Ua Celebrating Students

Is there any cost to submit?

There is absolutely no cost for a student to submit their work to the competition.

What is the prize?

The Global Undergraduate Awards currently recognises entrants on three levels: Highly Commended Entrants; Regional Winners; Global Winners. All winning entrants are recognised with a Certificate of Recognition and the publication of their submission on The Undergraduate Library. The 25 Global Winners also receive a Gold Medal, fully funded travel and a free ticket to attend the annual UA Global Summit.

I’ve registered, but now how do I submit?

Now that you have registered, you can rest assured that you have secured the opportunity to submit your coursework to The Global Undergraduate Awards programme. You can log back into your form and continue the process of submitting your work. You can login or you can register and submit here.

Do I need to register for every paper I want to submit?

No, you only need to register once. You may submit up to three different papers to any combination of categories with your account.

How many pieces of coursework can I submit?

You can submit up to three papers/projects.

What qualifies as an A grade or equivalent?

For the purposes of satisfying the eligibility criteria, an A grade includes an A- grade. Please refer to our international grade requirements to see if your academic coursework is A grade or equivalent. If your grading system is not listed, and you do not know if your coursework is an A or 2.1 equivalent, please contact us at info@undergraduateawards.com with your grade and institution.

I am unsure of which category to submit to. Can you help?

We advise students to choose their category based on the title of their degree or subject/module that the paper was written for. Check out the list of categories. It may also be helpful to ask your lecturer or supervisor as to which category they would deem appropriate for the paper. If you are still unsure, contact us and we’d be happy to help.

Can I submit the same paper to two different categories?

No. You cannot submit the same paper more than once. You can however submit up to three papers to UA, and each to a different category, if you wish.

Can I edit my coursework to incorporate feedback from my lecturer/supervisor before I submit it to GUA?

Yes, you can feel free to make edits to your paper after you receive your grade in order to improve it upon consultation and approval from your supervisor. This revised paper must still meet our grade requirements.

Can I submit work that I completed on a summer programme?

UA only accepts work that was completed for your undergraduate degree. If you completed work on an optional programme, such as a summer school, this work is not eligible for submission.

I’ve registered but I selected the wrong category, what do I do?

Not to worry, you will be able to change your submission details on the submission form, including the category under which you would like to submit your paper. Simply use the login and password you chose when you originally registered and edit your form.

I've forgotten my password, am I locked out of my form?

If you have forgotten your password, click ‘forgot password’ and you will be emailed the option to create a new one, easy

I’m in my first year of an undergraduate degree course, can I submit?

Unfortunately, UA only accepts submissions from students in the final or penultimate year of an undergraduate degree course. So, if you are undertaking a three-year degree, only students in their second or third year of study can submit. If you are undertaking a four-year degree, only students in their third or fourth year of study are eligible to submit. Simply put, if you graduated in 2023 or are due to graduate in 2024 or 2025, then you are eligible to submit.

I am a part-time student. Can I still submit?

Yes, part-time students are eligible to submit. However, you must have completed 2/3 of the work required for your degree in order to be eligible

Can I submit a paper/project written in a language other than English?

UA only accepts submissions in English. However, we would encourage students who have completed work in a language other than English to translate essays into English and submit the translated paper/project. You are free to seek any guidance necessary during this translation process.

Can I submit a paper/project that I completed in a previous year?

Yes, you can submit work that you completed at any point during your undergraduate career, once you yourself are graduating in 2024/2025 or you graduated in 2023.

What is an abstract?

An abstract is a succinct summary/synopsis of your paper that enables the judges to quickly ascertain your paper’s purpose or content. It essentially is a selling point on the value of your paper’s content and therefore, GUA recommends that you put thought and effort into writing a clear abstract to accompany your paper as it will be assessed by the judging panel for your category.

How do I write an abstract?

Please refer to our advice on writing an abstract. Additionally, there are many online resources that provide advice on writing a strong academic abstract.

What is an Artists Statement for the Architecture & Design or Visual Arts category?

The statement is your opportunity to explain your project to the judges. You can talk about the motivation behind your work, the process that were involved in its creation, etc. Anything at all that would help the judges to understand your work better!

Is there a maximum or minimum word count?

This depends on a number of criteria

Architecture & Design is a Portfolio-Based Category WITH A Group Entry Option and requires an Artist's Statement that must be between 300 - 1,500 words

Visual Arts is a Portfolio-based Individual Category and requires an Artist's Statement that must be between 200 - 300 words

For Essay-Based Categories WITH A Group Entry Option the Abstract should be 100 - 300 words, and the entry must be between 2,500 and 12,000 words.

Essay-Based Categories WITHOUT Group Entry Options
the abstract should be 100 - 300 words, and the entry must be between 2,500 and 5,000 words.

You can find information on your specific category here.

What does the word limit include?

The word limit includes the main body of your paper and the footnotes, if footnotes are included. It does not include the bibliography/reference page, list of contents or appendices. We do allow for a small leeway in word count but we will disqualify papers that exceed 10% or more than the recommended length.

Is there a specific style of referencing I need to use?

No, we accept all referencing styles, once it is consistent throughout the paper.

Can I include images/graphs in my paper?

Yes, you can include images and graphs. Any text accompanying the image, will be included in the word count. However, images/graphs that are included in the appendix will not be included in the word count.

Does mentioning a city, area, lake, river etc. in my paper violate UA’s anonymity requirements?

No, we realise that some papers refer to certain areas that could geographically locate a student. We believe, however, that this is a crucial detail to many papers and therefore does not violate our anonymity requirements. Be careful however to remove any mention of your name, University, module code, lecturer etc. as well as any photographs of you or your institution.

My paper/research has been previously published. Can I still submit?

No, you cannot submit work that has been published online or in print before the submission deadline.

Entrants are also advised that publishing their work while the Judging Process is underway (June-September) could breach the anonymity of their entry and result in disqualification.

My paper/research is part of a group project. Can I still submit it?

The following categories will be accepting group work:

  • Architecture & Design
  • Chemical & Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • Computer Science
  • Earth & Environmental Sciences
  • Engineering
  • Life Sciences
  • Mathematics & Physics
  • Medical Sciences

A piece of group work must meet the following criteria to be eligible to submit:

  • A maximum of 5 contributing authors
  • All contributing authors need to meet the eligibility requirements
  • All contributing authors must consent to the work being submitted
  • One contributing author is nominated by the group to submit the work and represent the group if their entry is awarded

Group work IS ONLY accepted in THESE categories and are subject to the same submission criteria, word count and anonymity requirements as individual entries.

Why do I need to upload my CV/Resume?

This is to facilitate the possibility of attendance fees for The 2024 Global Undergraduate Summit and Gala Dinner being sponsored by one of GUA's corporate sponsors.

Does the CV/Resume that I include with my submission need to be anonymous?

No, this does not need to be anonymised as it is not seen by the judges.

I will not have received the grade for my coursework before the deadline. Can I still submit?

If necessary, you can submit to UA with a ‘predicted grade.’ i.e. the grade you expect to receive based on your marker’s comments or past coursework.

My paper won’t upload, what could be the problem?

Please ensure that your paper is saved in PDF format. The maximum file size is 20MB. If your paper meets the above criteria and still won’t upload to your submission form, please contact info@undergraduateawards.com

Do you have another query?

For queries pertaining to your submission form or the awards programme contact info@undergraduateawards.com