Where is the Symposium on the Stanford Campus?
Registration and all presentations will occur at History Corner, adjacent to the Stanford Oval. The Opening and Closing Ceremonies are a short walk away at Hauck Auditorium located in the David and Joan Traitel Building of the Hoover Institute. CLICK HERE for a map.
What is the schedule for the day?
CLICK HERE for the full schedule. Registration opens at 9am and the Opening Ceremony is at 10am. The Closing Ceremony is at 3:30pm and ends at 4:40pm after which there are optional campus tours and an admissions workshop.
What time should I arrive?
Presenters should arrive by 9am so you can register as soon as we open, and then find your classroom test your technology.
All other conference attendees should arrive by 9:30am as it will be crowded. 400 people are attending this year so we will be busy!
If you are only coming to see one person’s talk, you should plan to arrive an hour early to give yourself time to park, walk to History Corner, register for your guest nametag and then find the classroom before the doors close.
Where can I park? Is it free?
Parking is free at Stanford on Saturdays. CLICK HERE for a page with parking suggestions and a map. If you arrive later than 9am, expect to have at least a 15-minute walk before arriving at Registration.
How can I tell where and when someone is presenting?
We have three presentation sessions, and each session has eleven different rooms with students giving talks. HERE is the overall day’s schedule.
To find a particular student’s talk, CLICK HERE for our index of presenters or HERE to see the entire program . All student talks are in History Corner classrooms which are on four separate floors of the building.
What is the suggested dress?
We recommend presenters dress professionally. Most attendees wear business casual attire. Comfortable shoes are best, especially if you plan to go on the campus tours.
I forgot to register! What should I do?
Online registration has closed. You can still attend the event as a “walk-in” by paying your $50 registration fee in person on May 2.
How does “Walk-In” Registration work?
Come to the registration tables outside History Corner on May 2, and look for the “Walk In” registration table. There you can pay your registration fee a credit/debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay or cash. We recommend you arrive no later than 9:30am to give yourself time for this.
What does the $50 registration fee include?
The registration fee grants entry to all Symposium events and includes a delicious lunch, a Symposium tote bag and all Symposium materials including the program and a Stanford folder.
Walk-in registrants may not be able to receive lunch, as orders were placed based on the online registrations. Often we have enough “no shows” that we can provide lunches to walk-in registrants, but you’ll need to check with us at lunchtime. If not, there are many affordable options to purchase your lunch nearby.
I’m an Unpaid Guest of a presenter. How can I see their talk?
Every presenter is allowed two free “Unpaid Guests” who may see their talk. These Unpaid Guests still need to go to Registration and get a guest nametag. This will allow you into the room to see the talk, and once it’s over you should return your guest nametag to registration. All guests are welcome to attend the Closing Ceremony, however they should not go to any other presentation sessions, and they do not receive a program, lunch or any Symposium materials.
We strongly recommend guests plan to arrive at least 1-hour before the talk they plan to attend. It will take time to locate us, check in and then find the classroom where your student is presenting. CLICK HERE for the presenter index, and HERE for the Symposium Program.
What if I have more than two guests who want to see my talk?
We have limited room in the presentation classrooms, and we want be sure paid registrants can see the sessions they want. Therefore, only two free guests per speaker are permitted. If you have more than two people who’d like to see your presentation, they will need to register themselves and pay the $50 fee. This, of course, entitles them to stay the whole day and they’ll receive lunch, the conference tote bag, and all other materials.
What is the Honors Research Symposium?
The Symposium is a conference featuring California Community College honors student research, keynote speakers, entertainment, campus tours, and admission workshops by our hosting university. This year’s event is May 2, 2026, at Stanford University.
Who can attend the Symposium?
Most attendees are community college honors students, faculty and employees. However, anyone may register and attend including family and friends of student presenters.
Can I attend the Symposium just to watch presentations?
Absolutely. In a typical year we have around 100 presenters, and 250-300 additional attendees who enjoy watching all the great presentations. This is a great way to prepare yourself to present in the future.
Can friends and family of presenters attend?
Of course! Every presenter is allowed two free “guests” who may see their talk. Guests do NOT need to register themselves online, nor do they need to pay the $50 fee. However, note that guests do NOT receive lunch, program or any other conference materials, and they are only given a pass to the session that their presenter is speaking at. Guests are also allowed to attend the Closing Awards Ceremony.
How many people are speaking and who chose them?
This year we have about 100 student presentations. These talks were chosen from the 350 submissions by a committee of honors professors from myriad disciplines who screened the anonymous proposals. (This means the committee didn’t know the project’s college of origin or the student(s) name(s).) All proposals were also reviewed by a community college professor with discipline expertise.
What kind of research projects are eligible to be presented?
The research can be in any academic discipline, but the project should have been done at the student’s community college between the Spring 2025 term and the Spring 2026 term. This means that a primary mentor for the project was a faculty member at the community college, or that the project was done for a class or activity sponsored by the community college. If the project was not done at the community college, or under the mentorship of a community college professor, it may not be presented at the Symposium.
What is the format for the presentations?
All presenters give a 15-minute talk at the Symposium followed by a 5-minute question & answer period. Typically they will be grouped with two additional proposals in a session which will last about an hour long. CLICK HERE to see the 2026 program.
What information was part of the proposal presenters submitted?
- Title and 1-sentence description
- 150-word abstract which summarizes the driving question & results
- 50-word methodology which details the process used in the research project
- Up to 5 resources in MLA or APA format
- Associated paper or essay (Optional, though strongly encouraged)
CLICK HERE for sample proposals.
Was the selection process competitive?
Yes. In 2026 we received 350 proposals and selected about 100 to present. There are many resources on this site to help you submit a high-quality proposal in the future . CLICK HERE for tips and sample excellent proposals.
Does the Symposium have prizes?
Yes. There are various prizes: The discipline-specific Heslet Scholar Awards, the Katharine Award and the Klaschus Honors Faculty of the Year Award. CLICK HERE for details.
I have a question. Who can help me?
General Symposium Questions: Professor Jennifer Saito, Symposium Chair, Los Medanos College, (jsaito@losmedanos.edu)
General Proposal Questions: Professor Eva Mo, Modesto Junior College, (moe@yosemite.edu)
Specific Questions about Writing Your Proposal: Your Honors Director/Coordinator
Where and when are upcoming Symposia?
The 2027 Symposium will be hosted by UC Davis. We’ll be back at Stanford for 2028.