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The CSU has a new policy on freedom of expression. Learn more.

Competition Guidelines

Who May Compete

Undergraduate or graduate students currently enrolled at any CSU campus and alumni/alumnae who received their degrees in winter, spring, summer or fall 2024 or winter 2025 are eligible. The research/creative activity presented should be appropriate to the student’s discipline and career goals. Proprietary research is excluded.

Presentations from all disciplines are welcome. There will be separate undergraduate and graduate divisions for each category (unless a division has four or fewer entrants, in which case the divisions may be combined). The Cal Poly Humboldt steering committee reserves the right to combine or subdivide these categories, or to move an entrant from one category to another, as necessitated by submission numbers.

The 10 disciplinary categories are:

  1. Behavioral, Social Sciences and Public Administration
  2. Biological and Agricultural Sciences
  3. Business, Economics and Hospitality Management
  4. Creative Arts and Design (creative projects are welcome—see “Competition Guidelines”)
  5. Education
  6. Engineering and Computer Science
  7. Health, Nutrition and Clinical Sciences
  8. Humanities and Letters
  9. Interdisciplinary
  10. Physical and Mathematical Sciences

 

Competition Guidelines

Each California State University will host their own internal competition in Fall 2024 or Spring 2025 and select up to 10 entries to represent their campus at the system wide competition. Each CSU campus appoints a campus coordinator and develops its own procedures for selecting student delegates to the systemwide competition. Interested students should contact their campus coordinator for more information. Only those students endorsed by the campus coordinator can enter the systemwide competition.

The campus coordinator will submit a list of students who have been selected for the system wide competition along with their written summaries. The rules governing the written summary are as follows:

  1. The summary must include the name(s) of the student(s) and the title of the presentation.
  2. The written narrative should
    1. Utilize a font size of 10 or above
    2. Have margins of at least 0.75”
    3. Should be a minimum of one page and not exceed two pages in total (1-2 pages)
  3. Appendices (bibliography, graphs, photographs or other supplementary materials) are optional, may not exceed three pages total, and should be delivered separately from the written narrative.
  4. All research must comply with applicable policies and regulations. Research that involves human or animal subjects must have appropriate institutional review.

On either Friday April 25th or Saturday April 26th students will present their work orally before a jury and an audience. Presenters will have 10 minutes for an oral presentation of their work and five minutes to listen and respond to juror and audience questions (juror questions are asked first). It is expected that a student will not make a presentation by simply reading directly from the written summary. For projects with 2+ students, it is recommend that oral presentations be made by no more than two students, with any additional group members, as relevant, responding to juror and audience questions. 

All entrants may use audiovisual materials as appropriate, and presenters are encouraged to use delivery techniques that promote interaction with the audience. The majority of student presentations will be accompanied by a slideshow/slide deck, but it is not a required element. Presenters wishing to use a slideshow for their presentation are encouraged to use Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint for ease of access during the competition.

Entrants in the Creative Arts and Design category may present an audio and/or visual recording 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. Live performances are also acceptable, within the 10 minute time limit. 
 
Each entry (oral presentation plus written summary) will be judged on the following:

  1. Clarity of purpose
  2. Appropriateness of methodology
  3. Interpretation of results
  4. Value of the research or creative activity
  5. Ability of the presenter to articulate the research or creative activity
  6. Organization of the material presented
  7. Presenter’s ability to address questions from the jury and general audience

 

Awards

Based on the recommendations of the jurors, monetary awards will be provided to the outstanding presenter and the runner-up in both the undergraduate and graduate divisions of each category. If the undergraduate and graduate divisions of a category have been combined, awards will be provided to the outstanding presenter and the runner-up without regard to class standing. The awards ceremony will be held on Saturday April 26, 2025 at the conclusion of the event; friends and family are welcome to attend. All supporters should complete the CSU Student Research Competition 2025 Registration Form by Friday, March 14, 2025, end-of-day.

 

Questions

Student questions should be directed to the local campus coordinator. Coordinators may contact CSUstudentresearchcomp2025@humboldt.edu with any questions.