Attendee FAQs

The Undergraduate Symposium is an annual showcase and celebration of undergraduate research, scholarly work, service-learning, community-based research, creative projects, and fine arts. The event is composed of four poster and presentation sessions in which students concurrently present their posters, presentations, art/project displays, and films/performances. All mentors, faculty, staff, students, family, and friends are welcome and encouraged to attend!

The 2026 Undergraduate Symposium will be held on Friday, April 17. Morning sessions will be held on floor 2 and 3 of Union South. Afternoon sessions will be held on floor 2 and 3 of Union South and in the Discovery Building’s Atrium Open Court.

You are welcome to head directly to students’ presentation rooms if you know where they are presenting. You are also welcome to stop by registration. There, staff members will provide you with an overview of the symposium schedule and assist you with finding where an undergraduate is presenting.

The symposium schedule will be released in mid to late March. It will be available on the “Overview and Event Details” page. You will be able to search for a student’s name to find when and where they will be presenting. If you have any difficulties with finding this information, you are welcome to reach out to us at ugradsymposium@wisc.edu.

The Undergraduate Symposium team is committed to ensuring the symposium is inclusive and accessible. If you have questions about accessibility or will require specific accommodations for the event, please contact ugradsymposium@wisc.edu. Requests for accommodations must be made at least two weeks in advance (April 3, 2026). We will attempt to implement late requests, but we cannot guarantee they will be met.

We encourage event attendees to:

• Be mindful and considerate of space in the poster session. If you find yourself in an aisle that becomes more crowded, please stand to the side to allow traffic flow.
• Silence and refrain from using phones in presentation rooms.
• Wait until a presentation in progress concludes and the next presenter begins setting up before entering or leaving a presentation room to avoid disruptions.
• Quietly listen during students’ presentations in breakout rooms and ask any questions during the question-and-answer period (which moderators will announce).
• Ask presenters questions about their work. Some good questions to ask are:
  • How did you get involved in this project?
  • What is most interesting to you about your findings?
  • What did you enjoy most when working on this project?
  • What was your biggest challenge when conducting this research or completing your project?
  • Do you plan to continue your research or project in the future?
• Feel free to ask event staff any questions you have!

Photography and/or video recording may occur at the Undergraduate Symposium for promotional, educational, and news-related purposes. Images and recordings may be shared on websites, social media, print materials, and other platforms. By attending, you grant permission for your image and/or likeness to be used in these materials.

If you would prefer not to be photographed or recorded, please notify an Undergraduate Symposium staff member at registration on the day of the event.

We encourage students to work closely with their mentors as they prepare for the symposium. Students might request support as they write their project titles and abstracts, create their posters or presentations, or practice presenting.

Here are some helpful resources you can share as they do so:

1. The Writing Center’s Guide to Writing Abstracts
2. DesignLab’s Poster-Creation Resource
3. The Writing Center’s Guide to Creating a Poster
4. DesignLab’s Project-Specific Resources
5. DesignLab’s Presentation-Creation Resource

We also encourage students to make appointments with the Writing Center and/or DesignLab as they prepare for the symposium. The Writing Center and DesignLab can supplement the support you provide, allowing you to focus your feedback for students on content.

Yes! The symposium is a great way for students to:

• Learn about what engaging in undergraduate research, scholarship, service-learning, and creative projects looks like
• Experience being and engaging in a professional setting where researchers, scholars, and creatives are presenting work
• Connect with mentors and other students on research topics that interest them
• Be inspired by the work of their peers and learn about research, scholarship, service-learning, and creative opportunities for undergraduates

We strongly encourage students who are not presenting to attend!

We encourage you to check the “Overview and Event Details” page for important symposium details and information.

If you were listed as a mentor on a participant’s application, you will receive email communications from the Undergraduate Symposium team in March. If you signed a mentor approval form and do not receive emails from the symposium team by late March, please contact us.

The symposium schedule will be available on the “Overview and Event Details” page in mid to late March.

We strongly encourage students who are not presenting to attend the Undergraduate Symposium! The event is a great way to:

• Meet other students and faculty doing incredible and innovative work
• Learn about what it’s like to engage in undergraduate research, scholarship, service-learning, and creative projects (and how to get involved!)
• Experience being in a professional setting where researchers, scholars, and creatives are presenting work (which can be helpful if you plan to present work or to go to conferences in the future)
• Be inspired by the work of your peers and learn about research, scholarship, service-learning, and creative opportunities available to you

If you have anywhere from twenty minutes to a few hours free on April 17th, 2026, you should stop by!

Yes! Attending the Undergraduate Symposium is a great way to learn about research happening across campus and to talk to other students and mentors about how to get involved. We encourage you to ask students presenting posters about how they got involved in their current work. You also can ask if they have advice for students looking to get involved in similar work.

Here are a few general tips for student attendees:

• If you are able to attend the event for only a short time (twenty to thirty minutes), we encourage you to attend the poster sessions in Varsity Hall (Union South) or the Discovery Building’s Atrium Open Court (afternoon only). The poster session will allow you to have conversations with presenters sharing posters and to ask any questions you have about what it’s like to engage in the research or projects they’re working on. Presentations are timed, so you will not have the same opportunity to engage with presenters one-on-one in presentation sessions.
• If you plan to enter or leave a presentation room (any presentation room in Union South that is not Varsity Hall) in the middle of a session, we encourage you to wait for the presentation being given to conclude and for the next presenter to begin setting up before entering or leaving the room. Movement in the audience can be disruptive and distracting for presenters in the middle of a presentation.
• Ask presenters questions! Here are a few examples of questions you can ask:
  • What was the most interesting finding or idea they learned when working on this project?
  • How did they get into this area of study?
  • What was their biggest challenge when conducting this research?
  • Where do they go from here? Do they plan to continue this work in the future?
• Don’t hesitate to ask symposium staff for help if you’re having difficulty finding a presentation room or would like guidance as you navigate the event!

The 2026 Undergraduate Symposium will be held on floor 2 and 3 of Union South and in the Discovery Building’s Atrium Open Court (afternoon only).

Union South is located at 1308 West Dayton Street, Madison, WI 53715.

Directions to Union South

The Discovery Building is across the street from Union South. The Discovery Building’s address is 330 N. Orchard St, Madison, WI 53715.

Parking availability can be very limited in April. We encourage you to consider taking public transit or bicycling to get to the Undergraduate Symposium. Union South and the Discovery Building are located near several City of Madison Metro Transit bus stops  and bicycle routes.

If you plan to park nearby to get to the event, you can check this page to see current lot occupancy before departing.

Union South Parking Information

Visitor Parking Map

For additional information about parking options, please contact UW-Madison Transportation Services.

Nearby Visitor Lots:

• Lot 80 , 1308 W. Dayton Street  (under Union South, very limited availability)
• Lot 20, 1390 University Avenue – 4-minute walk
• Lot 17, 1525 Engineering Drive – 5-minute walk
• Lot 27, 1330 Linden Drive – 8-minute walk
• Lot 7, 325 N. Brooks Street – 10-minute walk
• Lot 36, 1645 Observatory Drive – 11-minute walk

The Undergraduate Symposium schedule will be shared on the “Overview and Event Details” page in mid to late March. You will be able to search the schedule to find which presentation room your friend or family member is presenting in. If you have any difficulties finding this information or navigating the schedule, please feel free to reach out to the Undergraduate Symposium team.

Yes, support staff will be available to assist with navigation and any other questions you have on the day of the event. Please head to registration to speak with a staff member.