Undergraduate Research Symposium

Each year undergraduate students of Columbia University are invited to present their research in poster format at a symposium held during the Fall semester. Originally started as an event to showcase the science research of the Columbia College Rabi Scholars, the symposium now includes research projects from all disciplines.

Additionally, Columbia Engineering hosts the Annual Engineering and Science Research Symposium early in the Fall semester. Please visit Columbia Engineering for more information on this symposium.

Please note, you must be a current undergraduate of Columbia University to participate in this symposium.

2020-2021 Undergraduate Research Symposium

This year's virtual symposium will go live on Friday, October 23, 2020. We will provide additional information as we continue to confirm plans, including instructions for voting for the poster prize awardees (to be conducted during a limited time frame).

Interested in presenting?

Please complete the online application form (which will include your research abstract) by 11:59 PM EST/NYC on September 23, 2020.

Presenters will receive a confirmation email from Undergraduate Research and Fellowships and be required submit the following to ugrad-urf@columbia.edu by 11:59 PM EST/NYC on Thursday, October 1, 2020:

Research poster: a one slide PowerPoint
Presentation video: Provide a short video (3 mins or less) answering the following questions after introducing yourself: What was your research question? What were your research methodologies? What were your findings? Why were they significant?
Headshot Photo: please see photo specifications below.

Resources for Poster Design

Please note the following regarding video submission:

Videos should be submitted via platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo, etc.
Remember to activate or select the option for including captions or subtitles to your video
Your introduction should include your name, class year, school, and major in your introduction. If you are part of a scholar program, such as the Rabi, Laidlaw, or Egleston programs, you may include that information as well.
You should be in a well lit and quiet area when recording.
Be careful of reflective backgrounds such as windows or mirrors.
There is no formal dress code but keep in mind that your video will be available online for family, friends, faculty, and other members of the Columbia community to view, and wear what you are most comfortable with.

Please note the following regarding headshot photo submission:

Photos should be a clear, in focus, close up image of your face in color.
Keep in mind background and clothing choices, as this will affect the quality of image online.
Photo files must be less than 128 MB.
Allowed file types: PNG, GIF, JPG and JPEG
No PDFs files
Images must be larger than 80x100 pixels