April 23: Annual Minnesota State Mankato Undergraduate Research Symposium

Thursday, April 23, 2026
9:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Centennial Student Union

Mankato, Minn. – Minnesota State University, Mankato is holding its annual Undergraduate Research Symposium on Thursday, April 23 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Centennial Student Union.

The Undergraduate Research Symposium, free and open to the public, is an opportunity for MSU students to showcase their research, scholarly and creative activities. Parking is available (for a fee) in the visitors pay lot (lot 4) across from Centennial Student Union. During the evening, parking in campus gold spaces is free after 6:30 p.m. Additional parking information is available at https://www.mnsu.edu/visit/campus-visitor-parking/.

Events throughout the day include more than 120 oral and poster presentations by students from every college, as well as a graphic design showcase, gallery reception and a screen showcase featuring short student films, dance films and experimental videos. A full schedule is available online.

A special afternoon oral session, “Mankato Community Insights: a CURE Project with the City of Mankato,” will highlight a community-university partnership that has brought research into the classroom. That session is from 1-2 p.m. in Centennial Student Union, Room 255.

MSU faculty member Cecilia Noecker will deliver a keynote address at 2 p.m. in CSU 255, followed by a reception until 3 p.m. Noecker’s keynote is titled “The power of undergraduate research to reveal our microbial world,” and the lecture is also available on Zoom.

Noecker, an assistant professor in the University’s Department of Biological Sciences, was named MSU’s 2025 outstanding undergraduate research mentor.

For more information about the Undergraduate Research Symposium, please contact the Undergraduate Research Center at 507-389-1706 or by email at urc@mnsu.edu.

Minnesota State Mankato’s annual Undergraduate Research Symposium acquaints undergraduates with the process and rigors of presenting research in a scholarly manner in an academic setting.

Minnesota State Mankato established its Undergraduate Research Center in 2009 and this year’s Undergraduate Research Symposium is the 28^th held by the University.

Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 15,721 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 26 colleges and seven universities.