Academic Showcase
Value of Showcase Participation
Begun in 1997, the College Park Scholars Academic Showcase provides sophomore Scholars the opportunity to develop and enhance two particular skills:
Digital Presentation – through the development of a digitally developed poster presentation; and
Oral Presentation – through interaction with fellow students, campus faculty and administrators, about your practicum research, internship or service-learning project.
In addition, the Showcase provides students the opportunity to network with campus administrators and faculty, who direct national scholarships, oversee departmental honors programs, and invite undergraduates to participate in their research. Finally, Showcase participation provides students the opportunity to mentor first-year Scholars about research, internship and service-learning opportunities, and model the presentation skills they have developed.
Student Participant Information
Engage the UM community with your Scholars practicum projects! The 13th College Park Scholars Academic Showcase is scheduled for the afternoon of Friday, May 1st, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. in the Cambridge Community Center.
In 2008, all students in the Discovery, and Library of Congress Research courses, showcased their work, along with sophomores in the Life Sciences, Earth, Life & Time, and Science, Discovery & the Universe, International Studies, Public Leadership and Advocates for Children programs. All sophomores are invited to participate.
To register:
Students are asked to register by logging online at:
College Park Scholars 13th Annual Academic Showcase Online Registration
The deadline to register is Friday, March 13, 2009.
This year, the registration and poster-printing payment process has been streamlined. As you register, information will be provided as to how to pay for the printing of your poster. This year, the printing fee is $40.00 (compared with Kinko’s equivalent charge of $85.00)
Showcase Specifics
All presenters should pick up their posters from their Scholars program directors prior to the Academic Showcase on Friday, May 1, 2009 (Check with your Director to see if other arrangements have been made regarding your posters);
Arrive at the CCC no later than 12:30 pm;
Dress is business casual;
Students will register in front of the CCC (weather permitting). You will receive a nametag, a gift from Scholars commemorating the day, and your room assignment;
The event will formally start with a welcome by the Dean for Undergraduate Studies, Professor Donna Hamilton, and the Provost, Professor Nariman Farvardin, at 1:30 pm;
Take time throughout the afternoon to discuss your projects with visitors. Ask you visitors who they are. (It helps to know your audience You may be talking to someone who coordinates national scholarships for the campus, or directs a departmental honors program);
Take time during the Showcase to review your fellow students’ projects.
Your Digitally Designed Poster
Many of you already have developed this skill. For others, this will be the first time you have digitally developed a poster. This means, put down the scissors, glue and lettering, and open up a PowerPoint screen on your computer. (If you use any other software package to develop your poster, submit it in PDF format, sized as indicated below, to ensure accuracy in printing.)
- Computer generated, using PowerPoint (preferred), or Adobe Illustrator
- Size: Under File > Page Set-up, set your PowerPoint slide to:
- 30” wide x36” high (portrait), or
- 36” wide x 30” high (landscape)
depending on whether there is a landscape or portrait requirement by your Program director.
- Components:
- All posters must have:
- An image of the University of Maryland in the top, left-hand corner.
- A Scholars Sunspot image in the top, right-hand corner.
- Graphics for Posters
- A project title
- Your name and email address
- Your Scholars program (be accurate), and your academic major
- Fonts: A poster should be readable from at least three feet away.
- Use standard fonts (to avoid the inability to print the poster)
- Text should be no smaller than 18-point font; preferably 24-point.
- Headings should be 36-point or higher
- Designers recommend no more than three font types on one document.
- Images/Pictures:
- Do not destroy any image’s aspect ratio. Make sure “Lock aspect ratio” is clicked.
- Do not resize you image so much that you loose resolution. As an example, if your original was only 72 dpi and 3 inches across, then expanding it to 12 inches in width is going to make it 18 dpi: it will definitely look pixilated!
- A three- or five-column layout is pleasing to the eye.
- Label any pictures, graphs or tables.
- Poster projects by project type:
- A research poster, unless otherwise specified by your instructor, should include the following sections:
- research question
- research context
- detailed methodology description
- any limitations of the study
- data collected – tabular, graphic, and/or bulleted text
- analysis of data with findings and conclusions clearly labeled
- suggestions for future research
- materials such as a copy of the questionnaire or interview protocol are not required – but you may include them on your poster if you think they are necessary for telling your research story. An alternate is to place such materials in a binder in front of the poster for visitors to review.
- appropriately cite any references to secondary literature that you include
- appropriately acknowledge those who assisted you with your practicum.
The sections should “flow” in a logical order so that if you are not with your poster, a visitor would be able to follow the steps of the your research process from beginning to end.
- For non-research posters, unless otherwise specified by your instructor, your poster should include the following sections:
- Internship/Service Site: Present the service site, its mission, and contact information for it.
- Issue Confronting Site: Introduce your internship site or the issue confronting your service site that your project addressed.
- Activities: Tell what you did on your internship, or to address the issue confronting the site.
- Impact: Describe the impact that
- your work had for the organization
- That your experience had on you, i.e. adding to your knowledge base, repertoire of skills, attitudes, and outlook.).
- Future work: Describe possible future internships or issues that you may pursue as a result of this practicum.
- Acknowledgments: Acknowledge those who assisted you with your practicum, most of all your site supervisor.
- Check your spelling. Your credibility diminishes significantly if there are typographic errors on your poster. Peer review each others’ posters.
- SAVE As you go along.
- In addition to submitting a copy, make sure you have a backup copy should your submission be lost.
- Duplicate your poster onto a CD or a thumb drive. Mark the CD or thumb drive accurately to reflect your name.
- Poster files should be submitted on CD or Flash Drive (unless otherwise specified) as follows:
- By April 10th
- Discovery (CPSP 318 0101) to Shana Marshall
- Discovery/Library of Congress (CPSP 339W) to Robert Garber
- By April 15th
- ELT to Dr. Tom Holtz
- International Studies to Tony Marcum amarcum@gvpt.umd.edu
- SDU to Dr. Stephen White (submit by email) to white@astro.umd.edu
- STS to Dr. Betsy Mendelsohn
- By April 16th
- Advocates to Jim DeGeorge
- Life Sciences to Becky Zonies Kenemuth
- By April 17th
- Business, Society and the Economy to Claudia Donnelly
- Cultures of the Americas to Delores Phillips
- Media, Self and Society to Dr. Kalyani Chadha
- By April 20th
- Environment, Technology and Economy to Katherine Grover
- Some online resources include:
- Useful Examples
- Prototypes to copy and use:
For more information about the Academic Showcase, please contact:
Greig StewartExecutive Director
College Park Scholars
1125 Cumberland Hall
301-314-2777
gstewart@umd.edu
