Applying for GRASP

Eligibility & Requirements

Graduate students from any WSU department are eligible to apply to participate in the annual Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects (GRASP) symposium. All applicants must submit an abstract of their research by February 9th, 2024. The Editorial Board will review the abstracts and select participants. At the GRASP event in April, posters will be judged and winners will be awarded prizes. Abstracts will be published in the Shocker Open Access Repository (SOAR).

Students must work with their advisor in the application process and when preparing their abstracts and posters. Make sure you speak with your advisor before submitting your abstract.

Preparing Your Abstract

Your abstract should reflect the standards in your field. To accommodate this, we have two abstract templates that you should choose from. Consult with your advisor to make sure you are using the best template for your field. Remember that the overall GRASP audience will not be experts in your field.

Templates are provided here:

If you are looking for general inspiration or want to see what others have done in the past, you can review previous years' abstracts in University Libraries' SOAR database.

Submit Your Abstract

Please note that the person who submits the proposal will receive all communications from GRASP. It will be their responsibility to forward information to co-authors.

  • SUBMISSION CLOSES FEBRUARY 9 AT 11:59 PM

Note: the submittal form will lose the formatting from your MS Word document. Save your MS Word file for later use.

SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT 

Preparing for GRASP

After your abstract has been accepted and you have confirmed your intent to participate, we will reach out to you via email regarding submission of your final abstract and providing information about the GRASP event.  Tips, including requirements, examples and abstract templates, are available below.

Deadlines
  • Abstract submission January 16 - February 9, 2024
  • Notification of acceptance March 8, 2024
  • Posters due to printers by April 5, 2024
  • Final abstracts due by April 12, 2024
  • April 26, 2024 GRASP Symposium in RSC Ballroom
Preparing Your Poster

Posters may be no larger than 36 x 48 inches. There are no exceptions to sizing. If your poster is too large, you may not be able to participate. GRASP will provide tacks for posters--you need only bring your poster to the event.

You are responsible for getting your poster printed. We encourage you to seek funding support from your advisors, program, department, etc. Posters should be submitted to Shocker Printing Solutions by March 31, 2023 to ensure it is ready in time for the symposium.

Be prepared to give a 3-5 minute oral summary of your project to the judges. After your summary, judges may ask you questions about your project. Remember, judges will come from all areas of the University, so your poster and summation should be directed to a general audience. 

Judging

The Judging Rubrics for Posters provides more information on expectations for posters and presentations.

Poster Tips
  • Clear design starts with clear thinking!
  • Keep in mind that most people (and judges) viewing your poster are not experts in your field.
  • A well-organized and succinct poster is more likely to grab the audience's attention. A crowded, complicated, difficult-to-read poster will be passed by for an easy-to-read, well organized poster.
  • Be consistent: font size and style, alignment of text and graphics, fond size change on bullet levels, grammar and punctuation (e.g., sentence tense, use of periods), etc.
  • Use a pleasing color scheme and make your text, graphics, tables, and pictures stand out form the background. Make sure to balance white space and text to avoid clutter and emptiness.
  • Less=more
  • Use high-resolution, readable graphics, tables, and pictures that are properly labeled to eliminate text and make your poster more visually appealing.  Do not use 3-dimensional graphs. 

For excellent advice on preparing a poster, see Designing Conference Posters by Colin Purrington.

Presentation Tips

Dress professional, be entertaining, keep to the required time limit (3-5 minute elevator pitch and time for questions), maintain eye contact by not reading directly from your poster, practice your speech, and have fun!

Additional Resources

http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/cpurrin1/posteradvice.htm
http://tos.org/pdfs/sci_speaking.pdf
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/18-tips-for-killer-presentations.html

Here are samples of posters from past events: Psychology #1; Psychology #2; English; Chemistry; Industrial/Mfg Eng. #2; Mechanical Eng.