For more than twenty-nine years the Student Symposium at Ball State University has provided students with the opportunity to present their creative and scholarly projects while competing for cash prizes and gaining valuable insight from faculty and staff judges from across the University.
The Symposium encourages interdisciplinary discourse, allowing students to learn from each other about engaging topics. The symposium also provides an opportunity for student participants to discuss their work with a broad audience 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.
Hear from some of our participants:
"The Student Symposium was a great experience for me because it gave me a way to be professional and also put my research out there to my faculty and my friends. It’s a really fun way for people to present the work they’ve been doing throughout the semester."
- Phillip Oechsle, Senior, Anthropology
“The Student Symposium gave me the opportunity to present my work and get feedback from people and also it was really nice seeing other people get interested in my work… come showcase your work because it’s worth seeing!”
- Olamide Ayeni, Graduate Student, Environmental Science
“Being here at the Symposium is super, super amazing. I love being involved and around all the other students who are also super passionate about [their research]. My best advice to you is to just get out there, have that hunger, do what you need to do and you’ll get ahead one way or another.”
- Angel Esquivel Vazquez, Freshman, Biology and Chemistry, Teacher-Scholar Program
About the Student Symposium Awards
Keys / Litten / Smith Awards for Undergraduate Student Achievement
The Keys/Litten/Smith awards were established in memory of Dr. Linda Keys, Mr. Jeffrey Litten, and Ms. Sandra Smith who worked in SPA (then the Office of Academic Research and Sponsored Programs) for a combined thirty years.
Linda, Jeff, and Sandi were great cheerleaders for the Student Symposium and all-around supporters of student engagement in Research Projects. Accordingly, the awards recognize participants for their outstanding research or creative endeavors presented at the Student Symposium.
Dr. James & Betsy Pyle Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Science
The James & Betsy Pyle award was established in 2022 in honor of James Pyle, former Assistant Vice President for Research in the Office of Academic Research and Sponsored Programs (OARSP).
The Graduate School at Ball State University: Graduate Student Excellence
In 2019, the Graduate School at Ball State University became an official partner of the Student Symposium and sponsors the Graduate Student awards.
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