Posters at the Capitol

Posters-at-the-Capitol (PatC) is an annual, one-day event held at the State Capitol in Frankfort. PatC showcases the importance of undergraduate research, scholarly and creative works, and the role undergraduate research plays in the education of our students to Kentucky State Legislators, who are responsible for higher education funding in KY.

Each state higher education institution typically participates in PatC every March with 12 posters. The next event is scheduled for Thursday, March 6, 2025.

For more information, contact the Coordinator of Undergraduate Research.

Questions?

Participants must be undergraduate students at MSU during the academic year. Abstracts from all disciplines are accepted but must be of sufficient quality to present at this professional academic event.

There are only 12 spots for MSU, but we usually receive more than 12 applications, which means submitting an abstract does not guarantee you’ll be presenting in Frankfort. When the submission deadline passes, the abstracts are sent to the colleges of the abstract’s respective college. A selection committee will then review the abstracts and rank them based on their criteria. The 12 posters will be chosen based on those rankings.

Submit Your Abstract for Consideration

On the left side of the page, under Author Corner, click on "Submit to Posters-at-the-Capitol." You’ll need to make an account to submit. Please do so only after consulting with your faculty mentor.

The submission deadline for this year is Friday, December 5, 2024.

Notification of acceptance is usually sent in mid-January.

An abstract is a brief statement of the major elements of your research projects and/or scholarly work. It should contain an introduction, a purpose, objectives or hypothesis, results of your project, and a conclusion. Consider it a summary if that helps, but it must contain those elements.

Include a title, author’s name, faculty mentor, and department in which the research was conducted.
The abstract should be no more than 300 words.
Written in the past tense (with the understanding that at the time of submission, your work may still be in progress)
Avoid using technical jargon (don’t assume the reader is as versed as you in the subject; the expert to the layperson should understand it)
Do not be self-referential using the word "I." Instead, "we" is preferred.
References should not be included (it is acceptable to state "this was inspired by").
Be sure it is:
- Complete – covering all major parts of the project.
- Concise – no excess or unnecessary information.
- Clear – is readable and well-organized.
- Cohesive – flows smoothly and is grammatically sound.
Seek faculty mentor review and approval before submitting.