In Spring 2026, the聽Undergraduate Writing Symposium聽(UWS) will once again feature the exceptional work of first-year authors as well as the research writing of more advanced undergraduate authors.
All current first-year undergraduate students are welcome to submit academic essays written in the Fall 2025 semester to be considered for inclusion as a presenter in this year鈥檚聽Undergraduate Writing Symposium.
Those whose submissions are selected through our blind review process will be invited to present on their project during the symposium event on the afternoon of聽Friday, March 27.
- Deadline Extended:聽Monday, Jan. 19, 2026 at 11:59pm
Deadline for UWS First-Year Essay Submissions:聽Friday, January 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM- To self-nominate your writing or to submit a piece nominated by an instructor, please fill out the聽.
Before completing the submission form, please familiarize yourself with the information below on Eligibility, First-Year Submission Guidelines and Requirements, and the Submission Form鈥檚 Required Written Components.
For first-year submissions, all authors invited to the symposium will also have their pieces automatically considered for digital publication in this year鈥檚 volume of聽. That process involves the author working with the Writing Studio on polishing their manuscript and submitting a short video or audio reflection on the writing of the piece and what they learned. (Guidelines will be provided to finalists.)
Eligibility
- Academic essays written by current first-year undergraduate students
- Must have been composed during the Fall 2025 semester
- Two entries per student maximum
- Must be available to present during this year鈥檚 symposium event
- Please put the event date on your calendar now and be prepared to attend if selected!
Submission Guidelines and Requirements
- Word limit:聽First-year essay聽submissions are limited to聽3,500 words聽(excluding footnotes, endnotes, and references). Longer submissions will not be considered and should be cut down to within the word limit prior to entry.
- Submission files must be anonymized and free of editing mark-up:聽For the purpose of our blind review, authors must remove all identifying information in the submission file they upload.
- Please remove your name and other identifying information from the first page of the document, the document header, and anywhere else it may appear within the file.
- Please ensure the file name for your submission does not include your name.
- Please remove any editing mark-up and inserted review comments (which often include identifiers).
- File format:聽Submissions must be uploaded as Microsoft Word Documents (.docx preferred).
- Maximum two entries per student
Required Written Components
Completing the submission form will involve answering a number of questions about your submission and yourself as well as several聽short pieces of writing聽as detailed below.
- Anonymized submission file submitted as a Microsoft Word Document (.docx preferred)
- A brief, 2鈥�3 sentence description of the writing project (to be used in the online symposium program)
- A set of 1鈥�3 keywords describing your project鈥檚 subject or genre
- A short reflection on this year鈥檚 symposium theme (1鈥�2 paragraphs, see reflection prompt below)
Reflection Prompt on This Year鈥檚 Symposium Theme
The Undergraduate Writing Symposium celebrates the transformative power of undergraduates immersing themselves in the often-challenging processes of writing, critical inquiry, research, and creative expression.
For the 2026 UWS theme, however, we pose the question, 鈥淲hy Write?鈥�
At a time when it鈥檚 easier than ever to outsource our work with words to AI, we want to hear from students in their own voices on why they write: What makes the often-arduous writing process worthwhile?聽We invite you to reflect on the following questions:
- Why did you write this piece? What about it makes you eager to share the piece with others in the context of the Undergraduate Writing Symposium?
- In what ways did composing this piece push you to consider or reconsider your broader approach to writing or the writing process?
- What challenges did you face while composing this symposium submission? How did you face and work through those challenges? How have those challenges informed how you feel about the piece now?
- Why write? (Approach our theme鈥檚 big question however you will, but we suggest that you don鈥檛 lose sight of this particular symposium submission.)