How to Register for S³

Presenter registration for S³ 2026 opens Sept. 1, 2025 and closes Dec. 11, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Any questions about registration can be directed to the S³ Support Team via email [email protected].

Register as a Presenter or Co-Presenter on Whova

Registration for Judges, Attendees, Tabling Participants, and Volunteers is coming soon.

Registration Steps

Step 1: Create an Account

You'll be prompted to create an account on the Whova Event Software when registering.

Step 2: Complete Registration Form

On Whova, choose the "ticket type" that best matches your role at the SDSU Student Symposium (e.g., lead presenter, co-presenter). Fill out the registration questions for your role.

A preview of all the registration questions and more detailed instructions are available in the 2026 S³ Presenter Resource Guide.

Presenter Eligibility

Please check that you are eligible to present at the SDSU Student Symposium.

Registration Guidelines

Lead Presenters vs. Co-Presenters

As part of your S³ registration, you may include one additional co-presenter, or up to 4 additional co-presenters only if you select a theater presentation type. Here’s a breakdown of what each term means, along with important guidelines for including them in your registration:

Lead Presenters

Lead Presenters are individuals who are the main presenter responsible for delivering the presentation during the S³ Presentation Day. These individuals hold the primary responsibility of presenting the research or project, which includes all elements of the presentation. Including but not limited to presenting, answering questions, engaging with the audience, being the primary focus for scoring, receiving the award on behalf of the group, etc. Lead Presenters may list one additional co-presenter that can replace them in the event they withdraw after registration has closed.

Lead Presenters must provide email addresses for any co-presenter(s) when adding them to the registration form, so they can receive important updates and event information.

Please coordinate with all co-presenters before finalizing your submission to confirm everyone’s participation status and the accuracy of the registration information for the lead presenter and co-presenters.

A student can be Lead Presenter on only one project and abstract. However, there is no limit to the number of abstracts on which a student is a co-presenter as long as the presentations are different.

If a group's presentation scores are high enough to receive an award, award funds will be awarded to the Lead Presenter. The Lead Presenter may choose to divide the cash prize equally based upon the number of participants in that group but is not required to.

Co-Presenters

Co-presenters are individuals who will actively participate in delivering the presentation during the S³ Presentation Day. These individuals share the responsibility of presenting the research or project, whether through verbal presentation, answering questions, or engaging with the audience. Each lead presenter may list one additional co-presenter for oral, poster, or exhibit presentations and up to 4 co-presenters in addition to themselves for theater presentations.

If a Lead Presenter withdraws from presenting after registration has closed, only registered co-presenters are eligible to take their place.

When adding co-presenters, the lead presenter and faculty mentors should ensure co-presenters are fully aware of their responsibilities during the event, including being present on Presentation Day.

Presentation Categories

To help you identify the most appropriate thematic category for your research, please refer to the Presentation Categories on our 2026 S³ Presenter Resource Guide. This guide outlines each presentation category, providing definitions and example topics to assist you in choosing the right fit for your project. Choosing one of these categories helps us group presentations in similar disciplines together into sessions.

Presentation Types

The symposium offers a variety presentation formats to best showcase the diversity of student research, scholarship and creative activities. These formats include:

• Oral Presentations (a 10-minute talk followed by 5-minute Q&A)
• Poster Presentations (Accompanied by a printed poster, presenters have short conversations with audience members intermittently throughout an approximately 90-minute session)
• Exhibit Presentations (Accompanied by more elaborate displays than posters, presenters have short conversations with audience members intermittently throughout an approximately 90-minute session)
• Theater Presentations (In a theater, on a stage, present some sort of creative performance, e.g., a short film screening, a table reading, a visual or musical production within 30 minutes)

Please reference our 2026 S³ Presenter Resource Guide for detailed descriptions, guidelines, sample schedules and recommendations for each type. Please note the changes from previous event schedules and formats.

Abstract Guidelines

• All entries must have an abstract written by the student and reviewed/edited by their faculty mentor. Mentors should not write the abstract, but guide the student in developing the abstract.
• Abstracts should be 350 words or fewer. There is a 2,100 character limit.
• Duplicate abstracts submitted by different authors will be automatically rejected.
• Typically research abstracts contain the elements below; you should consult with your advisor(s)/mentor(s) prior to submission:
  
  • Hypothesis or statement about the problem or project
  • Statement of the methods (research that utilizes existing/secondary data sets is acceptable)
  • Essential results or outcomes
  • Conclusion or summary (initial or preliminary results/data are acceptable)
• Abstracts describing creative arts and performances are encouraged to provide a short description of the piece with a summary of the process by which you created your work. Process is how you put what you have learned and researched into your performance or artwork. For example, a sculptor could talk about media, a composer could talk about musical influences, an actor could talk about rehearsal techniques like Meisner or Viewpoints.