Undergraduate Research Journal

Each year the UNK Undergraduate Research Council publishes selected examples of student scholarly writing in the Undergraduate Research Journal. Any paper written by a UNK undergraduate student is eligible for consideration. However, the papers can be co-authored by other students and faculty. The undergraduate must be lead author.

Full, printed copies of past issues of this journal are available in the Calvin T. Ryan Library. Past years’ tables of contents are available below.

Submissions will be requested through the faculty in early spring. Students should submit their papers directly to the chair of the appropriate department. Each department -- using a process they determine -- can select up to four papers for submission to the Undergraduate Research Council. Once approved selected papers will then be submitted online Undergraduate Research Journal by April 28, 2023. Papers will be reviewed by experts in their respective fields.

Submissions should be 8-15 pages in length, double spaced. Keep in mind the selection is based on quality; not quantity. Length of paper is not a disqualification.

Any good scholarly writing, past or present, is eligible for submission as long as the student wrote it while an undergraduate student at UNK (e.g. a current UNK graduate student may submit work done as a UNK undergraduate). The papers can be co-authored by other students and faculty. The undergraduate must be lead author.

Submissions are requested from all disciplines and may be written in a format appropriate for that discipline. However, all papers should be submitted as a word document unless an exception has been received from URCA. The formatting guidelines for the final submission are as follows: Times New Roman Font, 1” margins, single column, and justified single space. Within the document itself, font sizes should be as follows: Title (18 pt., bold), Body of text (12 pt.), Acknowledgements (12 pt.), Abstract (12 pt.), Headings (12 pt., all caps, bold), and Subheadings (12 pt., bold).

Please omit author and mentor names, as well as any other identifying information, from initial submission. Manuscripts that contain identifying information will be returned to the authors for revision. This may delay the review process.

Contact the URCA office or email simondm@unk.edu with questions.

Undergraduate Research Journal

Criteria are as follows:

Undergraduate Research Journal Links to Past Issues