Participation Categories
SURCA features multiple categories in which students can enter and compete, depending on the focus of their mentored project. Categories are not "by college" or "by major."
NOTE: In each of the following descriptions, the term "research" is used to convey "mentored research and other scholarly and creative activities that make an original intellectual or creative contribution to their discipline."
IMPORTANT: Poster presentations can be made for projects in ALL categories; oral presentations and demonstrations are options for students presenting in JUST THREE categories, as noted below.Engineering and Physical Sciences
This category encompasses any research done in areas such as chemistry, engineering, environmental physical sciences, geology, materials science, physics, or resource sciences. PRESENTATION METHOD: posters onlySocial Sciences
This category is for research in the field of study concerned with "society." Research and scholarship in this category would embrace the various branches of the social sciences including, but not limited to, anthropology, communication, criminal Justice, economics, education; geography, history, human development; international studies, law, linguistics, management, political science, psychology, sociology, teaching & learning. Topics in the area of business administration would also likely belong in this category. PRESENTATION METHODS: poster as well as oral presentations and demonstrationsHumanities
This category is for research that studies the human condition. Research and scholarship in this category would embrace the various fields of the humanities including, but not limited to, American studies, anthropology, communication studies, cultural studies, education, English, film studies, history, art history, music history, languages, law, literature, philosophy, and religion. PRESENTATION METHODS: poster as well as oral presentations and demonstrationsArts and Design
This category is for creative activities in arts and design and would embrace a variety of areas including, but not limited to, apparel design, textiles, architecture, art (in all its forms), creative writing, dance, film, music, performance, journalistic products, and multimedia. PRESENTATION METHODS: poster as well as oral presentations and demonstrationsComputer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, and Information Sciences
This category is for projects in pure mathematics or computational studies as well as those areas of research that deal with the collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval, or dissemination of information. PRESENTATION METHOD: posters onlyMolecular, Cellular, and Chemical Biology
This category is for research in the biological sciences where the goal is to elucidate interactions within the cell and the molecular and biochemical mechanisms underlying biological processes. Projects in these areas can be from diverse fields of the biological sciences such as evolutionary biology, developmental biology, neuroscience, microbiology, genetics, and molecular plant sciences. PRESENTATION METHOD: posters onlyOrganismal, Population, Ecological, and Evolutionary Biology
This category is for research that deals with the analysis of physiology, morphology, reproduction, and behavior of organisms, the establishment of adaptations over evolutionary time, organismal interactions in the environment, and population, species, and community ecology. Biological systems studied in this category will range from viruses and bacteria to soil, plants, and animals. PRESENTATION METHOD: posters onlyApplied Sciences
This category is for research that seeks to solve a practical problem through the use of natural science. Applied science differs from fundamental science, which seeks to describe the most basic objects and forces, having less emphasis on practical applications. PRESENTATION METHOD: posters onlySpecial Category
Common Reading Project
This category is for typically non-mentored research by a first-year student or team that builds on a topic related to this year’s Common Reading text, Richard Muller’s Physics for Future Presidents. Research may be the result of a course assignment rather than as mentored research that makes original contributions to the field. Be sure to read category details in the Common Reading website. PRESENTATION METHODS: poster, or oral presentation, or demonstrationsCheck this website often, as new information will be posted frequently.
