1. Symposium Poster Guide
Brought to you by the Office of Research
This guide is provided to help you design your poster for the
Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium or for the
Graduate Research Symposium.

2. Introduction
Your poster serves as a visual presentation of your project.
The viewer should be able to easily understand your topic even if you are not there.
Your poster should not be cluttered.
Your poster should not be too sparse.
How does one produce an ideal poster?

3. Attracting the Audience
Consider your audience: who are they?
Scholars, peers, & the community
Your poster will be located along with many other posters in our symposium.
Realize, it only takes a few seconds for an attendee to decide whether or not to view your poster or to move on to the next one.

4. Content & Organization
The subject should be clearly identifiable upon a first glance.
Title, authors, advisors, and your department should be immediately apparent.
The poster should contain an introduction, hypothesis, process or method, and results.
Clarity is important! Decide on a small number of key points.
References should be included at the end.

5. Visual Interest & Layout
Color should be used to categorize and divide information, and to increase visual appeal.
Limit the colors to 2-3 which are complimentary.
Fonts should be large enough to be easily read from a distance.
Pictures, graphs, and charts can add interest and help explain your topic.
Pictures, graphs, and charts should be clearly labelled.

6. Materials & Dimensions
Your poster will be displayed either on a corkboard or a table.
If you elect to use a corkboard, push pins will be provided. You will share one side of the corkboard with another student.
Posters must be no larger than 36” by 48”

7. Poster Examples
The following student poster examples are provided with permission from Washington University in St. Louis. Posters are often discipline specific. The following posters are examples of how scholarship from the Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Humanities might be presented

8. Social Sciences Example
Poster example courtesy of Washington University at St. Louis.

10. Natural Sciences Poster Example
Poster example courtesy of Washington University at St. Louis.

12. Humanities Poster Example
Poster example courtesy of Washington University at St. Louis.

14. Key Points
Posters may be printed as a single sheet or a collection of individual slides with text, data, or figures
Posters must fit within one-half of a standard 4 foot by 8 foot poster board (36 by 48 inches).
Information can also be presented on a table if appropriate.

15. Undergraduate Research & Scholarship Symposium
Held annually each spring, the Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium provides Duquesne undergraduates with an opportunity to share their research and other forms of scholarship with faculty, peers, and the local community. Go to for more information.

16. Graduate Student Research Symposium
The Graduate Student Research Symposium takes place during the fall semester and includes a poster session and oral presentations.
For more information, visit

17. Thank you!
The Academic Poster Guide is brought to you by Duquesne University’s Office of Research.
Special thanks to Washington University of St. Louis for allowing us to use their poster samples.