The Undergraduate Symposium on Research and Creative Activity (UGS) at Southern Miss is an annual conference showcasing the outstanding research and creative work of undergraduate students across the campus. 

UGS 2026 is scheduled for Saturday, April 18, 2026. 

The UGS Arts Showcase is a celebration of both the aesthetic and conceptual work of our undergraduate student artists. A faculty review committee will select the submissions for the Arts Showcase, and all selected projects will receive a monetary prize for inclusion in the Arts Showcase. Artists from all creative fields are encouraged to apply. This includes, but is not limited to, dance, music, theater, visual art, video/film, creative writing, and photography.

For their Arts Showcase application, applicants must submit an artistic work/series title; brief description of their work/series; and an artist's statement, which should explain how and why they created and/or performed their work as well as its relationship to other creative work in their field. Students also must upload the sample of the artistic work or series that they will present at UGS. For performing artists, musicians, filmmakers, and creative writers, etc. their work must equal 4 minutes when read aloud, performed, or shown. They can submit a longer selection but must explain what 4-minute excerpt the Arts Showcase faculty review committee should consider.

A few helpful hints: 

Try to apply title capitalization rules to your artistic work or series title, unless you are intentionally altering such rules for artistic effect.

If you indicate a preferred name, your presentation will be listed in the program under that name. 

If your creative work involves co-presenters, collaborators, and/or performers, complete ONE application on behalf of the team. You must know the preferred name, role, major, and email address of any student co-presenters, collaborators, and/or performers. You must also be prepared to include the title(s) and composer name of any musical selections used in this application.

The person completing the application (listed as "presenter" or "applicant") will be the primary contact for the entire team.  All communication from the UGS committee about the application and symposium will be sent to the primary presenter/applicant. This primary contact person will be responsible for disseminating any information to the rest of the team. 

You will not be able to make changes to your (or your co-presenter's, collaborator's, and presenter's) preferred name, role, major, or artistic work/series title after submitting your application, so enter your information carefully. 

If you have questions about the symposium or the submission process, please contact the UGS administrators at ugs@usm.edu.