2024 Undergraduate Exhibition applications open

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State undergraduates from all campuses are invited to participate in the 2024 Undergraduate Exhibition for Research, Inquiry, and Creative Activity. The virtual exhibition will be open April 15-17, with an in-person component at the University Park campus on Wednesday, April 17. 

Students can participate using a traditional research poster, five-minute oral presentation or a five-minute performance. Students can also participate in the Engagement Experience Poster Exhibition, which invites students to present posters highlighting and reflecting on student engagement achievements.   

New for 2024, music students can participate in the “Evening of Creative Inquiry in Music” starting at 7:30 p.m. April 17 at the University Park campus. The location will be shared closer to the event. 

“Undergraduates from the School of Music will cover a range of research topics, from examining music students' perceptions on digital learning technologies and showcasing foreign art songs to investigating contemporary musicians’ influence on urban music culture,” said Jacob Holster, lecturer of music education at the Penn State School of Music, College of Arts and Architecture. 

All participants (with the exception of those participating in the "Evening of Creative Inquiry in Music") will present in the virtual Undergraduate Exhibition through the Symposium platform. Space for the optional in-person component of the exhibition is limited and will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. More information about the in-person event will be available later in the spring semester. Performances and oral presentations can only be submitted to the virtual portion of the exhibition and are not available for the in-person component.  

Applications for the 2024 Undergraduate Exhibition are open now and available here. The deadline to apply is Monday, March 11. 

About the Undergraduate Exhibition   

Hundreds of Penn State undergraduate students share their creative or academic work through presentations, performances or posters each year at the Undergraduate Exhibition. Each student will be judged by faculty and prizes will be awarded for top presentations.  This year, the Rock Ethics Institute will sponsor a brand-new award to presenters. 

Presentations are a great option for students whose disciplines do not use traditional posters to present scholarly work. These are to be recorded as videos of a maximum of five minutes long per presenter or group of presenters.   

Performances also will be recorded in video form and can be music, writing, poetry reading, dance, theater and other displays.   

The traditional poster is the most popular way to convey research. There are five different poster-judging categories: arts and humanities (including visual arts), engineering, health and life sciences, physical sciences, and social and behavioral sciences.   

Students may enter course-based projects, research or creative work that was completed as part of a class assignment.    

Preparing for the Undergraduate Exhibition 

For many students, the Penn State Undergraduate Exhibition is their first opportunity to participate in an academic exhibition. To help prepare, University Libraries will offer the “Designing and Creating Effective Research Posters” workshop at 3:30 p.m. March 20 via Zoom. Register for the research poster workshop in advance. 

Undergraduates can also attend the Graduate Exhibition 2024 on Friday, March 22, to get a better understanding of academic exhibitions.  Reseach poster, design and visual arts exhibitors will present from 1 to 4 p.m. in the HUB-Robeson Center, with visual arts exhibitions on display in the HUB Gallery from March 18 to April 14. The Graduate Exhibition Performance Night will be held in the Music Building from 7 to 9 p.m. on March 22. 

The Undergraduate Exhibition is coordinated by Penn State Undergraduate Education.