We want to highlight excellent undergraduate and graduate student work at the 2023 Schieffer Showcase. We invite you to showcase any creative work, digital media, research project or a compelling story you produced in the past 24 months. (Works presented at the 2022 Schieffer Research and Creative Festival are ineligible.) The 2023 showcase will be from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 19.
Jump to a topic: Deadlines | Submission Details | Registration Details | Event Details | Additional Details: Awards, Presentation Recommendations and Poster Guidelines
Deadlines
By 5 p.m. April 10: Fill out registration form and email an electronic version of project (i.e. story URL, Box link for video, PowerPoint or PDF file, etc.) to COC_mail@tcu.edu.
By 5 p.m. April 17: Bring printed materials to Dean’s Office in MOUS 207 (i.e. printed 30”x40” poster, movie poster, campaign book, etc.)
The 2023 showcase will be from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Wed., April 19.
Submission Details
Submissions must reflect work created in a Bob Schieffer College of Communication course or a college-affiliated program (e.g., Student Media, KTCU, Roxo or Student Filmmakers Association). Examples of submissions include, but are not limited, to:
- Research projects (i.e., class research projects, graduate projects, theses, faculty/student collaborations)
- Honors College projects, independent study projects
- Short videos, films, television, radio or Web newscasts, podcasts
- News articles or features
- Public relations material (e.g., press kits, campaigns, cases)
- Advertising material (e.g., portfolios, campaigns, media plans)
See examples of previous projects by Undergraduate students and Graduate students
Registration Details
- Complete the registration form and email your poster presentation file or a link to your creative content to COC_mail@tcu.edu by 5 p.m. Monday, April 10.
- The Schieffer Research and Professional Development Committee will review posters and creative content. Students may be asked to make changes to their poster before it is accepted. A follow-up email will be sent to each participant with instructions on how to print their posters. (Research posters should be formatted using the 30” x 40” template found on our website and can be printed for free through TCU’s Fab Lab.)
- Printed posters must be delivered by 5 p.m. Monday, April 17 to the Dean’s Office, MOUS 207.
- Posters and presentation tables will be set up on the first floor of Moudy South. Students who are presenting should arrive no later than 3:45 p.m. April 19.
- Students may be a co-author on more than one project as long as each project has at least one dedicated presenter.
Event Details
When: 4-5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 19
Where: Moudy South first floor (lobby, classrooms and team rooms)
What: Students will present the essence of their work in 3-5 minutes for visitors in one of two ways: poster form or video or performance format for presentations such as:
- Short film
- Video
- TV clips
- Movie trailer
- Radio broadcast
- Webcast
- News/feature story
- Speech
Why: To showcase excellent work with others, to engage with others with similar interest, to network and to potentially earn a cash prize. All students and faculty who participate will receive a special Schieffer Showcase souvenir.
Additional Details
The Schieffer Research and Professional Development Committee will select the following awards among participants, with the exception of the People’s Choice Award, which is determined by popular vote. Individuals contributing to each award winning project will be given a certificate and a $100 gift, the latter to be shared among all project contributors.
- Best undergraduate research project
- Best undergraduate creative production
- Best graduate strategic communication project
- Best graduate communication studies project
- Best DEI project
- People’s choice award for favorite project or presentation by an individual
- People’s choice award for favorite project or presentation by a team
- Prepare to speak for no more than 3 minutes. Practice your presentation. Don’t read a script to your listeners; speak naturally from notes. Stand up straight, be confident, speak clearly and be as professional as you can.
- Dress professionally. Look at people and smile. Use your appearance and your demeanor to invite people to step toward you and hear about your project. When they do, introduce yourselves and then speak clearly and compellingly. After all, you could win an award, bestowed by the faculty research and creative activity committee for excellence at the showcase!
- If you will be presenting with a partner or small group, decide how you’ll split the speaking duties. Are you going to take alternate turns making your short remarks? If that’s what you decide, when you are asked a question, will the other person (who didn’t present) answer it? Your goal is that both of you participate in the conversation about your project.
- Do not leave early. If there’s a lull in attendance, one member of your pair at a time can step away from your poster and check out other projects being presented at the showcase. You can vote on the people’s choice award and have a cookie or whatever refreshments are being served.
Size and software
- Your poster should be 30 by 40 inches. The orientation can be vertical or horizontal. You can print it at no charge at TCU’s Fab Lab.
- Design your poster with a program such as PowerPoint or Canva or using this template. No one program is required, but you will want to ensure the Fab Lab can print from your program.
Use good written and visual communication
- Remember you’re designing on a big scale. A poster is not a research paper. A poster should be bold and visually inviting. Use color and visual elements to gain attention. Then balance those elements with text that demonstrates your conclusions, so you show your audience there is substance to the project.
- Consider short and to-the-point bullet points with key findings in 24-point text. Remember that your audience cannot read long paragraphs of 12-point body text on a poster, especially if they’re standing several feet away from the poster.
- Include a short main headline or title for your project. You may add a sub-heading. Try for something more insightful than “Ethical profile project: An interview with Such-And-So.” Reflect the substance of your interview findings about ethics.
- Include your name and those of your group members, your majors and the title of the course.
- Organize the content of a horizontal poster from left to right and the content of a vertical poster from top to bottom, in the same way you’d organize a page for a reader. Think about whether organizing the content in boxes or columns would help.
- Summarize your work: One of those boxes or columns should summarize how you gathered the information you’re presenting. Another of those boxes or columns should summarize what you learned. Another should summarize why it matters what you learned.
Visual elements
- Use high-resolution visual elements in your design in ways that invite attention. Remember that if they’re not high-resolution images, photos or graphics may become grainy when they’re enlarged to poster size.
- Use correct logos. Learn how to properly use TCU logos at TCU Brand Central. You can download digital TCU 150th anniversary graphics at 150.tcu.edu.
- Use copyrighted and trademarked photos, logos and graphics correctly. Be sure you understand the legal principle of one-time fair use of trademarks and copyrights.