Graduate Research Symposium

The work of 67 graduate students from across Boston College will be showcased at the third annual multidisciplinary Graduate Research Symposium on March 17.  Through oral and poster presentations, doctoral- and master’s-level students will present their empirical research to the University community.

The presentations—selected through a faculty review process that evaluates the quality and appropriateness of submitted conference proposals—will represent qualitative, quantitative, mixed, and other research methods, say organizers. The symposium is open to all members of the BC community, including faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate students, alumni, and friends. Sponsors are the BC School of Social Work, Connell School of Nursing, Lynch School of Education and Human Development, and the Graduate School of the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences.

Oral presentations will take place from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in the Boston and Newton Rooms in Corcoran Commons; 36 poster presentations will be held from 9:30–11 a.m. in the Heights Room. Connell School Dean Katherine Gregory will offer welcoming remarks at 9:45 a.m. (A light breakfast will be available; RSVP here.)

“This year, we saw a 28 percent increase in proposals from doctoral and master’s students representing BCSSW, the Lynch School, Connell School, Morrissey College, Clough School of Theology and Ministry, and Woods College of Advancing Studies,” said BCSSW Doctoral Program Assistant Director Deborah Hogan, who organizes the event in collaboration with the other sponsoring schools.

That substantial increase over last year’s submissions, she noted, “highlights the vibrant research culture within BC’s graduate community and students’ strong enthusiasm for an event dedicated to supporting graduate scholarship.”  

The symposium will feature 18 oral presentations from students, organized around the themes Integrating Design in Educational Curriculum, Systems and Modeling in the Markets, Learning and Development in Children and Youth, Perspectives on the Life Lived and Ways of Being, Youth Development Across Differing Environments, Racial Considerations in Care, and Biological and Psychological Elements of Life. [View the agenda.]

“Although the event has always been open to the full BC community, we hope to encourage greater undergraduate attendance this year,” Hogan said. “To support this, several BC graduate schools will host admissions recruitment tables, giving undergraduates the opportunity to speak with admissions representatives and learn directly from current graduate students about their research. I see this as a mutually beneficial opportunity to raise the symposium’s visibility while also connecting motivated undergraduates with our graduate programs.”