Submitting an Abstract
William & Mary's Graduate Arts & Sciences invites graduate students conducting research in Humanities, Humanistic Social Sciences, and the Sciences to present at the upcoming Graduate Research Symposium, hosted by our Arts & Sciences Graduate Center.
To present, please submit an abstract using our GRS Abstract Submission Portal.
- November 4, 2024, 11:59 p.m. (ET) is the abstract submission deadline.
- Read below for all guidelines. The Abstract Submission Portal also contains instructions and details about what you will need to complete a submission.
- The GRS Organizing Committee will notify you regarding the status of your submission within two weeks following the submission deadline.
Please email grs@wm.edu with questions.
Abstract Preparation Guidelines
- Your abstract will be read by a multi-disciplinary audience and should avoid jargon and explain any technical terms. The presentation you give at the GRS may be geared to a more discipline-specific audience. The review committee will not accept abstracts that are too technical and not easily understood by a general audience.
- The abstract should include the specific question your research addresses, research design and methods, major results (or anticipated results), and possible implications of your findings. Due to limited room availability, if the focus of your oral presentation will not be on your specific contribution to a research collaboration or project, a poster presentation may be more appropriate.
- It is the responsibility of the presenter to obtain approval from your advisor, co-authors, and Institutional Compliance Committees (IRB) prior to abstract submission. Prior to submission, the student's advisor must review the abstract to ensure that it meets their approval and satisfies the guidelines for presentation.
Abstract Submission Guidelines
- Submission of an abstract implies a commitment to present your research at the Graduate Research Symposium. Therefore please make sure that you understand all of the requirements before submitting, as withdrawing an abstract after acceptance may prevent you from submitting abstracts to future Symposia.
- All abstracts must be submitted through our Portal by the abstract submission deadline.
- Each student may submit only ONE abstract of no more than 1,600 characters (which includes spaces and is around 250 words), in one of the following categories:
- Natural, Computational, & Psychological Sciences Talk: 12-minute talks with 3 minutes for questions/discussion. Typical disciplines: applied science (nanotechnology, neuroscience, applied mathematics, applied robots); biology; chemistry; computational operations research (optimization, simulation, data analytics); computer science; data science; psychological sciences (behavioral neuroscience, social, cognitive, clinical, and developmental); and physics.
- Humanities & Humanistic Social Sciences Talk: 15-minute talks with 5 minutes for questions/discussion. Typical disciplines: American studies (gender, race-ethnicity, religious or literary studies, material and visual culture, art history, cultural history); anthropology (archaeology, biological, sociocultural, linguistic); history; and public policy.
- Poster Presentation: The GRS will feature a two-hour poster session, featuring traditional academic posters for all disciplines.
- Abstracts not submitted through the electronic form or that are submitted after the deadline will not be acknowledged or considered.
- Students enrolled in professional (non-research focused) graduate programs or as non-degree seeking students are not eligible to submit an abstract.
Submission Review Process
- Abstracts submitted by graduate students will be competitively reviewed by the GRS organizing committee. Students will be notified of the status of their abstract submission (accepted; revise/resubmit; or rejected) within two weeks. All decisions are final; requests for appeals will not be considered or acknowledged.
- Abstracts over 1,600 characters or submitted after the deadline will not be acknowledged or considered.
- If your abstract is not selected for an oral presentation due to limited availability, the option of a poster presentation may be offered.
All students whose abstracts are accepted will be asked to register for the Symposium. If your abstract is not accepted, you are encouraged to still attend the Symposium as a valuable professional development opportunity.
Questions regarding abstract submission should be addressed to [[grs]].