The portal for student applications to CUR’s Posters on the Hill program is now open. The event itself will take place virtually in the spring of , 2022 (the date will depend on the agenda of Congress). This is a highly competitive program but very friendly to the arts and humanities. In 2018, for example, only 60 of 409 total submissions made the program, but proposals in the arts and humanities face slightly better odds: four out the seventeen proposals in the humanities were successful! With a little help from you, your students can successfully apply to Posters on the Hill this year!

The application process may not easy for your students. As their mentor you will have an important role. Two items on the CURAH resource page can be helpful: “how to write an abstract” and “how to make a poster.” The latter is particularly useful since posters are not a common form of presentation in the arts and humanities. Fortunately, our disciplines actually provide the background and skills for extremely compelling visual presentations of scholarship and creative activity.

As you help your students apply to Posters on the Hill, keep in mind that the event is partly an exercise in advocacy for undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity. Posters will be seen by Senators, Congressional Representatives, Congressional Staff, officers from the NEH and NEA, and the Press. The selection committee pays careful attention to the interests of your State Representatives. These usually have something to do with the unique resources and economic contributions of your state. But truly excellent and unusual student work on any project has a good chance of success. Don’t let the advocacy issues stop you; make sure your best students apply to Posters on the Hill. Participation is a wonderful opportunity. Students have an opportunity to meet with their Representatives, attend field trips, and hear from speakers who are innovators and supporters of undergraduate research.