How to Submit - Celebration of Student Scholarship

Registration and Statement of Work (Abstracts)

Deadline: Friday, March 28, 2025, 11:59 p.m.

**Statement of work submissions received after the above deadline will not be included in the event program or event proceedings.

• An information session focused on presenting your work will be held at noon on Friday, March 14.
• Other workshops will be announced.

Final Products

Final Products will be in one of five categories: 

• Publication, artistic, and "product" displays: Scholarly products such as chapbooks and zines, written essays and flash-fiction, or paintings and scultures are put on display for viewing.
• Oral Presentations: Scholarly or research presentations that may include visuals (some restrictions apply). Types of presentations include traditional oral presentations (10-15 minutes), ignite presentations (3-5 minutes), panel/discussion/interdisciplinary presentations (up to 20 minutes).
• Film/Video: Scholarly films and videos can be the final product themselves or a recording that shows or discusses the process of creating a creative work or completing a research project. Entries can be five (5) to twenty (20) minutes long.
• Performance: Artists present their scholarship of artwork by executing a dance or an instrumental or lighting performance on stage.
• Posters: Scholarly work in all subjects will be eligible for presentation via posters. A physical poster is required for this submission type; go to BEACON or CURAH for assistance in creating your poster, and see the Format Requirements and Poster Printing sections below for furter guidance.

Submissions of abstracts and statements of work are allowed until Friday, March 28th, 2025, 11:59 p.m.

**Submissions received after the above deadline will not be included in the event program or in event proceedings, and they may not be able to be included in Celebration.

Abstracts should:

• Clearly state the research question, hypothesis, or central purpose of the project.
• Provide relevant context and a brief description of the research design and methodology
• Briefly discuss how the work demonstrates significant or a unique contribution to the field.
• State conclusions or expected results.
• Include text only. (No images or graphics.)
• Be well-organized and proofread for errors.
• Be an organized work created solely by the author(s).

Statements of Work should:

• Briefly describe the work and its purpose.
• Provide relevant context and a brief description of the creation process.
• Briefly describe how the work presents a significant or unique contribution in its field.
• Discuss what response and/or learning is expected from the viewer/listener, and what the author learned in the process of creation.
• Include text only. (No images or graphics.)
• Be well-organized and proofread for errors.
• Be an organized work created solely by the author(s).

Other formatting guidelines:

• References may be included but are not required.
• The submission form will not process all formatting and special characters (e.g., scientific symbols). Use plain text format in your writing.
  • Suggestion: Paste your statement of work or abstract into a simple text editor like Notepad, to remove formatting; then, copy and paste from the text editor into the submission form.
• The word limit is 250 words. 

Have the following information available when submitting your abstract or statement of work:

• Name and email address for each faculty mentor and co-author, as well as the academic major and degree program for each co-author.
• Presentation type: Poster, Artistic and "Product" displays (e.g., piece of art, publication, chapbooketc.), Presentation, Film/Video, Performance
• Field of study.
• One abstract or statement of work is permitted per primary author. There is no limit on the number of abstracts or statements of work submitted by co-authors.
• Note: The title and author(s) of your abstract or statement of work will appear EXACTLY as they are entered in the submission form. Please proofread for correct punctuation and spelling before submitting. Capitalize your title.
• For abstracts: This slide set provides a quick overview of, and tips about, writing an abstract. Contact your research mentor or the NMU Writing Center for help writing an effective abstract. 

All scholarly work must meet submission requirements. Please see the guidelines below to ensure your submitted work meets the requirements. Note that some restrictions will apply in all categories.

In the past, this event was limited to research posters and 10-minute oral presentations; this year, we are expanding categories to represent as many different students from across campus as possible. In addition to the traditional posters and presentations, we are opening Celebration to other formats, including film and video, readings, round tables, performances, publications, artistic displays, and more. As Celebration recognizes and celebrates all of the scholarly work across Northern Michigan University's campus, judging of posters will no longer take place as a component of this event.

Questions should be directed to studentcelebrate@nmu.edu

Posters

• Poster submissions can be either 48" (wide) x 36" (high) OR 24" (wide) by 36" (high). You can visit BEACON or CURAH for assistance in creating your poster.
• If you submit a poster, you should be prepared to discuss your work, including your process, findings, methods and research design.
• Download a template for the 48" x 36" PowerPoint slide. You are not required to use this template, but please note that your PowerPoint canvas size must be 48" x 36" OR 24" by 36".
• For poster printing options, see information below.

Oral Presentations

• Students should select a group or individual oral presentation. The types of presentations include:
  • Traditional oral presentations, readings, case studies, and more (10-15 minutes)
  • Ignite presentations (3-5 minutes)
  • Panel/discussion/interdisciplinary presentations (up to 20 minutes).
• Do not feel restricted to the above. As long as the presentation is between 5 and 20 minutes, you may submit it.
• Use of visuals for your presentation is not required, but recommended. Visuals can be a slideshow but can also be other things, such as an item related to your scholarship, movements exemplifying your topic, and more. Visuals will improve your presentation quality and the viewers' experience.
• For oral presentations submitted as recordings, please select the Film/Video Format Type below.

Performances 

• Performances include such things as theatre, music, and art performances.
• Since some performances require large or specifically designed spaces and their duration can vary substantially, we ask that you please contact us at studentcelebrate@nmu.edu if you are planning a performance. Discussing your performance needs with us early on will help realize it.
• If you prefer to use a video to present your performance, we suggest you follow the Film/Video Format Type requirements below.

Publication, artistic & "Product" Displays

• Products include works of art such as paintings, sculptures, and audioscapes, as well as written work like chapbooks, zines, essays, and flash fiction. These, and more, can me submitted.
• When you submit your Statement of Work, you will be asked to provide specifications (e.g., size, weight) of the work, as well as details of how it should be displayed. Note that space limitations may restrict some forms of display. Please contact studentcelebrate@nmu.edu before submitting your Statement of Work if you have questions.

Film/Video

• Scholarly films and videos can be the final product themselves or a recording that discusses the process of creating a theater costume or completing a research project. Entries can be up to twenty (20) minutes long.

Please follow this link to print your poster. NMU Printing Services will print and deliver your poster to the event venue. 

FREE printing for posters: be sure to upload your poster to Printing Services by Monday, April 7 @ 5 p.m. Students will be required to pick up their posters from Printing Services and deliver them to Jamrich from 1-4pm on Wednesday, April 16. Of course, you may choose to print posters yourself.

All students will be responsible for delivering their poster to Jamrich on Wednesday, April 16 between 1pm and 4pm.

To be included in the Celebration of Student Scholarship program, you must submit your scope of work or abstract by the March 28, 2025 deadline AND deliver your final poster on April 16, the day before the event date. The deadlines allow for adequate time for event preparation. Posters are not required when you register (i.e., the March 28th deadline is only for the abstract).

**Posters received after the above deadlines will not be included in the event program or in event proceedings, and they may not be able to be included in the Celebration.

Workshop Dates

Abstract Preparation Workshops:

Friday, March 14th at 2 p.m. on Zoom, with a general focus for all researchers

Tuesday, March 18th at 10 a.m. in Jamrich 1313, for arts and humanities students

Thursday, March 20th at noon in The Science Building 3803, for science students

Poster Design Workshops:

Presentation Skills Workshops: