The annual Academic Festival is an opportunity for students to share their research and findings with the community.

This exciting event displays academic highlights that were researched, developed, and created throughout the 2022-2023 school year to the campus community, Penn State families, and the public.  

Individual and group projects can cover a wide range of topics and can be shared as an informational exhibit, a research-based poster, an oral presentation, or a performance. The organizing committee welcomes all forms of academic or creative accomplishments including works of poetry, writing, artwork, and dance.

Prizes will be awarded in each category.  Additional awards will be presented for University Libraries’ Information Literacy, and Sustainability (see Special Awards below for more details.)

Reasons to Participate

  • Share your work with the campus and surrounding community
  • Have fun while gaining valuable experience
  • Develop connections with faculty and staff
  • Contribute to your professional development
  •  Enhance your resume for employment and/or graduate school
  • Win prizes

Important Dates

The deadline for submitting project proposals for the 2023 festival is March 17, 2023. 

Project proposals will be reviewed in late March and students will receive further details by early April. Final project files must be submitted by Friday, April 14, 2023 (one full week before the event) to allow time for uploading and creating the compilation in ScholarSphere. 

The project proposal application is at the bottom of this page. Before submitting your proposal, please be sure to review all project guidelines and judging criteria.   

Guidelines and Judging Criteria

The Academic Festival provides four project categories for you to submit and display your work. Click on each category below to learn about the recommendations, guidelines, and suggestions for submitting projects.  Prizes will be awarded in each category. 

As part of the project proposal, you will be asked to choose between a wall display or a tabletop display for your work. Below are photo examples of each. 
 

Female students standing by a poster displayed on a wall.

This is an example of a wall display during the Academic Festival. 

Credit: Penn State
One male and two female students standing by a tri-panel research poster on a table.

This is an example of a tabletop display at the Academic Festival. 

Credit: Penn State

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Special Awards

2023 Academic Festival Project Proposal

Project proposals are due March 17, 2023. 

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