The Week in UR - November 21, 2025

I very much hope that everyone’s fall semester is beginning to come to a close and that you’re all looking forward to some much-deserved rest and time with family and friends during the upcoming holiday season. This is always my favorite time of year as we look back and reflect on the year that has just passed and look ahead to a new year full of new possibilities. And when it comes to UR at TSC, there’s much to look forward to in 2026.

One of the things I am most looking forward to in the new year is the opportunity for students to present their research at the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference (FURC), the largest statewide UR conference in the country. FURC will take place March 6-7, 2026, at the University of North Florida, in Jacksonville, and the UR Program has a goal of offering travel grants to as many students as possible selected to present at FURC. These travel grants will be all-inclusive, covering the cost of registration, transportation, lodging, and meals for the entirety of this three-day event. But as with all conferences, selection is competitive, and students interested in presenting are required to submit an abstract, a short, one-paragraph summary of the project. Most importantly, the deadline for FURC abstract submissions is just two weeks away! The deadline for FURC abstract submissions is December 5. Abstracts must be submitted through the FURC event website, which also contains lots more information about FURC 2026:

https://www.unf.edu/our/current-researchers/FURC-2026.html

In addition to FURC travel, there is much to look forward to in UR here on TSC’s campus. In April, the UR Program will host the College’s 7^th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. This annual celebration of students’ scholarly and creative achievements has fast become one of TSC’s most beloved events. Over the past four years, the event has grown substantially, with over 150 students submitting abstracts last year. As with FURC, selection is competitive, and students interested in participating are required to submit an abstract. Please note that students are welcome, and encouraged, to submit the same abstract for both FURC and TSC’s Undergraduate Research Symposium. Indeed, this is what students normally do at higher education institutions across the state. Perhaps most important, the UR Symposium submission portal is now open! Complete information about the symposium is available on the UR Program’s website, including guidelines for presentation types, submission instructions, and helpful resources for writing an abstract. To learn more, visit our website: www.tsc.fl.edu/research.

Finally, the campus community will be hearing a lot more from our UR student organization, now called the Organization for Student Pursued Undergraduate Research (OSPUR), as the spring semester gets underway. During the Fall 2025 semester, OSPUR elected a fantastic slate of officers who have been hard at work planning events for Spring 2026. Those officers include Moises Chacon (President), Sunny Thomas (Vice President), Antares Ciotti (Secretary), Maria Garcia (Communications Director), and Mikayli Ingram (Events Director). OSPUR will be organizing research workshops, fun excursions to nearby research labs, and lots more. Stay tuned to this newsletter in January for more on this and other forthcoming UR activities in 2026.

But that will just about do it for the Week in UR in 2025. As at most academic institutions, December is a slow time at TSC, and slow times are vitally important, and to be respected. They give us a chance to slow down, rest, reflect, and set goals for the future. Even when we love the work that we do, as so many of us love our research, it’s important to take that time away. Indeed, for many of us, that’s when we’re at our most creative and innovative, when we’re not so focused on accomplishing so many urgent tasks at hand. So with that, I wish all readers of this newsletter a restful and restorative holiday season. And I very much look forward to reconnecting with you when we return to this work in January.

The Week in UR – November 7, 2025

Happy Friday! I trust that everyone’s fall semester is beginning to wind down and that you’re weathering these final throes of the fall academic calendar with great fortitude and vigor and whatnot. I know we’re all looking forward to some much-deserved time off over this fast-approaching holiday season. But this season is also the time of year when all things undergraduate research (UR) are beginning to get into full swing, and there’s much to share about events, activities, and opportunities that will soon be upon us. So here goes your semi-weekly round-up of all things UR at TSC.

First and foremost, I am thrilled to announce, for those who haven’t yet received said announcement, that the first issue of the Tallahassee State College Undergraduate Research Journal (TSC URJ), the UR Program’s peer-reviewed journal of research carried out by TSC students, has just been published! The publication of this first issue represents a tremendous amount of work on the part of the journal’s editors, editorial board, peer reviewers and, most of all, our student authors. All articles published in TSC URJ underwent a rigorous peer-review process carried out by faculty with expertise in students’ academic disciplines. Thus, publication in TSC URJ represents a significant accomplishment. We invite all friends of the UR Program at TSC to appreciate the outstanding work of our student authors. We think you will agree that our students, in collaboration with their faculty mentors, have produced some impressive works of scholarship, and the sophistication of their work is a testament to the high quality of teaching and learning that our students enjoy. The journal’s first issue is now live online, and you can view it at the following link:

https://journals.flvc.org/TSCURJ/issue/view/6543

For TSC students currently engaging in a research experience, we encourage you to consider drafting a manuscript for submission to TSC URJ. For many of our student authors, submitting a paper to TSC URJ represented the final, culminating chapter in a year-long research experience. Several of our authors started a research project last fall, then presented their project at the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference and then at TSC’s Undergraduate Research Symposium. Then, they developed their research presentations into an article for publication during the summer semester. Having a peer-reviewed publication in one’s name while still an undergraduate represents a significant accomplishment, and we strongly encourage all TSC students to pursue this opportunity. The journal’s submission guidelines can be found here:

https://journals.flvc.org/TSCURJ/about/submissions

But exciting as news of TSC URJ 1.1’s publication is, that’s not the only news to share about UR at TSC. Indeed, far from it. I’m equally excited to announce, for the first time in the pages of this little rag, at least, that the Undergraduate Research Program will be offering, for the first time this year, a limited number of travel grants to students selected to present their research at the 2026 Florida Undergraduate Research Conference (FURC). These travel grants will be all-inclusive, covering the cost of registration, transportation, lodging, and meals for the entirety of this three-day event. This opportunity is open to all enrolled TSC students, and we strongly encourage all interested students to apply. FURC is the nation’s largest statewide undergraduate research conference. The event will take place March 6-7, 2026, at the University of North Florida, in Jacksonville. Selection is competitive, and students interested in presenting are required to submit an abstract, a short, one-paragraph summary of the project. Perhaps most important, the deadline for abstract submissions is December 5, and abstracts must be submitted via the FURC event website:

https://www.unf.edu/our/current-researchers/FURC-2026.html

 

And there’s more! We’re every bit as thrilled to announce that submissions have opened for TSC’s Seventh Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, which will be held April 1, 2026. This annual event is a celebration of students’ scholarly and creative work, and all students are welcomed and encouraged to submit proposals to present at this year’s symposium. Students may present work in a range of formats, including oral presentations, posters, short videos, and artistic displays. This event has fast-become a cherished tradition at TSC. Indeed, it was the TSC UR Symposium that made undergraduate research visible at the College, and spawned the UR Program and the many opportunities that it now offers to students. As with FURC, selection is competitive, and students interested in participating are required to submit an abstract. Complete information about the symposium is available on the UR Program’s website, including guidelines for presentation types, submission instructions, and helpful resources for writing an abstract. To learn more, visit our website: www.tsc.fl.edu/research.

Finally, for those planning to transfer to FSU by the start of the Fall 2026 semester, I’m delighted to share that applications will soon open for FSU’s Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), the university’s award-winning program providing research experiences to all FSU students who qualify. We strongly encourage all students transferring to FSU to submit a UROP application, and to take full advantage of all of the opportunities offered by this nationally recognized program. Now is the time to get familiar with the UROP application process and requirements. See the graphic below and the UROP website for more details. 

And with all of that said, that should just about do it for this installment of the Week in UR. Stay tuned for lots more announcements about UR Program activities, student accomplishments, and more exciting opportunities as we close out the fall semester and head into the busy spring semester season. Until then, I wish you a pleasant weekend and much enjoyment of these cooler temperatures in Tallahassee and, wonders never cease, some gorgeous fall colors in our little corner of the world. I hope everyone takes a break from the frenetic end of fall semester to enjoy it all a little.