Honors College to Host Third Annual Undergraduate Research Conference

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During the poster session, students will get a chance to talk to other honors students who have already successfully completed their honors research.

The Honors College thesis, which all honors students must complete before walking across the commencement stage, looms large in the imaginations of most of these undergraduates. Faculty members who are new to the honors experience may have a few questions about mentoring undergraduate research as well.

To demystify the honors thesis process, from finding a topic to defending the thesis, the Honors College will host the third annual Honors College Research Conference from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 30, in the Arkansas Union. Refreshments will be served.

The idea for the conference came from an Honors College staff brainstorming session to increase honors retention and graduation rates.

"We know that one of the main reasons students drop out of honors is that they have no idea how to move forward with the required research project," said Jennie Popp, associate dean of the Honors College. "Here's a great opportunity for them to learn more about the thesis process, and faculty interested in mentoring honors students can see how the thesis experience is handled in their college." 

The Honors College partnered with honors directors from all six undergraduate colleges and schools across campus to organize this event. The event will consist of a series of breakout sessions that students can choose from, as well as series of tables that students can visit to get more information about important thesis prep resources. Poster presentations will feature outstanding thesis research from each honors program. Last year's event attracted students and faculty from all colleges, facilitated networking opportunities among faculty and students and helped students identify topics for their research.  More information about the event can be found  here. 

Conference Schedule:

10:00 a.m. - Opening remarks 
10:10-10:40 - Session 1 
10:45-11:15 - Session 2 
11:20-11:50 - Session 3 
12:00-12:45 - College Breakout Groups 
10:00-12:00 - Tabling  

In each of the three  session  we will offer six topics: 

• Intellectual property management (not just patents, but compositions, plays, etc)
• Choosing a mentor (general advice that is applicable to all colleges)
• Citation manager introduction
• The importance of and introduction to IRB
• APA citation style management
• MLA citation style management

In the ballroom we will have posters, interactive opportunities and  tables from 10:00-12:00. Tables will include information on: 

• Scholarworks 
• Research  grants from the Honors College
• Inquiry Journal
• Discovery journal
• Mental health management throughout the  research  process
• Class-plus
• Office of Nationally Competitive Awards
• Professional Development

All honors students and faculty are invited to attend. For room scheduling purposes, students are asked to complete the  Honors College Research Conference Student RSVP  form by Monday, Oct. 28, at midnight.