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All CSI undergraduate students, whose research/scholarly projects (or works in progress) have been mentored and sponsored by a CSI faculty mentor, are eligible to participate in the conference. Students are welcome to submit abstracts for individual or group projects and may participate in more than one presentation.

Acceptance to present in the conference will be based on the quality and timeliness of the mentor-approved applications.

Highest priority will be given to submissions that are based on original research or in-depth extensions of previous research. While we understand that a conference submission may emerge from a course assignment that your professor might have encouraged you to submit as part of your overall grade, there is no guarantee that your submission will be accepted.

If you have any questions, please email UGConference@csi.cuny.edu.

Application Procedure

  • Notify your faculty mentor that you are interested in presenting your work.
  • Ask for his/her guidance in preparing an abstract (see description below).
  • Submit your abstract using the Online Submission Form by the March 4, 2025 deadline. Be sure to have your faculty mentor review your abstract, before you submit - mentor approval is mandatory for acceptance in the conference.
  • Your mentor will be prompted with a follow-up email to respond to your abstract/application submission by March 6, 2025.
    • If your mentor approves your abstract, you will receive an email confirming approval and the completion of your application.
    • If your mentor does not approve, you will be notified via email and asked to address any modifications with your mentor for resubmission before March 7, 2025.

Abstract Guidelines

An abstract is a concise summary of your project, no more than one or two paragraphs. Abstracts include the reasons for undertaking the work, the methods used, findings and your conclusions. In the case of creative works, describe your project. When appropriate, you should also consider the importance of the work and its applications.

  • Abstracts for this conference should be no longer than one page (250 words in length). Abstracts must be entered as part of the Online Submission Form.
  • It is important that you carefully review your abstract with your mentor for content, spelling, punctuation and grammar before submitting it online.
  • For reference, you may wish to review abstracts from the previous year’s conference: 2024 Undergraduate Conference Program and Abstracts. (Please contact the Office of the Associate Provost to request alternative access to this document.)

Poster Presentation Guidelines

Poster design and printing is a lengthy process! You should therefore plan accordingly, allow yourself plenty of time for the construction, editing, and printing of your poster. We strongly advise all students to attend the “Workshop on Creating a Poster” as well as the one-on-one sessions offered. Please be sure to check out the webpage, Workshops / Drop-In Assistance, for more information.

In addition, we encourage all students to review the slide presentation, Creating a Research Poster. This tutorial has been designed to familiarize students with poster presentation guidelines, and includes many helpful tips.

Presenters must adhere to specific guidelines. To help you remember them all and to stay on track, we recommend that you download the Checklist for an Effective Poster. Here we provide our key poster requirements:

  • All posters must be 36” height x 48” width. Tri-fold poster boards of the same size will be provided to presenters the day of the conference.
  • CSI and CUNY Logos must be included on all poster submissions.* Note: please do not distort logos when resizing – be sure to retain the proportions given for each logo when applying to your poster.
  • It is not necessary but always good practice for you to include your mentor as co-author or to have his/her name represented elsewhere on your poster.

Poster Printing

  • Final poster entries must be emailed as both PowerPoint and PDF files to UGConference@csi.cuny.edu by April 8, 2025 (hard deadline – no extensions).
  • All poster submissions must include a Poster Approval Form from your mentor. *
  • Printing of conference posters is offered free of charge to UGC participants by the CSI Print Shop.
  • We will coordinate the printing process for you. Please keep in mind that we can only print your poster once so please be sure that it has been carefully reviewed and is FINAL before you submit.
  • After your poster has been printed, you will receive an email to pick it up in Building 1A – Room 211. You are responsible for bringing your poster to the conference, and will be assisted with set-up during registration.

What to Expect the Day of the Conference – Thursday, May 1 2025

  • Registration begins at 9:00am May 1, 2025 in the Center for the Arts – 1P. There will be registration tables set up on the left side (west/front entrance).
  • Presenters must bring their posters with them to the conference.* Students will be escorted to their assigned location and assisted with poster set up at the time of registration.
  • Lunch will be provided to all participants and faculty mentors from 12:00pm – 1:00pm (2nd Floor – West Lounge). Students will receive a lunch voucher upon registering.
  • The Conference Plenary will be held at 1:00pm in the Williamson Theater – all student participants are expected to attend.
  • Presenters must stand next to their posters from 2:00 - 4:00pm (following lunch and the plenary session) to explain their research accomplishments to fellow students, faculty, and attendees of the conference.

*We will arrange poster printing for you. Any posters that have not been claimed before May 1, 2025 (in 1A-211) will be available at the registration table – be sure to notify us.