The symposium, held at the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence, recognized students for their work in a range of fields.
Nearly 70 students participated in the symposium, showcasing an array of topics, ranging from "new anarchists" to "the arms race" to "sport utility vehicles."
Although undergraduate research awards provided some money to students conducting research, most projects were funded by private corporations related to the topics of study.
One of the studies, conducted by senior Nikki Aikens, focused on how black girls are viewed in their communities. Aikens found that, although girls of both races had lower self-esteem than boys, the difference between the self-esteem of black girls and black boys is much less than white girls and white boys.
Aikens, a psychology major, said she originally was interested in the difference between boys' and girls' self-concepts. Her original thesis was that all girls would feel they were less skilled in science and math.
Aikens said she would like to continue research in this area, and said she would like to expand the study to include racially based stereotypes versus gender-based stereotypes.
Another study, conducted by senior health policy and administration major Courtney Duke focused on the quality of care patients receive in local nursing homes. Duke conducted interviews with patients to get suggestions about how care could be improved.
"I choose this because I did an internship in a nursing home in Burlington," she said. "I wanted to stick to something I was interested in."
Duke's study indicated that patients in nursing homes cared mostly about being treated warmly by the staff. Duke said the study also suggested that a simple "hello" or "good morning" goes a long way with people.
