Undergraduate Research Forum
The Undergraduate Research Forum (URF) provides all Alfred University undergraduate students with an opportunity to showcase their scholarship and creative activity. Held each spring, the URF brings together an intellectual community of highly motivated students to share their work with faculty, staff, peers, and external audiences. The URF provides a unique educational opportunity for aspiring researchers. AU undergraduates gain experience in presenting their research and answer questions about their work from audience members and guests.
All stages of research and creative scholarship are welcomed -- from preliminary to capstone projects and everywhere in between! Research and creative activity conducted during courses, internship, Education Abroad, or community-based participatory research are also accepted. Work conducted during any semester (fall, spring, and summer) may be submitted for presentation at URF. Research is a process. Share with the university community where you are in that process when you present at the URF.
Students will have the opportunity to present their work in the form of a poster presentation at the forum. All currently enrolled Alfred University undergraduate students who are engaged in original work are eligible to participate. Those that received an undergraduate degree in the December immediately prior to URF are also eligible to participate.
2026 Undergraduate Research Forum
Thursday, April 23, 2026
Joyce & Walton Wellness Center - McLane Annex
5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
For more information on AU's Undergraduate Research Forum, please contact Shannon Yocum.
All completed abstract submission forms are due by 5 p.m. on April 8, 2026.
To help students prepare for the Undergraduate Research Forum, the AU Writing Center is offering a series of workshops on preparing and presenting academic posters:
Writing an Abstract
Thursday, April 2, 2026, 12:20 to 1:10 p.m., Scholes Library Ground Floor (G03)
Learn what should be included in an abstract and how to format one for submission to the URF or to an academic conference.
Poster Design
Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 4 to 5:30 p.m., Scholes Library Ground Floor (G03)
Learn the dos and don'ts of poster design and get feedback on your poster before printing for the URF. Students may drop-in to get feedback on their poster designs throughout this session.
Presenting an Academic Poster
Thursday, April 16, 2026, 5 to 7 p.m., Powell Campus Center Kenyon-Allen Room
This workshop will cover delivery, responding to questions, and dealing with anxiety. Attendees will also have the opportunity to practice presenting their posters and get feedback. Students should have access to their poster as a PowerPoint file on a USB drive for the practice presentations; posters do not need to be finalized for this session.
An abstract is a short summary of the project and should reflect the professional format normally associated with scholarly work in the discipline. It offers a brief synopsis of the purpose and primary ideas of the project. Different disciplines call for slightly different approaches to abstracts. For example, an abstract in the arts may be written as a short artist’s statement. An abstract of social science or scientific work may contain the background, purpose, results, and contents of the work. In human studies, abstracts typically contain a thesis, background, and conclusion.
The abstract provides a snapshot that captures a reader's attention and--although it can stand alone as a representation of the project--invites readers to learn more by viewing your poster.
If you have any questions on where to start, what are the guideline for writing an abstract, and are there examples, please refer to the URF Abstract Guidelines and Examples handout.
"How to Write an Abstract," by Philip Koopman, Carnegie Mellon University
The Writing Center is available by appointment or during drop-in hours to help with all stages of preparing your abstract, from putting it together to reviewing for clarity and grammar.
Guidelines to Submit an Abstract
- Abstracts must be submitted electronically by filling out the abstract submission form after obtaining the approval of your faculty sponsor.
- Only the primary presenter should submit an abstract. Abstracts will not be accepted from advisors.
- Please use Times New Roman 12 pt. font.
- Abstract should be no more than 250 words (including title, etc.).
- Title of the work must be in capitals.
- First name, middle initial and last name of the presenters.
All completed abstract submission forms are electronically due by 5:00 p.m. on April 8, 2026.
Research posters represent a common method for presenting scholarly work at conferences and forums. They often combine visual and textual content, such as tables, graphs, images and citations, to convey information succinctly and engagingly with participants.
You may use PowerPoint (to create a single slide) to create your poster. Instructions can be found at Poster Making in PowerPoint.
Posters for the Undergraduate Research Forum will use a standard size of 32" x 36". Note that this is a different size than posters for most professional academic conferences.
Templates are available to help you with poster design, layout, and formatting. It is recommended, but not required, that you use one of these templates at least as a starting point for your poster. The only requirement for URF posters is that the dimensions are 32" x 36".
Information about Alfred University branding, colors, logos, wordmarks, fonts, etc. is available in the Alfred University Brand Style Guide.
The poster template files include the Alfred University wordmark; you may wish to swap this out for the wordmark for your academic unit/school (ex: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences). You must use a .svg image file for this -- images copy/pasted from the website or another source will be fuzzy when printed at poster size. Unit-level wordmarks for URF posters are available here.
URF Poster Template Files
Guidelines for Printing a Poster
Student posters can be printed on campus by scheduling a printing time during the week before the event.
The cost of printing a poster (on campus) for the 2026 Undergraduate Research Forum will be covered by the Provost's Office.
Printing for CLAS, COB, & SOAD students
- Schedule a printing appointment (Science Center 212)
- Posters should be saved as a PPT or PDF and should be 32" x 36"
- Recommended font size is 28 or greater
- Fill out the Poster Printing Information Form
- The poster printing information (PPI) for contains more information about the poster printing: acceptable dimensions, paper type, and payment options. This needs to be completed and sent with your poster to Nicole Munkwitz before arriving at your scheduled printing time.
Printing for SOE students
- Schedule a printing appointment (Seidlin Annex)
- Posters should be 32" x 36"
- After scheduling an appointment, email Josiah Alexander your Poster pptx file including your name and Day / Time Slot!