2026 Exhibition and People’s Choice Voting
Every year, as we prepare for the annual Image of Research exhibition, we are amazed at the diversity and beauty of graduate student research on our campus.
The exhibition will also be on display on the second floor of the Graduate College during Graduate Student Appreciation Week (April 6-10). Stop by anytime between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. during the week to see them in person.
Dates
Competition opens: Sunday, December 7, 2025
Deadline to enter: Monday, February 2, 2026
Online People’s Choice voting closes: April 10
Announcement of winners: Monday, April 13
Eligibility
Any graduate or professional student who is registered during the Spring 2026 term at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (online or on-campus) and is in good academic standing. Only one entry is allowed per year per person. Individual entries only please.
Criteria
An Image of Research entry is comprised of an image, a brief written narrative, and a title.
The image can represent your work either concretely or abstractly. Perhaps it is an image of your research itself, an activity related to your research, or the impact of your research. We define “research” broadly to include the breadth of creative and scholarly work in all fields. For size and format requirements, see below.
Note about entries using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the composition: All imagery that is generated by AI either in its entirety or in portion without citation or explanation, will be automatically disqualified. Compositions with a topic of Artificial Intelligence that use and also cite use of AI, will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The purpose of the brief narrative is to articulate an aspect of your research that is important to you. This is a great opportunity to talk about your work creatively, offer a glimpse of what happens behind the scenes, share the experience of conducting the research, or express how it has impacted you or others. The text should not be merely a description of the image. It is not meant to be a caption.
The submission will be judged on three criteria:
- Originality
- Visual Impact
- Connection between image, text, and research
- Clarity of writing
Selection for Exhibition and for Awards
A panel of judges will be selected by submissions to be displayed in the April exhibition as well as First, Second, Third Prize, and Honorable Mention(s). Voting for People’s Choice takes place in early April.
- First prize: $500
- Second prize: $300
- Third prize: $200
- Honorable mention: $100
- People’s Choice award: $100
Awards to graduate students will be dispersed as professional development travel funds through the student’s university account. Awards may be subject to tax withholding.
If you have questions. please contact at gradcomm@illinois.edu.