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The Oswald Research and Creativity Competition is intended to promote research and creativity in all fields of study.

The competition accepts reports, of all forms of creativity, and scholarship by undergraduate students. This includes, but is not limited to artistic and musical creations; creative writing and poetry; and reports of studies and research in the humanities, the social, natural, and medical sciences, agriculture, business, architecture, and engineering.

Entries are judged strictly on a blind basis – without any student identification present.

Award Amount in EACH Category: 

1st Place $350

2nd Place $200  

 

Categories


Oswald categories and requirements

 

 

Students need to pick a category that most closely aligns with their project. If you are unsure you can email our office (ugresearch@uky.edu) for a more in-depth definition of a specific category. 

 

Register for Oswald Research Competition

The competition accepts reports, of all forms of creativity, and scholarship by undergraduate students.

SUBMIT YOUR PROJECT

Oswald Student Category Winners

View Student Winners

Eligibility

Any current UK undergraduate (full- or part-time) who does not already have a four-year degree is eligible for this competition and is invited to submit papers and other projects. 

Students have the option of submitting multiple projects in different categories, but can only submit a single project in one category (e.g. report in Biological Sciences and photo project in Fine Arts).

 

Important Dates

Call for Submissions: September 16, 2023

Submission Deadline: October 30, 2023

  • NOTE: Every entry must include an Abstract (300 words maximum)
  • Students can submit different projects in multiple categories (e.g. painting in Fine Arts, poem in Humanities:Creative, etc)

Design+Fine Arts Display: November 6-10, 2023

  • Project Drop-off: Monday, Nov. 6 in the Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library. Project drop-off is from 8:30 - 11:30 AM.

  • Project Pick-up: Friday, Nov. 10 in the Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library. Project pick-up is from 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM.

  • Blind judging takes place during the week

 

Student Awards Reception: Nov. 16, 2023; 4:30 - 6 PM

  • Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library Lobby and Niles Gallery

  • Winners will be announced

  • Meet the Student Researchers, Artists, and Designers

 

Non-Textual Categories: Design & Fine Arts

 REGISTER HERE

 

Displays (video, art, audio, structural designs, etc.) in the Design and Fine Arts categories must include a description, to be included in the registration form. Write something that accurately describes your work and that you would be proud to show the public. Descriptions should consist of an overview of the project and any other descriptive and/or discussion materials the author feels is warranted.

Note: Students are responsible for providing all display props and materials (e.g., dress form).  We will provide easels, small tables, and hanging materials (e.g., Command hooks)

A registration form must be submitted in order for the submission to be included for judging. 

Students can submit different projects in multiple categories (e.g. painting in Fine Arts, poem in Humanities: Creative, etc)​

NOTE: Every entry must include an Abstract (300 words maximum). Abstracts should:

  1. Clearly state the central research question and/or purpose of the project. 

  2. Provide brief, relevant scholarly or research context (no actual citations required) that demonstrate its attempt to make a unique contribution to the area of inquiry. 

  3. Provide a brief description of the research methodology. 

  4. State conclusions or expected results and the context in which they will be discussed. 

  5. Include text only (no images or graphics)

  6. Be well-written and well-organized. 

 

Design and Fine Arts submissions will be exhibited in the Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library the week of November 6-10, 2023.

  • Student projects will be displayed in the glass wall area across from the elevator near the first-floor entrance of the Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library.  

  • Students can submit ONE project in multiple categories (e.g., painting in Fine Arts, a poem in Humanities: Creative, etc.)

  • Project Drop-off is Monday, Nov. 6 in the Fine Arts Library (follow the signs). Project drop-off is from 8:30 - 11:30 AM

  • Project pick-up is Friday, Nov. 10 from 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM in the Fine Arts Library

  • Blind judging takes place during the week

*Names and any other identifying information must be removed from the displays for judging purposes.

The Oswald Competition is meant to promote creativity at its highest level. As such, the submission guidelines are very brief and intended not to restrict authors in any way. Our office encourages any and all submissions.

 

Textual Categories

REGISTER HERE

 

TEXTUAL CATEGORIES

  • Biological Sciences

  • Fine Arts (music  / non-performance)

  • Humanities: Creative

  • Humanities: Critical Research

    • Branches of the humanities include law, languages, philosophy, religion and mythology, international relations, gender and women's studies, multicultural and regional studies, popular culture, and art and music

  • Physical and Engineering Sciences

  • Social Sciences

    • Branches of social sciences include sociology, anthropology, archeology, geography, political science (including politics and government), psychology, communication studies, criminal justice, demographics, library and information science, and economics.

 

Textual submissions (written papers) should include:

  • Abstract (300 words maximum)

  • Introduction, body, conclusion (or discussion), and citations and/or notes

  • There is 10 page limit on the length, due to the fact that all submissions will undergo a thorough review and judging process

    • NOTE: Any submissions that exceed the page limit will be disqualified from the competition

    • Cover page and references do NOT count towards the 10-page limit.

  • Names and any other identifying information must be removed from the uploaded submission for judging purposes. Submissions that include any identifying information will NOT be accepted.

NOTE: All textual categories require a full written report. Abstracts and posters will not be accepted as submissions.

NOTE: Students can submit different projects in multiple categories (e.g. painting in Fine Arts, poem in Humanities: Creative, etc)​

 

Projects must be submitted via the online registration form. Please include an Abstract (300 word maximum) in the registration form. It is important to write something that accurately describes your work and that you would be proud to show the public. 

Abstracts should:

1.   Clearly state the central research question and/or purpose of the project. 

2.   Provide brief, relevant scholarly or research context (no actual citations required) that demonstrate its attempt to make a unique contribution to the area of inquiry. 

3.   Provide a brief description of the research methodology. 

4.   State conclusions or expected results and the context in which they will be discussed. 

5.   Include text only (no images or graphics)

6.   Be well-written and well-organized. 

​​The Oswald Competition is meant to promote creativity at it's highest level. As such, the submission guidelines are very brief and intended not to restrict authors in any way. Our office encourages any and all submissions.

 

History

The Oswald Research and Creativity Competition was established in 1964 by then-President John Oswald as part of the university’s Centennial Celebration. While the program’s objective has remained the same throughout the years, the number of categories has increased to include biological sciences; design; fine arts; humanities, from creative and critical-research approaches; physical and engineering sciences; and social science.

 

"Micro in the Macro"

Research will be conducted within the realms of biology and history of painting. Micro images will be researched and used as visual reference for the painting's subject matter. The work will construct and deconstruct materials in reference to one’s emotional and physical state of the body. While directing which materials will speak towards this narrative, the work will create an aesthetic experience and how it relates to the sublime. Creating a life size work that is personified and thus analogous to human encounter. By shredding, crushing, ripping and layering a range of materials on top of each other, the mediums will compare the vast experiences of the body with the complexity of how they shift out of their natural form. The method is to reorder the materials in reference to their subject matter and also in reference to the possibility of a new life. Depicting both the internal and external perspective simultaneously in how the human body is altered and how the materiality of the mediums are also shifted. Because of the ongoing interest in painting as process and language, the work uses both tools of abstraction and a heavy engagement with process based sensibilities. While the forms engage in being heavy and grotesque, the colors are chosen to represent a more literal mesh and metaphorical beauty. Other non-traditional materials, such as fur and wire, are chosen to depict this idea of synthetics, aiding the notion that these heavy growths are not natural, but rather qualities that the body has to endure without consent or control.

"Micro in the Macro" by Fine Arts Senior Liz Moore;  2017-18 Oswald Design & Fine Arts Display

"Micro in the Macro" by Fine Arts Senior Liz Moore;  2017-18 Oswald Design & Fine Arts Display