Posted: January 21, 2019

Taking place in Harrisburg, PA on Tuesday, April 30, 2019.

This conference provides undergraduate students from across the state opportunity to showcase their research projects to an audience of Pennsylvania legislators. In addition to the scholarly presentations and discussions, students interact with members of state government and when possible, are invited to visit either the Senate or House Chamber as part of the day's events. While Penn State is limited to 8 posters total, nominations from all campuses are welcome. All fields of research are encouraged.

WHAT IS URC-PA?

The URC-PA poster Conference is an educational event allowing the undergraduate students enrolled in Pennsylvania's colleges and universities to showcase their research talents to the Commonwealth's key decision-makers. All fields of research are encouraged. As a participant, you will spend the day in the Pennsylvania Capitol Building, share experiences and ideas with your counterparts from other schools, and enlighten your state legislators on the topics that are important to you and our society.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN DURING THE URC-PA POSTER CONFERENCE?

A typical day in the state capitol entails welcoming remarks from the organizing committee, presentation and display of your research in the Capitol's East Wing Rotunda, and face-to-face interaction with Pennsylvania's key decision makers. A detailed agenda will be posted on the website.

WHERE IS THE URC-PA POSTER CONFERENCE?

The event is held in the East Wing Rotunda located in the Capitol Complex, Harrisburg.

HOW DO I PARTICIPATE IN URC-PA?

At Penn State, faculty are invited to nominate students for participation. Students should not contact the event organizers directly. The Office of Undergraduate Education organizes the selection, submission, and registration of all presentations from Penn State. In order to be considered for this event, the Office of Undergraduate Education must receive the following information from faculty nominators:

  1. the name of the undergraduate student(s)
  2. the title of the poster
  3. a brief abstract

If the nominating faculty member is not the project adviser, please provide that name as well. All nominations must be submitted by e-mail to by noon on Monday, February 11, 2019. Late submissions cannot be considered.

Students selected to participate will be notified on Wednesday, February 13, 2019. Undergraduate Education will submit the required registrations and abstracts to the state and will work with the Office of Government and Community Relations to schedule student appointments with their state legislators. Faculty advisers are invited to attend the event with their students.

More details about Undergraduate Research at the Capitol are available at http://www.pasen.gov/URCPA/.