The 14th annual UNC Charlotte Graduate Research Symposium (GRS), a showcase of graduate student research organized by the Graduate and Professional Student Government, will be Saturday, March 22.
Open to master’s and doctoral students in all disciplines, the symposium is divided into three tracks: physical and natural sciences, health and education and humanities and social sciences. These tracks help organize the abstracts and assist with judging assignments, although participants, judges, and volunteers may be exposed to new and unfamiliar topics. Therefore, accepted participants are required to make their research accessible to individuals outside of their disciplines; it is a judging criteria during the review process and a hallmark of this event.
Faculty and staff are encouraged to promote the Graduate Research Symposium to students. Saturday, Feb. 15, is the deadline to submit abstracts online. A $1,000 cash prize will be awarded for first place oral presentations in each category and a $500 cash prize for first place poster presentations.
Sabrina Speights, a doctoral student in organizational psychology, and Michael Gallemore, a master’s student in Latin American Studies, are co-chairs for this year’s symposium. They note the goal of the symposium is to honor and celebrate graduate student research of all types, while encouraging interdisciplinary learning in a safe environment.
Although the GRS is graduate student focused, faculty involvement through encouraging student participation, through volunteering as judges during the event and through support during planning is imperative, said Speights, who added that because the GRS is student-run, organizers rely on support from the Graduate School, Center for Graduate Life and the Charlotte Research Institute to make the event a success.