2025-26 Presidential Award for Undergraduate Research

General Information

The Presidential Award for Undergraduate Research was established to encourage undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative achievement and to recognize the high quality of work being conducted by undergraduate students at the University at Albany. Students cannot apply for this award directly; a faculty member within their school or college must nominate eligible students by Sunday, March 22, 2026.

Eligibility - Students

Nominated student must be a junior or senior (completed a minimum of 56 credits) who has demonstrated outstanding scholastic ability.
Students who graduated in December 2025 are eligible for nomination.
Student must have made considerable progress on a paper or project in their major, which originated in an upper-level course, independent study, or honors program under the direction of a UAlbany faculty member.
Drafts or Final versions of paper/projects will be considered.
The paper or project must have been initiated after May 2025 and should be finished or represent a work in progress suitable for presentation by May 2026.

Award Specifications

Nominees for the Presidential Award for Undergraduate Research are encouraged to present their project at Showcase Day.

Nomination Process

The Minerva Center sends a call for nominations directly to the Dean of each school and college. This call includes the number of awards available for their school or college. The Dean (or their designee) is responsible for disseminating the information, including the direct link to this nomination form, to their department chairs and faculty.

Faculty members complete the online nomination form, including uploading a draft or current version of the student's project. All information for the nomination must be submitted no later than Sunday, March 22, 2026. The nomination form will become inactive after 11:59 PM on this date. Submit only one student per nomination; if a research project includes more than one student and you wish to nominate them all, each student must be nominated separately.

The Minerva Center will then forward the nominations received for each school or college to the appropriate Dean for review. The Dean, their designee, and/or committee within the school or college will make the final selection of the award recipients. The names of selected award winners must be sent to The Minerva Center by close of business on Friday, April 10, 2026.

Research Advisor/Mentor's Name*

First NameLast Name

Advisor/Mentor Department*

Advisor/Mentor Email*

example@albany.edu

Student's Name*

First NameLast Name

Student's UAlbany ID #*

e.g., 001234567

Student's Email*

example@albany.edu

Student's Primary Major*

School or College for Student's Primary Major*

College of Arts & SciencesMassry School of BusinessSchool of EducationCollege of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and CybersecurityCollege of Nanotechnology, Science, and EngineeringRockefeller College of Public Affairs & PolicyCollege of Integrated Health Sciences

Student's Secondary Major

School or College for Student's Secondary Major

College of Arts & SciencesMassry School of BusinessSchool of EducationCollege of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and CybersecurityCollege of Nanotechnology, Science, and EngineeringRockefeller College of Public Affairs & PolicyCollege of Integrated Health Sciences

Title of Student's Research Paper or Project*

Please indicate whether the research paper/project is part of the student's (check all that apply)*

How has the student engaged in this research project in the past year? (check all that apply)*

In-PersonHybrid (some in-person, some remote/virtual)Fully Remote/VirtualOther

Please indicate the status of the research paper/project:*

Completed, or will be completed by May 6, 2026A "work in progress"

Expected completion date:*

Please provide an abstract or short description of the project.*

What role has the student played in the project?*

Please describe your reasons for nominating the student for the Presidential Award or indicate that you have provided this in an attached letter of recommendation.*

Letter of Recommendation (optional but encouraged; submit as PDF)

Browse Files

Upload a draft or final version of the student's project.

Browse Files

Nomination Form for the Presidential Award for Undergraduate Research

Faculty Nomination Form

Student Information