In Spring 2026, the Undergraduate Writing Symposium (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’s 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 Friday, March 27.

• Deadline for UWS First-Year Essay Submissions: 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 2026 UWS: First-Year Essays Submission Form.

Before completing the submission form, please familiarize yourself with the information below on Eligibility, First-Year Submission Guidelines and Requirements, and the Submission Form’s 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’s volume of Scaffold: A Showcase of Vanderbilt First-Year Writing. 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’s symposium event
  • Please put the event date on your calendar now and be prepared to attend if selected!

Submission Guidelines and Requirements

• Word limit: First-year essay submissions are limited to 3,500 words (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: 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: 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 short pieces of writing as detailed below.

1. Anonymized submission file submitted as a Microsoft Word Document (.docx preferred)
2. A brief, 2–3 sentence description of the writing project (to be used in the online symposium program)
3. A set of 1–3 keywords describing your project’s subject or genre
4. A short reflection on this year’s symposium theme (1–2 paragraphs, see reflection prompt below)

Reflection Prompt on This Year’s 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, “Why Write?”

At a time when it’s 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? 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’s big question however you will, but we suggest that you don’t lose sight of this particular symposium submission.)

In Spring 2026, the Undergraduate Writing Symposium (UWS) will once again feature the exceptional work of first-year authors as well as the research writing of more advanced undergraduate authors.

All upper-division undergraduates (sophomores, juniors, and seniors) working on advanced research projects are welcome to submit a project abstract and a related reflection to be considered for inclusion as a presenter in this year’s Undergraduate Writing Symposium.

• Deadline for UWS Advanced Research Writing Submissions: 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 2026 UWS: Advanced Research Writing Submission Form.

Before completing the submission form, please familiarize yourself with the information below on Eligibility, Advanced Research Writing Submission Guidelines and Requirements, and the Submission Form’s Required Written Components.

Those selected through our blind review process will be invited to present on their project as part of a panel during the symposium event on the afternoon of Friday, March 27.

Eligibility

• Advanced research writing from current upper-division undergraduate students: sophomores, juniors, and seniors
• Honors theses, independent research projects, and other advanced work including Immersion projects and pieces submitted or being prepared for publication will all be considered
• Submissions may either be in-progress projects during Spring 2026 or have been completed during the 2025 calendar year (spring, summer, fall)
• Must be available to present during this year’s symposium event
  • Please put the event date on your calendar now and be prepared to attend if selected!

Submission Guidelines and Requirements

• Word limit: The word limit for the required project abstract is 250 words.
• Submission files must be anonymized and free of editing mark-up: 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: 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 short pieces of writing as detailed below.

1. A 250-word abstract of the advanced project submitted as a Microsoft Word Document (.docx preferred)
2. A 2–3 sentence description of the writing project (to be used in the online symposium program)
3. A set of 1–3 keywords describing your project’s subject or genre
4. A short reflection on this year’s symposium theme (1–2 paragraphs, see reflection prompt below)

Reflection Prompt on This Year’s 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, “Why Write?”

At a time when it’s 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? 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’s big question however you will, but we suggest that you don’t lose sight of this particular symposium submission.)