival, MSC judging, etc.), contact Peter Civetta.

FAQs