The 2026 UROP Spring Symposium will be held on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. This event will see the return to in-person research presentations at the MI League.
| 2026 Spring Research Symposium Timeline | Open | Deadline | Link |
| Student Time Conflict Form | February 3, 2026 | March 10, 2026 | |
| Mentor Time Conflict Form | February 3, 2026 | March 10, 2026 | |
| Student Symposium Registration | March 10, 2026 | March 17. 2026 | |
| Mentor Approval for Symposium Registration | March 17, 2026 | March 24, 2026 | |
| U-M Fishbowl Poster Printing | April 13, 2026 | April 20, 2026 |
Student Registration:
Students are required to register and submit their abstract between March 10, 2026 - March 17, 2026 through the student portal.
Students may present as an individual or in a pair of two.
Mentor Approval of Presentations:
After students submit their research posters or oral presentations, mentors have between March 17, 2026 - March 24, 2026 to approve the posters or presentations. After Wednesday, March 24 students will not be able to amend their presentation slides. If students have any questions, please direct them to their UROP Peer Facilitator or urop.symposium@umich.edu.
Workshops will be available in February & March to assist students in fine tuning the look and content of their poster/presentation here.
Scheduling:
Students will be assigned to a two hour block of time during the symposium day. One hour will be their time to present, the other hour will be their designated time to attend the symposium as an observer. Students will be grouped by lab and mentor in a single hour as much as possible to best support their peers and their mentors schedule.
UROP is committed to providing accommodations and making our events accessible. Students and Mentors will be able to indicate in the registration portal whether you or any of your guests need such accommodations in order to assign student presentation locations that best meet the accessibility needs of our attendees.
Registration:
Mentors are required to approve their students’ abstract and give them permission to present by Tuesday, March 24, 2026
*If you do not wish for your students to present at the Symposium, you will need to indicate that in the symposium registration form and provide students with an alternative assignment. The alternative assignment should be completed by April 22 (day of Symposium) and should give students the ability to showcase their research progress throughout the academic year.
Presentation Judges: As always, we will be awarding students Blue Ribbon Awards for outstanding presentations. Please fill out the Judges Interest Form if you are interested in serving as a judge. Please share with graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who might want to be involved as well.
Scheduling:
Students will be assigned to a two hour block of time during the symposium day. One hour will be their time to present, the other hour will be their designated time to attend the symposium as an observer. Students will be grouped by lab and mentor in a single hour to best support their peers and their mentors schedule.
Should you not be available between 9am - 5:00pm on April 22, 2026 please complete the Time Conflict Form by Tuesday March 10, 2026
2026 Spring Symposium Agenda
| Session: | Time: |
| Session 1 | 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM |
| Session 2 | 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM |
| Session 3 | 11:00 AM - 11:50 AM |
| Break | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM |
| Session 4 | 1:00 PM - 1:50 PM |
| Session 5 | 2:00 PM - 2:50 PM |
| Session 6 | 3:00 PM - 3:50 PM |
| Session 7 | 4:00 PM - 4:50 PM |
UROP Assignments Tied to Spring Symposium
Please note these assignments do not apply to students in the Research Scholars program. Additionally, students in the Community Engaged Research seminars might have different deadlines, please reach out to Ray Wang (rafaelw@umich.edu) with questions.
These assignments are adaptable to allow a research mentor to decide the format and/or content that should be included. Finally, depending on the student's UROP program, there may be additional assignments the student is required to complete that are not directly tied to the Spring Symposium.
- Abstract Assignment (draft 1): Due January 27, 2026
- Alternative Abstract Assignment: If you started your research project during the Winter 2026 term, the alternative abstract assignment might be a better option
- Project Introduction/Background or Problem Statement: Due February 3, 2026
- Project Methods/Procedure/Approach: Due February 17, 2026
- Symposium Registration and Abstract Draft (draft 2): Open March 10 - March 17, 2026
- When registering for the symposium, students will submit a draft of their abstract.
- Project Current or Expected Results/Finding or Project: Due March 10, 2026
- Mentor Approval for Symposium Registration and Final Abstract (draft 3): Due March 25, 2026
- This is the final step in the students registration process. If a student misses this step they will not be able to participate in the Symposium. This is also the final opportunity to update abstract, presentation title and authorship.
- Draft of Symposium Presentation (poster, oral, or creative) Submission to PF (via Canvas): Due March 24, 2026
- Student Submit Finalized Poster to Fishbowl: April 13 - April 20, 2026 at 11:59pm.
