The Best Student Paper & Poster (BSP) competition is a Society-level award sponsored by the Education Section of the AFS. A panel of judges evaluates pre-recorded talks before the AFS Annual Meeting so that winners can be announced at that time, during the Business Meeting.
Instructions for Award Participation
Who can apply?
Undergraduate, graduate, and recently graduated students (<1 year post-graduation) that would like to present at the annual AFS meeting about projects at or nearing completion are eligible to apply.
How to apply?
Students must first submit an abstract through the meeting website, to present at the AFS Annual Meeting by the official deadline.
The Short Version: To participate in the Best Student Paper/Poster (BSP) competition, applicants then choose to submit either a paper (oral) or poster presentation. For paper participants, an extended abstract is required. Poster participants need only submit the standard abstract. Both paper and poster presenters must have support of their major advisor indicating that the study is at a stage appropriate for this award (at, nearing, or recently [<1 year] completed). Finalists will be selected from a panel of judges who evaluate abstract submissions. Those finalists will then be invited to submit a pre-recorded presentation for final judging. Oral presentations will be of 15-minute duration or less; poster presentations will be 5 minutes or less. Judging will occur prior to the annual meeting, and winners will be announced at the AFS Business Meeting.
The Long Version: Read the detailed guidelines below.
Applications must be submitted through the online application form below by May 15, 2025.
Best Student Paper/Poster Guidelines
Choosing Your Format
Having trouble deciding between a poster and an oral presentation?
Oral presentations are generally 15 minutes with a number of visuals, oftentimes conveyed through a Powerpoint presentation. Posters are heavily reliant on the single, static visual with a brief “elevator pitch” that may be 1-3 minutes.
If you have a smaller volume of information or a singular, powerful message to convey, a poster may be the most appropriate format. If you have a larger volume of information, a presentation may be the most appropriate format. It is up to you!
The scoring criteria for the Best Student Paper and Best Student Poster include a measure of time/space allocation. Trying to cram too much information or too complex of information into a limited place will result in a reduction of score, as it is difficult for a viewer to comprehend. This is one of the most challenging aspects of building a great presentation or poster.
General Criteria
Scientific Merit
Be sure to include all of the expected pieces of a scientific work: introduction, objectives, methods of data collection and analysis, results, and conclusions, assuming those components are appropriate (almost always). Given your limited time/space, be sure to allocate an appropriate amount of time/space to each piece. If your methods are simple, don’t belabor them. If you have multiple stages of work, feel free to group methods and results for each stage. The natural flow of thought is important, as well as the fact that the essential pieces are there for another person to understand your work.
Every poster or presentation should always answer two questions above all: WHY? And SO WHAT? Your introduction should provide adequate background to lead the viewer naturally to the justification or need for the study. They should understand your objectives immediately, as they are a direct outcome of the study’s context. At the end, your conclusions should lead the viewer to not only a specific finding but to a broader understanding of why it matters, how it can be used or applied.
Subject Matter
The award criteria reward being on the forefront of scientific inquiry. Your subject matter should provide some novel insight, perhaps through the application of new technology or unique methods. Perhaps a new analytical approach or an unfamiliar data source. Originality in some aspect of your study is desirable. Likewise, timeliness and relevance matter. You should address an important research problem or question with your work, providing useful information to address a management issue. Again, the WHY? And SO WHAT? are essential take-home messages for the judge to understand why your subject matter matters.
Stage of Research
Both posters and presentations submitted to the Best Student Paper/Poster Award competition are expected to be in a more mature stage (at, nearing, or recently (<1 year) completed), assuring that not only study setup and methodology are identified, but also results and implications of findings. All applications are vetted by a committee of Division representatives and committee volunteers prior to any applicant being accepted into the competition, and each application is required to be supported by a letter/email from the study advisor.
Visual Clarity and Appeal
Though scored slightly differently, both papers and posters rely heavily on visual aids. Ensure your visual aids are high quality, clearly conveyed, and adequately detailed. Not only are formatting and legibility essential, but the technical aspects of any figures or tables are important too (e.g., labeling, titles or captions, legends). Consider how your visuals will look for a viewer on a small computer screen or from halfway across the room. Avoid high complexity, walls of text, difficult-to-scan tables, and over-filled figures. If a figure does have some complexity, introduce it to the viewer intentionally with clear explanation. Avoid unnecessary or distracting visuals, if they do not clearly support your message.
Specific Guidelines for Oral Presentations
Extended abstracts are required for oral presentations. An extended abstract should follow a manuscript-style format, including introduction, methods, results, and discussion. The inclusion of tables and figures to depict results is welcomed. The intent of the extended abstract is to ensure judges select finalists who have the most compelling research project to discuss in the final presentation competition. The maximum page allowance for extended abstracts is 3 pages. Please see examples below to help guide your extended abstract creation.
Extended Abstract Examples
Recordings should, at minimum, include your face at the beginning. We prefer you embed your speaking video into the recording if possible. Remember that a number of points depend on your presentation skills and are nearly impossible to evaluate without your video included.
Ensure your presentation covers each part of the scientific method adequately, demonstrating the study’s organization and scientific merit. Presentations typically convey a great deal of information, but make sure to focus on a reasonable-sized set of objectives in order to make your messaging strongest. You will not likely be able to deliver the outcomes of an entire thesis or dissertation, nor should you. You must also carefully balance your time allocated to each portion of the scientific method, providing adequate background but not belaboring one section at the severe expense of another.
Examples of Outstanding Presentations
- Katrina Munsterman – An Old Approach to a New Enigma: Do Artificial Reefs Enhance Fish Production?
- Jordanna Bergman – Can a freshwater protected area support a migratory species?
- Rachel Roday – Habitat use of acoustic tagged American Shad in the lower Delaware River
Specific Guidelines for Posters
Recordings should, at minimum, include your face at the beginning. We prefer you embed your speaking video into the recording if possible. Recordings may show the entire poster, but we have also seen highly effective presentations in which the poster was “zoomed into” as the presenter spoke. This can be achieved by taking snips of the poster and walking through them in PowerPoint, or by a service like Prezi. Judges will have access to both the recording and the PDF version of your poster.
Timing for posters is short. We strongly recommend targeting 1.5-2 minutes for your delivery, a true “elevator pitch.” The maximum recommended length is 3 minutes, recognizing that some subject matters simply need a little more time and others do not. That said, forcing too much content into a poster format will not benefit the award applicant, as we would encourage the applicant to present a paper instead.
For additional tips regarding this short format, we recommend you check out the concept 3-Minute Thesis: https://gradschool.cornell.edu/career-and-professional-development/three-minute-thesis/
Because the poster format is so short, you must be very direct in your messaging both visually and verbally. Scoring for posters emphasizes this fact. Remember that a poster is designed to be consumed and understood in a relatively short amount of time, so the “scannability” of your poster is important.
- Poster Scoring Rubric for Judges (Updated 2025)
