Social Science students present outstanding research at 2025 UURAF event

April 25, 2025 - Emily Jodway

University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum (UURAF) took place on Friday, April 11th at the Breslin Center. This is the biggest Student Research Event of the year. Pictured is Psychology student Sophia Futo. Photo credit: Jacqueline Hawthorne, MSU.

 

Students from the College of Social Science presented their research as part of MSU’s 27th annual University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum (UURAF) on April 11. Over 1,100 students, including over 180 social scientists, participated in the event either virtually via online presentation and in-person at the Breslin Center. They were mentored by over 700 faculty, staff, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and government/industry partners.

UURAF (pronounced: you-raff by many) provides Michigan State undergraduate students with an opportunity to showcase their scholarship and creative activity. Held each spring, UURAF brings together an intellectual community of undergraduate students to share their work with faculty, staff, peers, and external audiences.  Participants will gain experience in presenting their research, answer questions about their work from audience members and guests, and receive constructive feedback from judges.

Over 35 social science students from ten different departments took home awards from the event and were honored at the UURAF Awards Ceremony on April 21. These first-place award recipients are eligible to submit their work for consideration for the UURAF Grand Prize, whose winners will be announced in mid-June. Presentation topics focused on everything from forensic anthropology to the juvenile justice system, sports performance anxiety, community gardening, first responder training, food insecurity, collegiate sleeping culture and workplace gaslighting.

The Department of Psychology saw 16 students awarded for their outstanding research. The student group whose poster presentation showcased their research on the effects of personality feedback on personality assessment earned accolades. Another group won for their work titled, “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t! Investigating Priming Influences on Quitting Threshold in a Visual Search.” Also from psychology, Kayla Tracey was awarded for her research into GLP-1 weight loss content on TikTok.

From Human Development and Family Studies, Delaney Cram and Prachurjo Das won for their presentation showcasing policy solutions to support women in skilled trade work in Michigan. Criminal Justice student Emily Mason’s presentation, “Examining Relationships Between Family and Youth Relationship Risk Factors and Recidivism Rates in Juvenile Offenders” also received accolades.

Sasha Franklin from the Department of Anthropology earned recognition for her examination of archaeology training in the digital age. A presentation on the role of gender composition in state legislature on gender-specific healthcare coverage from political science students Lola Browne and Emma Huizenga was also awarded. From the Center for Integrative Studies, Pierse Meyers won an award for his presentation titled, “The Impact of Live Classical Music Intervention on Symptom Management in Hospice Care.”