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Office of Undergraduate Research
Research Distinction

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

General

The Research Distinction is an award granted to Cal Poly Pomona students that have conducted, presented and published a research project. The Office of Undergraduate Research facilitates the Research Distinction. Students receive a graduation cord and digital badge.

The Office of Undergraduate Research distributes the Research Distinction at the end of every semester.

The Research Distinction and Faculty Mentor Research Stars work together to recognize students that have been involved in research at CPP and the faculty that have guided them along the process.

As part of the application for the Research Distinction, students must list all faculty members that worked on the project. Faculty members listed here are automatically added to the Faculty Mentor Research Stars and their tally is recorded/updated.

Application and Requirements

The application for the Research Distinction is available online throughout the year. Only online submissions will be accepted.

Please refer to the Application tab to submit an application.

Any student, graduate or undergraduate at Cal Poly Pomona, can apply for the Research Distinction. You do not need to be a senior or at the end of your program to apply. You can apply to the Distinction at any time in your CPP career.

You can apply for the Research Distinction. If you have graduated, you must submit your application within 1 year of graduation . For example, if you graduated in Spring 2024, you have until the end of Spring 2025 to apply.

Students must complete all the requirements listed below at the time of application:

  1. Complete Faculty-Mentored Research - Complete at a minimum, 6 months of faculty-mentored research, scholarship, or creative activity during your time at CPP OR a semester-long experience (ex. capstone, thesis, creative works).
  2. Present at a Conference - Present research at the Cal Poly Pomona Student RSCA Conference, Cal Poly Pomona Creative Activities and Research Symposium or a Professional Research Conference.
  3. Publish a Full Paper or Scholarly Work - Publish a full paper or scholarly work related to the research or creative activity to Bronco Scholar or any Peer Reviewed journal.

Sometimes, students may struggle to meet the requirements for Research Distinction. Here are a few things you can do to make it easier:

  • Write and polish your research paper. Be sure to get your faculty advisor or professor's approval as they will need to be a part of the process in some way.
  • Attend and watch workshops hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research. Here are a few to get started.
  • Presenting at a conference. You can present at one of CPP's conferences, such as RSCA or CARS. Students may also present at a regional or international conference. If you present at a conference outside of Cal Poly, you may apply for the OUR's Conference Presentation Award.

Deadlines

The Fall deadline is set up for students who are set to graduate that semester or for students who are turning in Graduate applications for December and January.

The Fall dealine falls on the first Monday of December each year.

The Spring deadline is set up for students who want to be recognized at the Scholar Recognition Ceremony in April.

The Spring deadline falls on the first Friday of April each year.

While there are deadlines set, these are not hard deadlines. The deadlines are set for students who wish to have it on their resume/CV or take part in the Scholar Recognition Ceremony. The applications are to set to be on a rolling basis.