Present a creative or scholarly project while competing for scholarship awards and gaining valuable insight from faculty and staff judges.
For 25 years, the Student Symposium has encouraged interdisciplinary discourse, allowing students to learn from each other about the topics that are most engaging to them. The symposium also provides an opportunity to discuss work with a broader audience than what is usually found in the classroom.
The Student Symposium accepts poster presentation entries and is open to any student from Ball State University (undergraduate and graduate), Burris Laboratory School, and the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities.
Sponsored Projects Administration and The Graduate School at Ball State University would like to extend our congratulations to all the participants of this year’s Student Symposium.
We are delighted that 84 students were flexible as we moved the annual event to a virtual Canvas Community.
The Student Symposium was held, virtually, from April 15 – May 1. Participants loaded their presentations from the 15-22, and judging began on April 27.
The 2020 Award Winners:
Rachel Ling, Undergraduate Student, School of Nursing, College of Health
Project Title: Teaching Chemistry with Napoleon
Funded by Provost Startup Award
Faculty Mentor: Jason Ribblett & Courtney Stanford, College of Sciences and Humanities
Debbie Mattson*, Undergraduate Student, Landscape Architecture
Project Title: On the Nature of Healing: A Fractal Setting for Pediatric Trauma Therapy
Faculty Mentor: Malcolm Cairns, R. Wayne Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning
Sarah Mueller*, Undergraduate Student, Nutrition & Health Science
Project Title: Food intake and nutrition status among refugees living in refugee camps
Funded by a Digital Scholar Lab Faculty Fellowship
Faculty Mentor: Mengxi Zhang, College of Health
Xinye Wu, Graduate Student, School of Kinesiology
Project Title: Clinical Gait Analysis in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Funded by departmental support
Faculty Mentor: Henry Wang, College of Health
Cristina Perez-Herrera, Graduate Student, Chemistry
Project Title: Development and Application of a Versatile Assay System for the Detection of Rieske Dioxygenase Activity
Funded by Provost Startup Award
Faculty Mentor: Jordan Froese, College of Sciences & Humanities
Jessica Harvey, Graduate Student, Speech Pathology & Audiology
Project Title: Music Exposure Levels on Campus
Faculty Mentor: Lynn Bielski, College of Health
The Student Symposium accepts poster presentation entries and is open to any student from Ball State University (undergraduate and graduate), Burris Laboratory School, and the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities.
Keep an eye out for registration materials for next year in January 2021. Email stusymposium@bsu.edu for more information.
Registration is closed.
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Frequently Asked Questions
All Ball State students from all disciplines are eligible and encouraged to participate. That includes graduate and undergraduate students and those from Burris Laboratory School and the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities.
Yes. However, due to space constraints, one project can only have up to four presenters (one primary and three co-presenters).
Students are allowed to be a primary presenter on only one project, but can be a co-presenter on other projects. However, consider that it may be difficult for an individual to adequately participate in presenting multiple projects.
Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) provides poster boards (4ft x 4ft) to any student. However, due to limited resources, there is a limit of one per project on a first-come first-serves basis. Please check the appropriate box on the registration form to reserve a board.
That is fine, as long as that research was not presented in a previous Symposium.
The work does not have to be completed as long as a reasonable presentation can be made that conveys the essential aspects of the project.
You must have a substantive understanding of and/or involvement in the concept and methodology of the project, and your faculty mentor must agree to your presenting it.
A faculty mentor is any Ball State faculty member who has knowledge of your research or creative efforts and may have offered direction, advised, or intellectual leadership regarding your project.
He or she may be a thesis adviser, class professor, project coordinator, or any academic professional who has had a hand in helping you shape your study or creative activity.
A funder or sponsor is any external or internal source of support that supplied funding through a grant award.
Examples include: the ASPiRE Internal Grant Program, an Honors College Undergraduate Fellowship, the Indiana Academy of Science, and the Indiana Campus Compact.
External funding is not required to present at the Student Symposium.
Please choose ONE department that best matches the subject matter of your submitted project, or choose your faculty mentor’s department.
If your project is most closely aligned with a center or institute, or an interdisciplinary program, indicate the name in the appropriate location.
A confirmation email will be sent to the primary presenter that will include the details of your registration.
If the primary presenter does not receive this email within two business days, please contact Linda Swartz or call our office at 765-285-1600.
Student presenters are encouraged to dress in the manner that best represents them as scholars and professionals.
Business casual is strongly recommended. Students are reminded that they will be presenting to an audience of their peers, faculty mentors, University administrators, and members of the community.
It is the responsibility of the presenters to reserve/provide/bring any special equipment for projects.
Media equipment can be reserved through individual departments or through Educational Technology and Resources Collection, located in the basement of Bracken Library.
If you need access to an outlet, please specify this on the registration form so that your project is placed appropriately. You will need to provide your own surge protector.
All effort should be made to submit complete and accurate information when registering. Changes made after the submission deadline may not be reflected in final Symposium materials.
Yes. You may withdraw after registering. Email stusymposium@bsu.edu as soon as possible.
Please remember that registration for the Student Symposium is a professional commitment. If you think you will not be able to attend, do not register.
Unfortunately, we are not able to field these requests due to the short time frame to tally the scores and the volume of applicants.
Yes. The program will be available in limited supply after the Symposium. Please contact our office by email or 765-285-1600 to request a copy.
Yes! The Student Symposium is a public event - the more the merrier!
You are particularly encouraged to invite faculty members from your department.