Student Poster Competition Information

Presentation Capacity for 2026

• The conference can accommodate up to 616 submissions to the Student 10-Minute Oral Presentation Competition.
• We expect the number of Student 10‑Minute Oral Presentation Competition submissions to exceed the number of available slots. Therefore, not all students who select this option may be able to participate.
• Student 10-Minute Competition submissions will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, based on date and time of submission completion.
• Student Poster Display Competition submissions are not limited. Every student who selects the poster display competition will be able to participate.
• The Student Competition Co-Chairs will honor student preferences wherever possible. If the Student 10-Minute Presentation Oral Competition slots are filled, submissions will be assigned to the student’s second-choice format.
• All student competition sessions—10-Minute Oral Presentations and Poster Displays—will include 10–12 presentations. Each session will award 1st- and 2nd-place prizes.
• All session assignments are determined by the Student Competition Co‑Chairs and are considered final. Requests for changes to presentation type or session assignment will not be accommodated.

Student presentations submitted after the May 31 deadline will not be eligible for inclusion in the student competition but will be placed in a non-competition session.

Student Submission Guidelines

• Students should select the “Student Presentation” submission category.
• Submissions to the regular (non-student) 10-Minute Presentation and Poster Display categories will not be considered for the student competition.
• Submit your first- and second-choice presentation formats. Options include:
  • Student Competition 10-Minute Presentation 
  • Student Competition Poster Display
  • Student Non-Competition 10-Minute Presentation 
  • Student Non-Competition Poster Display 
• First- and second-choices may not be the same. Students who submit the same preference for first- and second-choice may be excluded from the competition.
• While students are welcome to submit one oral and one poster display presentation to the program,  student competition participation is limited to one presentation or one poster.
• Abstracts are required at the time of submission, but may be edited through the May 31 submission deadline. After the submission deadline, presenters will have the ability to edit abstract text mid-August to mid-October.

Students are eligible for the competition for 12 months after the month of graduation, with current ESA student or student transition membership.

Students who present poster displays in the Student Competition will be evaluated in the following areas.

Scientific Content (50%)

• Title concise, informative, and relevant to poster content; judge title given on poster, not what is listed in the online program (5 points)
• Introduction, justification, and background with pertinent literature cited (5 points)
• Objectives or hypotheses clearly stated and concise  / Objectives of course design or teaching/extension program clearly stated and concise with learning gaps and target audience(s) identified (10 points)
• Materials and methods (study design) clear, concise, and appropriate to problem / Course or program design development and relevant evaluation metrics clear, concise, and appropriate for the learning gaps and audience(s) (10 points)
• Interpretation of results and analysis clear, concise & accurate and addresses needs of the target audience; the central message is supported by data provided (10 points)
• Significance of results (actual or potential/proposed) to field of study or teaching/extension community clearly discussed (10 points)

Poster Display (50%)

• Logical order, minimum redundancy (10 points)
• Effective use of space; smooth transition between sections; individual creativity is expressed (10 points)
• Legible with appropriate-size fonts, color contrast, no conflicting backgrounds (high contrast images (for example, avoiding color schemes that are hard to distinguish for colorblind participants like red/green); if QR code is present, it functions properly and directs viewers to relevant content (10 points)
• Text with no grammatical errors and not excessively wordy (10 points)
• Effective use and description of visuals (i.e. photos, diagrams, figures, and tables), coordinated with & cited in text (10 points)

Each poster display is judged independently by three judges. In the event of a tie, the Student Competition Co-Chairs will use the abstract to determine a winner.

A Sample Poster Display Evaluation Form is available for reference.

Students compete only against the students in their poster display session and not against other students in the same topic area who were assigned to other sessions. 

All student competition sessions—10-Minute Oral Presentations and Poster Displays—will include 10–12 presentations. Each session will award 1st- and 2nd-place prizes.

The Student Competition Co-Chairs will do their best to group presentations on these subjects into sessions together, although a perfect fit is not always possible. All session assignments are determined by the Student Competition Co‑Chairs and are considered final. Requests for changes to presentation type or session assignment will not be accommodated.