Images of Research Competition

Images of Research (IOR) is an opportunity for current Murray State University students from all disciplines to capture, share, and present the essence of their research in images. Students are allowed to submit up to 3 entries (you will need to submit a new entry for each submission). Entries should be the student's own work.

Submission Form

Winners and semifinalists will be selected by a multidisciplinary jury according to the following criteria:

• Overall originality/creativity
• Aesthetic appeal of the image
• Relationship between the image and Entrant’s research
• Clarity of written description and title

This competition showcases and preserves students' research in digital form and fosters engagement and creative endeavors. Winning images will be archived in Murray State’s Steeplechase, a semi-annual digital publication showcasing the research and creative activity of Murray State University undergraduate and graduate students. View examples of past winners. 

Submissions Open: March 13, 2023
Deadline for students to submit an image: Apr 3, 2023
Notifications of winners will be sent: Apr 10, 2023

Five prizes will be awarded as follows:

• First Place - $100 to the MSU Bookstore
• Second Place - $75 to the MSU Bookstore
• Third Place - $50 to the MSU Bookstore
• Two Honorable Mentions - $25 to the MSU Bookstore

Technical Requirements:
All Entry Submissions must be high resolution.

Please follow the requirements below to ensure your image is accepted into the competition:

• Do not submit a poster or a page that includes both text and image.
• File name should be LastName_First Initial_Title_Year
• .jpg or .tiff (LZW compression recommended) file formats only
• 300 dpi (dots per inch) or a high resolution
• Maximum file size: 100 MB

Note: If you are limited to using a cell phone camera due to fieldwork constraints:

• try to stabilize the phone as much as possible to avoid blurring
• make sure to send in the highest resolution version of your image
• use the “JPEG max” or “Original Size” settings to avoid compression

Entries not meeting the above specifications will be disqualified from the competition:

• you will not receive a notification if your image is disqualified due to technical considerations
• the onus is on you to ensure it meets the above specifications BEFORE you submit

All Entry Submissions must have a title and be accompanied by a short description (250 words), including what the image portrays and how it relates to your research.

Both the title you choose for your image and your description should effectively communicate their relationship to your image and your research.

Consider the following questions:

• Do the title and description clearly relate to the image?
• Does the image effectively represent your research according to the accompanying description?
• Does the entire package (image, title, description) make sense in the context of your research?