In order to better serve the students participating in the Student Conference, a list of the most commonly asked questions has been compiled below. For questions not addressed in the responses below, please contact Teresa Andrews at tandrews@ius.edu.
- Undergraduate students
- Graduate students
- Recent graduates (i.e., December graduates)
Yes, graduate students are welcome to participate in the student conference. Most graduate students present on Thursday evening.
Student who graduated the previous December are welcome to participate in the conference.
There are many reasons to participate in the student conference, including the opportunity to demonstrate your achievements in a forum outside of your regular classroom. In addition, there is the potential for awards and additional recognition of your achievements. All of this activity beyond the classroom will be impressive to graduate schools or future employers.
We will accept nearly any project that showcases your best work during the academic year. Students have submitted papers they wrote for a class or presentations they made in class. Students have presented the outcome of independent projects. They have also presented artwork, creative writing, dramatic readings, and musical compositions.
The conference is always scheduled the last full week of classes in the spring semester. Typically, this is the Thursday and Friday of the third week in April.
Below is a typical conference schedule. Days and times are subject to change.
Thursday 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Graduate Students present papers or posters. Online students present via Zoom.
Friday 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Undergraduate students gather for a brief opening session, then present papers and posters.
Friday 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
All presenters are invited to award announcements via Zoom.
March 22nd
Posters typically consist of the slides of a PowerPoint presentation printed out so they can be thumb-tacked to a bulletin board or pasted to a trifold board.
You will have 15 minutes to discuss your poster (approximately 12 minutes for your presentation and 3 minutes for questions).
Each student is allotted 15 minutes. Typically, that is divided into 12 minutes for the paper or performance and 3 minutes for questions.
The student conference uses both internal and external judges. Internal judges include IU Southeast faculty and staff leaders. External judges are members of the local community or faculty members from other schools.
The judges are looking at content, format, ability to answer questions, and professionalism. For more complete information, view our Judging page.
Conferences are a professional event at which participants present their academic work; therefore, it is important to dress as a professional. Professional attire may include nice pants or a skirt, a nice shirt, and non-athletic shoes.
Yes. You appreciate having an audience; so do other students. Courtesy indicates that it is better to stay and hear other talks or view other posters. Leaving in the middle of a session is inconsiderate to other presenters.
The following applies to all conferences, both in person and virtual:
First, arrive before the session begins and introduce yourself to your judge or moderator.
Second, provide an active audience for your fellow presenters. Feel free to ask them questions.
Third, practice your presentation beforehand so that you stay within your time limit. If your time limit is 15 minutes, this translates to roughly 12 minutes for your presentation or poster discussion and 3 minutes for questions.
Finally, thank your audience for attending.