Faculty: Nominate Student Research for the CSU Student Research Competition AY 2016-2017

The CSU Student Research Competition (SRC) is the premier student research showcase in the CSU. Students from all 23 campuses compete to have their research recognized . Awards range up to $500 for winning projects. Undergraduate and Graduate students are eligible to participate in the SRC. Each CSU campus is allowed up to 10 projects. Projects can be individually or multiply authored.

The AY 2016-2017 Competition will take place April 28-29 at Cal Poly SLO. Faculty should use THIS LINK to nominate student projects for campus consideration.

At CI, the Student Research Advisory Committee (SRAC) is responsible for choosing the projects that represent CI at the SRC. Selections are made in two rounds.

SRC 2016-2017 Timeline

SRC abstracts for non-IRLC-applicants due November 21^st
SRC notifications to non-IRLC-applicants by December 2^nd
Complete research summaries (all students) due by February 10^th
Notification of selection by February 17^th
Complete submission of research summaries by March 10^th

First Round

Student projects are nominated by faculty. In the first round, we request an abstract describing the research. The purpose of this round is to determine whether the project represents disciplinary standards of “research.” Projects presented at the SRC are more than “term papers;” they are original research of extraordinarily high quality. Projects that appear to meet the standard of “research” are approved for a second round submission.

Only FACULTY can submit initial proposals.

Second Round

In February students must submit a five-page research summary. The format of the summary is prescribed by the SRC.

The research summary must adhere to the following guidelines:

It is limited to 5 pages of text, double-spaced.
Three additional pages are allowed for a bibliography, figures, tables, and/or graphics
Student authors should keep in mind that they are writing for an interdisciplinary audience

The 5-page summary is judged by panels including a subcommittee composed of members of the SRAC, with the assistance of faculty drawn from other disciplines.

Panels use the first six of the SRC’s categories assigning each project a score within each category (see scoring rubric below). They then summarize feedback providing anonymous comments for the students and faculty advisors.

The SRSC determines the CI team, taking into account: 1) the panels’ assessments of the research summaries and 2) the goal of fielding a team that is broadly representative of academic disciplines.

Competition Categories