Graduate Research Achievement Day
A celebration of research, scholarship, and creative activities.
The Graduate Research Achievement Day (or GRAD, for short) is a celebration of our graduate students’ work over the past academic year. Students will present their research and other creative activities in a Poster presentation to a panel of faculty judges. An integral component of the presentation is for students to explain their work understandable to a non-specialist attending GRAD, including fellow graduate students, faculty, and other members of the campus community.
Virtual Program for Online/Distance Students | Virtualpostersession.org
- 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. | Judging Session
- 1 p.m. | Awards Ceremony via Zoom
2025 GRAD Awards for Virtual Program
1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will be awarded cash prizes.
- 1st place | $500
- 2nd place | $300
- 3rd place | $200
ATTEND VIRTUAL AWARDS CEREMONY
In Person Program for On Campus Students | Memorial Union Ballroom 214
- 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. | Judging/Public Viewing
- 3 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Program Break, Refreshments Served
- 3:45 p.m. | Awards Ceremony
2025 GRAD Awards for On Campus Program
1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards will be announced in the following categories:
- Engineering
- Natural Sciences
- Professional, Social Sciences, Humanities & Arts
Each winner will receive a cash prize.
- 1st place | $500
- 2nd place | $300
- 3rd place | $200
A link to view all presenter abstract information & poster numbers will be published in the days leading up to the event.
Participant Information
Getting ready to participate in this year’s Graduate Research Achievement Day? Follow the steps below to be included in this year’s event.
Who can participate?
All graduate students, full time or part time, from all disciplines and all colleges are encouraged to register and participate. This can include students engaged in research, scholarship or creative works through theses, dissertations, non-thesis projects and independent studies or who have conducted substantial research as part of coursework are encouraged to present their work at GRAD, no matter what point they are at in their graduate program. This includes students who are on campus as well as those who are pursuing their studies online. All students who submit an abstract will be registered to participate.
Guidelines
In Person vs. Virtual Participation
When you submit your abstract, you will be asked to identify whether you will participate in the online or in person program. Students enrolled in on-campus programs are required to participate in person (no exceptions). Students enrolled in a fully online program, may choose to participate virtually or in person if they wish to travel to campus.
Disability Accommodations
Participants needing disability accommodations for the program, please contact Disability Services for Students at dss@UND.edu or by calling 701-777-2664.
Time Commitment
In Person Participants Time Commitment
The judging session and public viewing will last from 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. In addition to the judging session, all students are required to attend the awards ceremony to be present in the event of winning a prize and to support their peers and colleagues.
During these two hours you will be expected to be at your poster and ready to present for the judges and any others who stop by to review your presentation. If you are not present when a judge is judging your poster, this will result in 0 points from the judge as they will not be able to judge your work without your presentation.
Virtual Participants Time Commitment
The judging session will last for two hours and the awards ceremony will last up to 30 minutes. In addition to the two hour judging session, all students are asked to view the livestream of the awards ceremony to be present in the event of winning an award and to support your peers and colleagues.
Virtual student participants are required to attend the judging session to participate in the program. If a student does not attend the judging session, this will result in 0 points from each of the judges and they will not be able to judge your work without your presentation. A no-show will result in automatic disqualification from the program. No make-up sessions will be allowed/scheduled due to being absent from the assigned time slot.
Important Participant Deadlines
- February 7: Abstract Submission Priority Deadline
- February 20: Abstract Submission Final Deadline
- February 20: Poster Submission Deadline
No exceptions will be made to these deadlines.
In Person Participants
If you would like to participate in GRAD 2025, you will first submit an abstract of your proposed work.
- Abstracts should be a concise (150 words or less) description of work to be presented. The submission will contain:
- Student name
- Department or Program
- Ph.D., Masters, Non-Thesis Project, Independent Study, or Course Based Research
- Year of study in program
- All abstracts are submitted online.
- Only one abstract submission per student is accepted - additional submissions will not be reviewed.
- Abstracts submitted with more than 150 words will be truncated.
- When you submit your abstract, you will be asked to identify whether you will participate in the online or in person program. Students enrolled in on-campus programs are required to participate in person (no exceptions). Students enrolled in a fully online program, may choose to participate virtually or in person if they wish to travel to campus.
Proposal Deadline
The priority deadline to submit your abstract to participate in GRAD is Friday, February 7. Students who submit by this deadline will be given a Graduate School winter hat.
The final deadline to submit your abstract to participate in GRAD is Thursday, February 20 (no exceptions).
Co-Authors
There can only be one presenter per presentation. However, if your co-author(s) would like to present your research, each presenter can submit a separate abstract. Each author must present separately on their contribution. Co-Authors presenting separately may create their poster together or on their own but each author needs to submit an abstract, print a poster, and present individually.
Students who arrive to the event with multiple authors and only one poster will not be judged or eligible for prizes.
Video Tutorial
Need a visual demonstration on how to submit an abstract? Watch the video below that walks through the submission process.
The School of Graduate Studies provides two prep workshops to prepare you for the competition. Registration is required to participate. Workshops will be held via Zoom. Recordings will be made available following the workshops.
Crafting a Quality Presentation: The Poster
Hosted on January 28, 2025 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (CST) via Zoom.
Crafting a Quality Presentation: The Talk
Hosted on February 11, 2025 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (CST) via Zoom.
Presentation Format
Graduate students will present their work in a poster format. Students whose studies focus on the creation of art are encouraged to present this work in the most appropriate format with an accompanying poster. Music graduate students are encouraged to present a short performance by recording as long as it assists with the analysis of their presentation (no live performances will be allowed). In all cases, an integral component of the presentation will be an explanation of their work understandable to a non-specialist attending GRAD, including fellow graduate students, faculty, and other members of the campus community.
Student Presentation
Students will present their research and other creative activities in a 3-5 minute Poster presentation to faculty and community judges during the live event on February 27 from 1-3pm at the Memorial Union Ballroom 214. An integral component of the presentation is for students to explain their work to a non-specialist audience, including fellow graduate students, faculty, and other members of the campus community.
Poster Creation
The poster template can be created in PowerPoint.
PowerPoint allows a custom slide size of 40 inches wide by 30 inches high. Click here for additional details on poster size. Using the master slide function, the graphics can be set up and students can edit the rest of the slide as needed. Adding a UND logo to your poster is strongly encouraged.
While creating a poster from scratch is strongly encouraged, UND branded and blank templates can be found here.
Posters can be printed on campus through UND Print Center (formerly Duplicating Services). The School of Graduate Studies will pay the cost of one (1) poster printing. Posters will be 40 (w) x 30 (h) in size and printed on tear resistant paper.
All posters for GRAD 2025 will have to be submitted to UND Print Center no later than Thursday, February 20 at 11:59 p.m. (no exceptions).
Before submitting, convert your poster to a PDF file (FILE>Save As) Dropdown Save as type: "PDF". Please review for accuracy.
To print your poster, please complete the UND Print Center Online Order Form. Posters will not be accepted by email.
You must be connected to the UND network to access the form, see below for information on accessing the network off campus via VPN.
Form Instructions
- Login with your UND credentials.
- Enter your contact information.
- Date needed is Feb. 26.
- In the billing section, use these numbers:
- Stop: 0000
- Fund: 00000
- Dept: 2850
- Product Specifications:
- Printed Sides: 1
- Copies: 1
- Job: Wide Format
- Paper: 0x0, 0lb, Wide Format, Paper-color/type: Matte (Tear Resistant)
- Poster Size:
- Length: 40
- Width: 30
- Finished Size
- Cutting: 40x30
- Delivery Options: Select "Pick up at Duplicating Services"
- In the additional comments section, please type "Grad School Poster 2025"
- Make sure the email notifications box is checked, this will be how you are notified that your order is completed.
- Lastly, attach your PDF file to the files section, then submit the form.
Ordering Off Campus
Users submitting an UND Print Center order via the online order form from an off campus location must be connected to the UND network via VPN. If not connected, the user will receive an error message and will be unable to access the form. See instructions below on how to connect to the network.
Please contact UND IT at 701.777.2222 with any issues related to accessing the VPN.
How to Connect to the UND network
Video Tutorial
Need a visual demonstration on how to submit the UND Print Center order form? Watch the video below that walks through the submission process.
Judging Guidelines
All submissions will be sorted according to discipline and level (Ph.D., Masters, non-degree) and will be judged accordingly, with cash prizes awarded to those students whose work and presentation are deemed best.
During the judging session, three separate judges will stop by your poster to judge your work and presentation. You will have 3-5 minutes to present your research and poster.
Check-In/Poster Set-up
As noted below, student registration and poster set-up on event day is from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. When you arrive to set-up your poster, please check-in to the registration tables outside of the Ballroom by Door C. Posters can be taken down following the awards ceremony.
Participant Schedule
10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: GRAD Student Registration and Poster Setup (enter through Door C)
12:45 p.m.: Announcements led by Chris Nelson, Dean of the Graduate School
1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.: Judging Session and Public Viewing
3:00 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.: Dessert/Refreshments Served, Program Break (scores tallied during this time)
3:45 p.m.: Awards Ceremony (student participants required to attend)
4:15 p.m.: Poster Tear Down (after the awards ceremony)
Virtual Participants
If you would like to participate in GRAD 2025, you will first submit an abstract of your proposed work.
- Abstracts should be a concise (150 words or less) description of work to be presented. The submission will contain:
- Student name
- Department or Program
- Ph.D., Masters, Non-Thesis Project, Independent Study, or Course Based Research
- Year of study in program
- All abstracts are submitted online.
- Only one abstract submission per student is accepted - additional submissions will not be reviewed.
- Abstracts submitted with more than 150 words will be truncated to fit in the abstract booklet.
- When you submit your abstract, you will be asked to identify whether you will participate in the online or in person program. Students enrolled in on-campus programs are required to participate in person (no exceptions). Students enrolled in a fully online program, may choose to participate virtually or in person if they wish to travel to campus.
Proposal Deadline
The priority deadline to submit your abstract to participate in GRAD is Friday, February 7. Students who submit by this deadline will be given a Graduate School winter hat.
The final deadline to submit your abstract to participate in GRAD is Thursday, February 20 (no exceptions).
Video Tutorial
Need a visual demonstration on how to submit an abstract? Watch the video below that walks through the submission process.
The School of Graduate Studies provides two prep workshops to prepare you for the competition. Registration is required to participate. Workshops will be held via Zoom. Recordings will be made available following the workshops.
Crafting a Quality Presentation: The Poster
Hosted on January 28, 2025 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (CST) via Zoom.
Crafting a Quality Presentation: The Talk
Hosted on February 11, 2025 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (CST) via Zoom.
Presentation Format
All GRAD presentations will be held live online in virtualpostersession.org. Students will provide a Zoom link to host their session. Students must start their virtual meeting on time and stay for the duration of the two-hour meeting.
Each student must have a computer/laptop, microphone, camera, and internet connection bandwidth necessary to support presenting in the online format. Students who experience technical difficulties due to their own internet or technology capabilities will not be able to participate in the program if they are not able to fix the issue before their scheduled time to present.
Students are required to stay in attendance for the entire two-hour judging session or they will be disqualified.
The judging sessions will not be recorded.
Zoom Presentation Details
Students will be required to create a Zoom room and provide a link to their meeting that will be used in the online platform, virtualpostersession.org. When setting up your Zoom room, follow these instructions.
- Log in to UND.zoom.us using your UND credentials
- Click “Schedule a Meeting”
- Topic: GRAD First Name, Last Name
- When: Feb. 26, 9:00 a.m.
- Duration: Two Hours
- Time Zone: Central Time (US & Canada)
- Meeting ID: generate automatically
- Passcode: make sure the box is checked (to add a passcode)
- Waiting Room: make sure the box is unchecked (no waiting room)
- Video: select “on” for both host and participant
- Click save
- The student will provide the invite link to the Grad School when submitting their poster to the Qualtrics survey.
Students will be responsible for starting the Zoom meeting at the beginning of the judging session and moderating the session. Students and judges are encouraged not to use the live chat feature in Zoom during the judging session to prevent student participants from having to monitor the feature while giving their presentation.
Graduate students (not participating in the program) and graduate faculty will be invited by the Graduate School to watch the judging sessions. Students are welcome to share the Zoom link with their family and friends to invite them to the judging session.
Student Presentation
Students will present their research and other creative activities in a 3-5 minute Poster presentation to faculty and community judges during the virtual event on Feb. 26 from 9-11am. An integral component of the presentation is for students to explain their work to a non-specialist audience, including fellow graduate students, faculty, and other members of the campus community.
Poster Creation
The poster template can be created in PowerPoint.
PowerPoint allows a custom slide size of 40 inches wide by 30 inches high. Click here for additional details on poster size. Using the master slide function, the graphics can be set up and students can edit the rest of the slide as needed. Adding a UND logo to your poster is strongly encouraged.
While creating a poster from scratch is strongly encouraged, UND branded and blank templates can be found here.
Posters should be converted to a single page PDF and will be submitted to the School of Graduate Studies via Qualtrics survey. The Graduate School will upload your poster to the virtualpostersessions.org website.
As mentioned above, all Posters for the GRAD 2024 virtual program will have to be submitted to the Graduate School through this Qualtrics survey no later than Thursday, February 20 at 11:59 p.m. (no exceptions). Posters will not be accepted by email.
Judging Guidelines
All submissions will be sorted according to discipline and level (Ph.D., Masters, non-degree) and will be judged accordingly, with cash prizes awarded to those students whose work and presentation are deemed best.
During the judging session, three separate judges will stop by your poster to judge your work and presentation. You will have 3-5 minutes to present your research and poster.
Students will be disqualified if any of the following occur:
- Student does not attend their scheduled time slot.
- Student has technical difficulties that cannot be resolved during their judging session.
- Student does not stay for the entire two-hour judging session
When the virtual website is ready to review on February 24, you will receive an email from the graduate school with a link to the website so you can review the content for accuracy.
When you receive this email, please log into the online platform to review your name, poster, zoom link, title, and abstract to verify correct spelling and accuracy of your information. No changes to the abstract or poster will be allowed.
If any information is listed incorrectly from what you submitted to the Graduate School, please notify us by email at gradschool@und.edu no later than Tuesday, February 25 at 12:00 p.m. (CST).
Check-In
Participant check-in will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. via Zoom. Students, please check in to the Zoom meeting room promptly at 8:30 a.m. Graduate School Dean, Chris Nelson, will provide welcome and introductions and a brief set of reminders to help you prepare for the program.
Participant Schedule
- 8:30 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. | Student Check-In
- 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. | Judging Session
- 1 p.m. | Awards Ceremony via Zoom
Judges
To celebrate our graduate students' research, scholarship and creative activities we need faculty judges from across UND's campus. We are expecting 150-200 students to participate in person or virtually, and the program success depends on faculty members like yourself taking the time to judge their research achievement during GRAD.
Becoming a GRAD Judge
Watch this video below for information regarding judging for GRAD 2025.
We are requesting the majority of faculty volunteers for the in person judging sessions to ensure that we can accommodate the high number of students who will be presenting their research during the live event.
This year, there will be one two-hour in person judging session in the afternoon on February 27. Students will present their research and other creative activities in Poster presentation to a panel of judges. Judges will be assigned to judge up to six posters. Each student will be encouraged to present for three minutes with a period of Q&A to follow the presentation.
The total time commitment for each judge is 2.5 hours. Thirty minutes to prepare for the judging session and two hours to judge the students' work. Judging instructions and criteria, and a link to the electronic scoring sheet will be provided via email to the judges one week prior to the judging session. Judging assignments will be sent out the day prior to the event. The judging session time slot is below:
- Judging Session: 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. (12:30 p.m. – 1 pm will be judges training)
In Person Award Ceremony
We do not require judges to be present during the awards ceremony starting at 3:45 p.m. on February 27, but we highly encourage you to be there. This is a one-day event where we will be able to acknowledge and celebrate the research activities of our graduate students from across campus.
Lunch for Faculty Judges
Free lunch will be provided for faculty judges prior to the on campus program from 11:30am-1pm on February 27 in the Memorial Union Small Ballroom. A brief judges training for all judges participating in the on campus program will be provided by Chris Nelson, Dean of the Graduate School, starting at 12:30 p.m., during lunch.
This year, there will be one two-hour judging session in the morning on February 26. The program will be hosted in the online platform, virtualpostersession.org, and utilizes Zoom. Students will present their research and other creative activities in Poster presentation to a panel of judges. Judges will be assigned to judge up to six posters. Each student will be encouraged to present for three minutes with a period of Q&A to follow the presentation.
The total time commitment for each judge is two hours. However, the time commitment ends when each judge has completed judging their assigned posters. Judging instructions and criteria, instructions for the online platform, and electronic scoring sheets will be provided via email to the judges one week prior to the judging session. Judging assignments will be sent out the day prior to the event. The judging session will be held 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Virtual Award Ceremony
The awards ceremony will be held virtually in Zoom at 1:00 p.m. on February 26. We do not require judges to be present during the awards ceremony, but we highly encourage you to be there. This is an event where we will be able to acknowledge and celebrate the research activities of our graduate students from across campus.