Jax State Student Symposium

March 6, 2026
Merrill Hall

What is the Jax State Student Symposium?

This annual event celebrates our students’ scholarly and creative work by providing an opportunity for Jax State undergraduate and graduate students to present their work to an audience and compete for cash prizes. Students are encouraged to showcase their work—scholarship, research, group work, creative work, etc. Faculty and staff judge the presentations to award prizes. The audience is supportive, and presenting at the symposium is an impressive item for a résumé, as well as good practice for students planning to present at conferences.

Who may present?

Jax State undergraduate and graduate students are invited to present.

What kind of prizes?

Prizes for graduate and undergraduate entries are given for Best of Showcase, Best of Discipline, Best Paper/Powerpoint, Best Poster/Demonstration, Best Cover Design, and more. Demonstrations can involve anything from robotics to computer games to sculpture to film shorts. The cover for the program is created by graphic design students. The award for Best of Showcase is $400, and the other awards are $200.

How do I sign up?

If you have completed a project that you would like to share, write a short abstract (450 words or less) and submit it online via the registration form below. The form asks for a “faculty sponsor,” which is the faculty member for whom you completed the work; they are usually the teacher of the class in which you submitted the work.

How do I present?

You will be notified of your session’s time via email.

Presentations are limited to 10 minutes long.
Poster presenters should be prepared to answer questions.
Demonstration times are scheduled based on the characteristics of the project.

Is there some way I can see an example of what a presentation would look like?

Yes, we have a YouTube channel.

How will I be evaluated?

Faculty and staff will use a rubric to guide the assessment, and feedback will be emailed to you later.

How do I get a faculty sponsor?

The faculty who taught the class for which you submitted work that you are presenting is the sponsor. If your work is for a thesis or dissertation/project, the sponsor is usually your director. Students are encouraged to let the faculty sponsor know that they plan to present, so that the faculty sponsors can attend to support students.

What I should I wear to the symposium?

Students are encouraged to dress professionally.

What is the schedule for the day?

The Symposium will offer several presentation session and one-two poster sessions before and after the luncheon. The luncheon is for all participating students and faculty sponsors. More presentation sessions will be held in the afternoon. The following week, winners will be notified via email, and they will receive their prizes at the awards ceremony on March 16.

What are the important dates for the next symposium?

The submission deadline is January 31st, and the Symposium is on March 6. The winners will be invited to an awards ceremony to be held on March 16.