Undergraduate Research Day (URD) provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to present and discuss the outstanding research they have conducted at Florida State University. It is held each year toward the end of spring semester. This year, it will be held on Friday, April 20th, 2012, which is the last day of classes. It is tentatively scheduled to begin at 10:30 AM and end by 1:30 PM. It will include a poster session and a series of talks, as well as an awards ceremony and informal luncheon.

URD will start with an hour-long Poster Session. During the Poster session, students will present a written summary of their study in a large poster, including tables and/or graphs. Attendees will have the opportunity to walk around the room where each of the posters will be displayed, read about each of the studies, and have informal discussions with the presenters. This will be a great opportunity for students to present their Honors Thesis projects, highly involved DIS work, or outstanding course lab projects. Presenters need to submit the abstract for their poster by Monday, April 9th at noon to the Psychology Advising Office (A209). There will be a cash award ($100) given by Psi Chi for the best poster. (See link to the "Poster Session" for more detailed instructions)

The poster session will be followed by lunch, during which we will have the Howard Baker Research Talks & Awards Ceremony. This has been an important annual event in our department for many years. Participating students submit a paper (15 pages maximum) and present a brief talk about their research study (5-8 minutes, depending on how many presenters there are), while attendees enjoy an informal luncheon. Cash prizes are awarded for the best papers submitted: 1st place ($300), 2nd place ($200), and 3rd place ($100). Papers (not abstracts) need to be submitted by Monday, April 9th at noon to the Psychology Advising Office (A209). (See link to the "Howard Baker Research Award" for detailed instructions.)

Students are free to present the same study as both a poster and Howard Baker talk. We encourage students to present in both formats to get the professional experience. However, students will only be eligible for one award. Non-psychology majors whose research was conducted in a psychology lab are strongly encouraged to present their research at URD for both the professional experience and recognition, although only psychology majors will be eligible for cash awards. Students from the Panama City Campus also are encouraged to present.