Undergraduate Research Symposium
Take part in Utrecht University's Undergraduate Research Symposium 2024!
The Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS) allows students to gain experience in an academic conference environment, to present their papers to a wider audience and to make their ideas public. All undergraduate students from Utrecht University who have written a research paper are invited to apply. This way, the symposium does not only provide a platform for students from different disciplines to discuss their thrilling research topics, but also encourages interdisciplinary discourse. This year, if regulations allow, this event will take place on the 26th of June 2024. The best three papers will receive a prize and a selection of papers will be published in the special URS edition by Public Note. See the Public Note website, to view the special edition on the URS 2022 and URS 2023.
Click here to register for the Undergraduate Research Symposium 2024!
To see the Utrecht University website click here!
Important Dates
Application & Abstract Deadline: 26th of May 2024
Deadline for Final Papers: 16th of June 2024
Undergraduate Research Symposium: 26th of June 2024
“The Undergraduate Research Symposium is a great opportunity to present your academic work to a motivated group of students and teachers. A board consisting of a wide range of professors from different departments assesses your work. In addition to the symposium providing interesting perspectives and research, the event provided the opportunity to publish your research. In my year, a semi-academic platform called PublicNote offered some students to publish their works; I was thrilled to be one of them. All in all, great experience.”
Stefan de Reijer (PPE) – Finalist of the URS 2023
“The URS is a unique opportunity to appreciate your own work and the work of your peers following the thesis process – which can often be quite isolating. It requires a deep focus on your own methodology and research, so to be able to share that and to hear other experiences, approaches, and results is so beneficial to your own growth as a student and researcher. It’s always good to see how your research can be made more applicable to society and the URS offers a great platform for that. It’s an engaging and inspirational environment, one I was honoured to be a part of.”
Ashleigh Irvine-Smith (PPE) – Finalist of the URS 2023
How to participate?
Applicants are required to send in the abstract of their papers via the application form until the 26th of May 2024. After the submission deadline, a judging panel of faculty members of all departments will evaluate the submissions and select the best entries. Selected students will be notified and invited to the Undergraduate Research Symposium, taking place on the 26th of June 2024. Selected students can revise and polish their papers and submit it via email to urs@uu.nl by (latest) 16th of June 2024. Based on the scores each submission receives by the URS’s judging panel, the three best papers will receive awards. All research papers from courses at UU in every block of the current year are eligible for the URS.
Paper Requirements
Submitted papers should be a minimum of 2500 words in length. The to-be-submitted abstract should be around 200-300 words. Papers written in English as well as Dutch will be accepted. The abstract and presentations, however, have to be in English. Also, the paper has to be written this academic year (2023/2024). Papers will be evaluated according to their novel research contribution, methodological soundness, theoretical framing and reference to related work, quality of analysis, quality of writing, as well as the final presentation.
If you have any further questions, feel free to contact our URS-team: urs@uu.nl
Public Note
Public Note is a semi-academic journal by and for young researchers interested in societally relevant questions and the public domain. Our mission is to help excellent young researchers (bachelor-, master-, and PhD-students) take their first steps in the world of academic publishing, which is why we collaborate with the Undergraduate Research Symposium. Every year, the best papers from the URS will also be rewarded with the possibility to publish in the Public Note Undergraduate Edition. In these editions, authors communicate their research findings through essays or creative formats after being peer reviewed. In this way, we hope to challenge students to think about science creatively and how to communicate their knowledge to broader audiences.
The URS offers bachelor students first-hand experience of what an academic conference really feels like. Its goal is to spark further interest in careers with research and to connect students and faculty members involved in all bachelor programmes at our faculty
Co-Director of Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at Utrecht University
