UMBC’s 24th Annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) was originally scheduled to be held on campus on April 22. Due to the campus closure, URCAD will be moving online, April 22–29.

Converting URCAD from an on-campus, day-long symposium to an online event will be supported by a technology called VoiceThread (VT), an asynchronous (“not in real time”) platform for media-rich conversations that can occur anytime, anywhere. This means attendees will still be able to see students’ research posters and slides, as well as art, performances, films, and video games, and be able to leave video, voice, or text feedback for the presenters. This way, participants create a sense of personal “presence” in the online environment, and students will be able to respond to questions and receive feedback during the week-long event.

We hope to preserve the spirit of URCAD and make this a meaningful, learning, sharing, and celebratory event for our campus community.

View URCAD Sneak Peeks!

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Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) features research, scholarship, and creative work carried out by UMBC undergraduates. Over 250 presenters participate annually. Researchers work with faculty mentors on independent research, or research that is part of the mentor’s on-going projects. Students are from all disciplines, and can be working on a thesis, capstone project, part of a scholars or honors program, or they can be unaffiliated with other programs.

Students who have received Undergraduate Research Awards (URA) for the previous year will be presenting their findings. UMBC is unique in providing this opportunity for undergraduate students to conduct and present their research in a professional and supportive setting. This campus-wide celebration of achievement affirms UMBC’s commitment to the twin goals of research and a distinctive undergraduate experience.

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Consistent with its commitment to academic freedom, UMBC does not restrict the topics of inquiry that can be accepted for URCAD, the conclusions that are reached in student work, or the representations chosen by the student and mentor for that work. With the approval of their mentors, students may apply to present any mentored research, scholarship, or creative work completed while they are UMBC undergraduates. A mentor-approved and committee-approved abstract describing the work and its intellectual context is required. Approval to present work at URCAD is given by the faculty of the URCAD committee.