Student Poster Competition Information

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

While all presenters may submit one oral presentation and one poster display to the Annual Meeting program, only one presentation may be accepted to the student competition.

NEW IN 2025: Due to the continued growth of the student competition, students presenting at the Annual Meeting must submit their first, second, and third presentation preferences. Presentation options include: 

• Student 10-Minute Presentation Competition
• Student 10-Minute Presentation Non-Competition
• Student Poster Display Competition
• Student Poster Display Non-Competition

IMPORTANT: Every effort will be made to align each presenter’s preference with the available space and time for the competition. All assignments will be made by the Student Competition Co-Chairs, and their decisions are final. Students will be notified of their session and presentation assignment in mid-August.

Student presentations submitted after the May 30 deadline will not be eligible for inclusion in the student competition but will be placed in a non-competition session or a non-student session.

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.

Students who present posters 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 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. 

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.