Office of Student Research
2023 Student Research Conference
Conference Information
Truman’s 2023 Student Research Conference will be held as a hybrid conference on Thursday, April 27. Face-to-face oral, poster, performance art, studio art, and asynchronous virtual presentations will be facilitated. Undergraduate and graduate students from all academic disciplines are invited to present their scholarly or creative work.
Questions about the Student Research Conference should be directed to the Office of Student Research via email at osr@truman.edu.
Call for Abstracts
Abstract Submission Deadline: March 21 at 5:00 pm CST
Abstract Submission Guidelines
Presentation Types
Student authors should select the presentation type and disciplines related to this presentation when the abstract is submitted. Please note that your presentation may not necessarily be grouped with others of the same discipline as presentations are compiled in both disciplinary and interdisciplinary sessions based on the overall distribution of abstracts submitted. Any special requests need to be made when the abstract is submitted. The presentation format options are listed below.
Face-to-Face Presentations
Virtual Presentations
Information for Faculty Mentors
Due to the size and scope of the Student Research Conference, acceptance of student abstract submissions is at the discretion of the faculty mentor. Consequently, each student presentation must be sponsored by a Truman faculty mentor.
The Office of Student Research will rely on faculty mentors to work with their student(s) to ensure that abstracts are correct, complete, and the result of eligible work (see submission guidelines above). The Program Committee reserves the right to reject an abstract that is incomplete, is not the result of eligible work, or does not follow the submission guidelines even if it has been accepted by the faculty mentor.
Each presentation must have a faculty mentor. If students are presenting work done off-campus, for example during an internship, they must identify a Truman faculty member as a co-sponsor. Abstracts that lack faculty sponsorship will not be accepted. Your involvement in the work to be presented at the Student Research Conference is therefore essential. Without you, there can be no conference. You should know about the responsibilities of mentoring as well as the significant benefits it can confer.
As a faculty mentor, you should familiarize yourself with the outlined Presentation Types and Submission Guidelines. Before you agree to be a mentor, you should make sure the proposed work is eligible and you should work with the students involved in preparing the abstract and getting ready for the presentation.
While the primary goal of the conference is to encourage and reward student research, scholarship, and creative activity, faculty mentors should remember that their student’s presentation also reflects upon themselves and their academic discipline and division.
At the very minimum, faculty mentors should:
1) Ensure that the student(s) have complied with the submission guidelines
2) Proof-read the abstract prior to submission and give the student(s) appropriate feedback and editing
3) Formally approve the abstract submission
4) Preview the presentation prior to the conference and give appropriate feedback to enhance the quality of the presentation
- The stimulation and confidence that accompanies creative thinking
- The opportunity to mentor enthusiastic, high-quality students
- The enhanced ability to remain current in one’s field and discipline
- The excitement created by intellectual activity and participation in new discoveries
- The recognition by one’s internal and external peers
- The reinvigoration of one’s career
- The chance to improve teaching techniques, such as in investigative laboratories (or workshops)
- The ability to transfer results from one’s scholarship into the classroom
- The ability to promote the concept of life-long learning for students