Presenting Your Research

Presenting Your Research Presenting Your Research

Sharing your research is a great way to show what work you’ve done, get feedback on a project, practice communication skills, and network with other scholars. As undergraduate researchers this will most often be done in a conference, workshop, or showcase as a poster presentation or an oral presentation (a talk). Exhibitions or performances combined with an artist's talk may be more appropriate if working in the creative disciplines.

CSURF encourages students to present their work both on- and off-campus. Make sure to share these experiences on your LinkedIn profile, resume, and social media. They are a great way to start conversations with potential employers.

Note that you do not need a completed project to present at many conferences! Presenting works in progress are a great way to get feedback and practice presenting. Oftentimes, these in-progress presentations are more interesting because you have likely uncovered more mysteries than you have solved!

Here we list some great options for presenting but students should consult with their research mentors for discipline-specific options. At the end will be some references for publishing.

Best practices for posters and presentations

Getting posters printed through CSURF

On Campus

Showcase of Student Research and Creativity

This campus-wide event is held at the end of the Fall and Spring semesters on the UNCW main campus. All students (undergraduate and graduate) from all disciplines are invited to present their research or creative project as a poster, an oral presentation, an exhibit, or a performance. Everyone, including the public, are invited to talk to the students and learn about the research being done on campus.

Friday November 20 2026 UNCW Library Discovery Hall, 1-3pm

Saturday April 24 2027 UNCW Library, 1pm-4pm

If you are having your poster printed through CSURF, the deadline with be April 12 1159pm. Specific instructions will be emailed to you after the abstract submission deadline passes.

Deadlines to register your presentation will be made available shortly. If you are presenting a poster and need it printed through CSURF, make sure to keep an eye out for an email with the specific instructions following the close of registration.

Abstracts from previous Showcases:

Fall 2025 Abstract Book
Spring 2025 Abstract Book
Fall 2024 Abstract Book
Spring 2024 Abstract Book
Fall 2023 Abstract Book
Spring 2023 Abstract Book
Fall 2022 Abstract Book (The Fall 2022 Showcase was held in conjunction with the 2022 SNCURCS Conference)

College of Health and Human Services Research and Innovation Day

Each Spring, the College of Health and Human Services holds Health and Human Services Week. This typically includes Research and Innovation Day at the start of the week. R&I Day includes talks by professors and a poster session by undergraduate and graduate students. This is a great way to share your research, not just with your peers and UNCW professors, but with community partners. Questions regarding this week can be directed to engageCHHS@uncw.edu.

Off Campus

SNCURCS (State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research & Creativity Symposium)

November 7 2026, University of North Carolina Charlotte (co-hosted with Central Piedmont Community College)
Open to all undergraduate researchers, all disciplines
CSURF will pay registration fees and cover some travel expenses. More info coming soon.

National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR)

April 12-16, Grand Rapids MI
Hosted by the Council on Undergraduate Research and open to undergraduate students in all disciplines. Often includes a Future Fair dedicated to graduate programs and employers.
CSURF will pay registration fees if you tell Dr. Liu you are applying and list her as the Campus Coordinator on the application

Richard Macksey National Undergraduate Humanities Research Symposium

March 2027, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD
Students working in History, History of Art, History of Science/Medicine, English, Foreign Language and Literature, Media Studies, Philosophy, Classics, Religious Studies, and humanities tracks within interdisciplinary programs are invited to submit abstracts for 7-10 minute talks. There are opportunities to work with editors one-on-one to prepare papers for publication in the Macksey Journal.
Applications open in early September and tend to close early December. More info here: https://krieger.jhu.edu/ursca/macksey-symposium/apply/
CSURF will pay the registration fees if you tell Dr. Liu you are applying

North Carolina Academy of Sciences Annual Meeting