CSU Student Research Competition
The 38th Annual CSU Student Research Competition
The CSU Student Research Competition is held to promote excellence in undergraduate and graduate research, scholarly and creative activity by recognizing outstanding student accomplishments throughout the twenty-three campuses of the California State University. Each campus may select up to 10 entries to send to the final round, which will be held at Cal Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo Friday, April 26th and Saturday, April 27th, 2024.
Who May Apply
Who May Apply
Undergraduate or graduate students currently enrolled at Humboldt as well as alumni/alumnae who received their degrees from Humboldt in Spring, Summer, or Fall 2024 are eligible. A small team of students making a single presentation counts as a single entry.
To be considered at the Humboldt level, a student will need to submit a written summary of their presentation. The rules governing the written summary are as follows:
The summary must include the name(s) of the student(s) and the title of the presentation.
The narrative may not exceed one single-spaced page.
Appendices (bibliography, graphs, photographs, or other supplementary materials) may not exceed three pages.
Research that has human or animal subjects involvement must have an appropriate institutional review. The approval letter must be included.
Presentations from all disciplines are invited. The ten categories are:
• Behavioral and Social Sciences
• Biological and Agricultural Sciences
• Business, Economics, and Public Administration
• Creative Arts and Design (creative projects: see "Competition Guidelines")
• Education
• Engineering and Computer Science
• Health, Nutrition, and Clinical Sciences
• Humanities and Letters
• Physical and Mathematical Sciences
• Interdisciplinary
Each written Summary submitted to Humboldt will be judged on the following:
• Clarity of purpose
• Appropriateness of methodology
• Interpretation of results
• Value of the research or creative activity
• Organization of the material presented
Proposals are due by January 19th, 2024, by 11:59 pm and must be submitted through InfoReady.
For even more information about the Student Research Competition, please contact Sam Caudill, Executive Support Coordinator, Humboldt Sponsored Programs Foundation, at (707) 826-5167.
How to Apply
How to Apply
Students must register for the competition via the CSU Student Research Competition 2024 Registration Form by Wednesday, January 31st, 2024 end-of-day.
Humboldt has appointed a campus coordinator and developed procedures for selecting student delegates to the CSU system-wide competition. The Humboldt campus coordinators are Sam Caudill, Executive Support Coordinator and Kacie Flynn, Executive Director, Research & Sponsored Programs. Interested students should contact their campus coordinators for more information. Only students endorsed by the campus coordinators can enter the system wide competition. The campus coordinators will submit a list of students who have been selected for the system wide competition to CSUresearchcomp2024@calpoly.edu by Wednesday, March 13th, 2024.
To be considered at the Humboldt level, a student will need to submit a written summary of their presentation. The written summary must be submitted to the Office of Research by 11:59pm, January 19, 2024. The rules governing the written summary are as follows:
1. The summary must include the name(s) of the student(s) and the title of the presentation.
2. The written narrative should
a. Utilize a font size of 10 or above
b. Have margins of at least 0.75”
c. Should be a minimum of one page and not exceed two pages in total (1-2 pages)
3. Appendices (bibliography, graphs, photographs, or other supplementary materials) are optional, may not exceed three pages total, and will be uploaded separately from the written narrative.
4. All research must comply with all applicable policies and regulations. Research that involves human or animal subjects must have the appropriate institutional review.
Each written Summary submitted to Humboldt will be judged on the following five criteria:
• Clarity of purpose
• Appropriateness of methodology
• Interpretation of results
• Value of the research or creative activity
• Organization of the material presented
Please see the Scoring Rubric with details for scoring the five criteria.
If a student’s work is selected by Humboldt for presentation in the system-wide competition, the campus coordinator will submit the student’s name, email address, and written summary to Cal Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Students will then be contacted by the campus coordinator so they may fill out the Student Delegate Registration Form with demographic and contact information. Students selected will also need to provide a photo for the Humboldt Outstanding Student Awards Ceremony.
Only those students endorsed by the Humboldt coordinators will have access to the system-wide competition. Sponsored Programs Foundation will pay approved travel costs for each student selected to represent Humboldt in the statewide competition.
Competition Guidelines
Competition Guidelines
Those students selected by Humboldt will proceed to the system-wide competition at Cal Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and will be required to do an oral presentation on Friday, April 26th or Saturday, April 27th, 2024.
The Humboldt coordinator will be notified in writing by the Cal Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo steering committee of the times of their student delegates’ presentations, local hotel and transportation options, and program details.
Students will present their work orally before a jury and an audience. Students will compete by discipline category and, where feasible, by class standing (undergraduate/graduate), as described above in “Who May Apply.” There will be separate undergraduate and graduate divisions for each of the categories (unless a division has four or fewer entrants, in which case undergraduate and graduate divisions may be combined).
Each student will have ten minutes for an oral presentation of his or her work and five minutes to listen and respond to juror and audience questions. All entrants may use audiovisual materials as appropriate, and presenters are encouraged to use delivery techniques that promote interaction with the audience. Entrants in the Creative Arts and Design category may present an audio and/or visual record of a performance they have given or a work they have created; their oral presentation should focus on the rationale and historical context underlying their interpretation of the material.
Each entry (oral presentation plus written summary) will be judged on the following:
• Clarity of purpose
• Appropriateness of methodology
• Interpretation of results
• Value of the research or creative activity
• Ability of the presenter to articulate the research or creative activity
• Organization of the material presented
• Presenter’s ability to handle questions from the jury and general audience
It is expected that student presenters will not make oral presentations by simply reading directly from the written summary.
Awards
Awards
Based on the recommendations of the jurors, cash awards will be provided to the outstanding presenter and the runner-up in both the undergraduate and graduate divisions of each category. If the undergraduate and graduate divisions of a category have been combined awards will be provided to the outstanding presenter and the runner-up without regard to class standing. In the event there are five or fewer presenters in a session, only the outstanding presenter will receive an award.
Questions
Questions
More information about the competition can be found at Cal Poly’s 2024 CSU Research Competition website. Student questions should be directedto the local campus coordinators Sam Caudill, Executive Support Coordinator and Kacie Flynn, Executive Director, Research & Sponsored Programs. Coordinators may contact CSUresearchcomp2024@calpoly.edu with any questions.
