Awards
Students can receive awards at SURCA for making exemplary presentations of commendable research, scholarly, or creative activities.
In general, awards are given based on the quality of three aspects of the student’s work:
- The student’s ideas, methods, and output reflected in the research, scholarly, or creative project.
- The student’s delivery of the presentation.
- The student’s fielding of questions and feedback from judges and, possibly, other audience members.
Quality is specifically evaluated according to the field the student is working in. For more information about how awards are determined, you can view the SURCA Judge’s rubric for a detailed breakdown of how presentations are evaluated.
Levels of SURCA Awards
The following levels of awards may be given to student presenters in each of the nine SURCA presentation categories.
Crimson Award
Students receiving the very top scores will receive this level of award. Typically, one to five crimson awards may be made in each of the nine categories.
Gray Award
This level is the second-highest award at SURCA. One or more gray awards may be made in each category.
Early Career Award
This level is for first-year students and sophomores who receive excellent scores from the judges. Early career awards may be made in each category.
Novice Researcher Award
This level is given to students of any academic level who are new to the research process (i.e., have been working in their research area for two semesters or less), and who receive excellent scores from the judges. Novice researcher awards can be made in each category.
Additional Awards
In addition to awards presented at the SURCA Awards Ceremony, some programs may make additional awards to presenters, such as WSU LSAMP (Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation) and the WSU Global Campus. Additionally, the WSU Emeritus Society grants several awards that require participation in SURCA as part of the eligibility criteria; these awards must be applied for directly to the WSU Emeritus Society, which is separate from SURCA.
Robert H. (’77 Engineering and Honors) and Mary L. Rieck
