Abstract Book and Event Schedule
Review the Abstract Book for session times, presenter names, poster numbers, and abstracts.
View the PDFOn February 18, 2026, Undergraduate Research will hold its annual Undergraduate Research Scholars Symposium in the Memorial Student Center (MSC) at Texas A&M University. The Symposium showcases undergraduate researchers in the Undergraduate Research Scholars (URS) thesis program. The event is free and open to the public.
The URS thesis program provides undergraduates with a graduate student experience by allowing them to participate in research, produce a professional document, and communicate their findings as principal authors to the University's scholarly community. The URS Symposium also fulfills the URS thesis program requirement for students to do a public presentation and offers them a chance to receive constructive feedback on their research projects and presentation skills.
Faculty, staff, and post-docs are invited to be active listeners and provide written feedback on research projects and presentation skills. Email ugr@tamu.edu if you are interested in becoming an Active Listener.
Undergraduate students are also invited to visit presentations and are encouraged to discover their own research interests and develop their communication skills.
The URS Symposium is free and open to the public.
How to Check-in
- Student Presenters, Active Listeners, and Moderators: Please check in at the designated check-in area upon arrival to receive your materials and further instructions.
- Student Audience Members and General Members of the Public: Check in using a QR code at the check-in tables in front of each room. Please check-in for each session and room you visit.
How to Find the Event
- February 18, 2026
- 2nd floor of the Memorial Student Center (MSC)
- MSC 2300 B-E (Bethancourt Ballroom)
- 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM Central Time
Tips for Attendees
- Be advised that Texas A&M University System Rules as well as Texas A&M University Student Rules apply.
- We encourage a scholarly and respectful exchange of ideas, inquiry, and feedback.
- Listen to the message Undergraduate Research Scholars are trying to get across to their audiences and stay open minded.
- Be aware of how your own worldview impacts how a presentation is received.
- Show respect for presenters and event organizers by being in your seat when a presentation is scheduled to begin.
- Don't get up and leave in the middle of a presentation if you can help it.
- Enter and exit oral session rooms quietly during transition times only. If you know you need to leave early, sit towards the back of the room.
- Do not interrupt presenters and do not cause unnecessary distractions during a presentation.
- Criticize ideas, not people. Give evidence for your positions and avoid sweeping generalizations.
- If your feedback is of a more personal nature, try to provide that privately.
- Practice good listening skills. Restate your understanding of the presentation materials to confirm that the delivery of the material was effective.
Interested in Becoming an Active Listener?
Faculty, staff, and post-docs at Texas A&M University are invited to serve as Active Listeners at the URS Symposium.
Active Listener Registration will be open until all slots are filled.
Active Listener Role
Faculty, staff, and post-docs are invited to serve as Active Listeners at the URS Symposium. The purpose of these presentations is to help students learn how to improve their oral communication skills as well as their virtual presentation skills.
This event is not judged and there are no prizes. This is a teaching and learning opportunity. Remember, this might be a student’s very first time presenting!
Three Feedback Areas
Active Listeners are asked to focus on the three areas below and provide helpful written feedback for the presentations they have been assigned to review.
- Overall delivery of the presentation
- Effective communication of the research question and why it is important
- Effective visual aids (if used)
Feedback Forms
Submit your written feedback for students by February 19 at 5 PM.
Tips for Active Listeners
Overall delivery of the presentation
Presenters should:
- Avoid speaking too quickly
- Summarize major points, give background and context
- Use strategic pauses to give attendees time to process information
Effective communication of the research question and why it is important
Presenters should:- Use familiar examples relevant to all types of people
- Use simple and clear language
- Define jargon and discipline-specific terms when used
Effective visual aids (if used, not required)
Presenters should:- Use large, bold fonts and simply designed visuals
- Speak to the essential content of visual materials
- Maximize legibility of essential information
- Is a visual aid or visual aids are not used, could one have contributed to the overall success of the presentation?
Who can register?
- Individual and team presentations accepted.
- Team instructions:
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One form submission per team.
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Teams must work together to complete the registration.
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All team members must present a portion of the presentation unless fulfilling the program presentation requirement at different venues.
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Presentation Types and Time Slots
- Poster and oral session presentations are accepted.
- Each presentation is 10 minutes maximum. You must stay the entire duration of your selected session.
- Posters should not exceed 46" wide.
- If claiming a poster voucher, your poster must not exceed 40" wide.
- Talk to your faculty advisor about which presentation type fits your discipline best.
- Time slots are first-come, first-served. Options will appear in real time.
Registration Information
Submission of an Abstract
Deadline: January 25, 2026 at Midnight (11:59 PM) Central Time
- Abstracts will be publicly available online in the event’s abstract book.
- Do your best to draft an abstract based on your current research progress. We know that you may not have all your results yet, so the abstract you register with now may be different from the one in your final thesis.
- Abstracts must be between 200 and 350 words (maximum 1,800 characters).
- Talk to your faculty advisor about which type of abstract fits your discipline best.
- Take caution entering special characters such as symbols, equations, and accents. You must individually copy and paste special characters into your abstract when completing the registration form.
Tips for Presenters
- Presentations should be 10 minutes maximum
- Expect to present to an audience outside of your discipline. Sessions are not organized by discipline, as presenters choose their own presentation time slots based on their availability.
- Written feedback from Active Listeners is not guaranteed. Be sure to take time to chat with your assigned Active Listeners on the day of the event. Any written feedback submitted to us will be sent out via email about two weeks after the event.
- Visit the Active Listeners page to see what they will be looking for in presentations.
Presentation Templates
- Optional URS Symposium templates are available to student presenters.
- Use of a URS Symposium template is not required to participate in the URS Symposium.
- Consult with your faculty advisor on an appropriate template for your presentation (e.g., some research groups may have their own special templates or format).
- For more information on the Condensed Poster Presentation Template, watch this video about creating a better research poster in less time.
Poster Vouchers
- UGR will provide a limited number of poster printing vouchers, which are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
- To claim a poster voucher, reach out to ugr@tamu.edu once you are ready to print (See the Canvas Community page for more details on poster vouchers).
- Posters must be printed at the Technology Services help desk in Langford A, Room 122.
- If claiming a poster voucher, your poster must not exceed 40" wide.
Presentation Templates
- Current URS students should visit our Canvas Community for poster and slide deck presentation templates.
Program Logos
- Use of a URS logo on your presentation is encouraged.
- URS logo files are property of Texas A&M University and UGR and are made available for download and use by current URS students only.
- URS logo files must not be altered in any way and should only appear in Aggie Maroon™, black or white.
Event Format
Sessions span from 9:00 AM-4:30 PM
Oral Sessions:
- Session 1: 9:00 AM-10:15 AM
- Session 2: 10:30 AM-11:45 AM
- Session 3: 12:15 PM-1:30 PM
- Session 4: 1:45 PM-3:00 PM
- Session 5: 3:15 PM-4:30 PM
Poster Sessions:
- Session 1: 9:30 AM-10:30 AM
- Session 2: 11:00 AM-12:00 PM
- Session 3: 1:00 PM-2:00 PM
- Session 4: 2:15 PM-3:15 PM
- Session 5: 3:30 PM-4:30 PM
Sessions will occur in MSC 2300 B-E (Bethancourt Ballrooms):
- Oral Sessions are concurrent in MSC 2300 B, D, and E
- Poster Sessions are in MSC 2300 C
- Sessions are not organized by research discipline, as presentation time slots are self-selected by Presenters based on their availability
Format of Oral Sessions
- 10 min. presentation, 5 min. questions
- 10 min. presentation, 5 min. questions
- 10 min. presentation, 5 min. questions
- 10 min. presentation, 5 min. questions
- 15 min. feedback circle with Presenters and Active Listeners
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General Public/Audience Members will be asked to leave at this time.
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Format of Poster Sessions
- Up to 30 poster presentations per session
- Student Presenters are advised to keep their presentations under 10 minutes
Additional Resources
- Writing and Speaking Guides Homepage
- Conference Presentations (Video)
- Delivering a Presentation
- Dissertation Defense
- The Perfect Defense (Video)
- Organizing a Presentation
- Reverse Outlining (Video)
- Overcoming Stage Fright
- Presentation Checklist
- Presentation Slides
- Presenting with Slides Workshop (Video)
- Quotations in Presentations
- Audience Awareness
- Inclusive Design For Accessible Presentations
- Research Posters
- Research Posters: What Makes a Good Research Poster? (Video)
An accessible document is a document that is readable on a computer using screen reader software. Document accessibility best practices include:
- Structuring documents using heading styles.
- Maintaining clear heading levels.
- Using fonts consistently.
- Using bulleted or numbered lists.
- Limiting figures and tables that contain text.
- Including appropriately descriptive captions and titles for figures, tables, and equations.
- Not conveying information with color exclusively.
- Providing full transcripts for video and audio.
Universal Design
- Audience Awareness
- Inclusive Design For Accessible Presentations
- Writing Accessibly About Science (Video)
- Universal Design for Learning
Accessibility Tools
- Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
- Color Oracle
- Color Safe, WebAIM's Color Contrast Checker
- Amara, Creating Free Subtitles
- Accessible Color Combinations
Learn More About Accessibility
Writing Abstracts Workshop
- January 15, 2026
- 3:00-4:00 PM CT
- via Zoom
Presentation Skills Workshop
Presentation Practice Session with the UGR Ambassadors
- UGR Ambassadors may be available for consultations and questions. Email ugr@tamu.edu to get connected!