Become a judge at Princeton Research Day!
Support Princeton early-career researchers and creators by becoming a judge! PRD participants create three-minute video presentations describing their research projects, performances, artistic works or other creative expressions. The PRD panel of judges (possibly you!) will select the top videos, which will receive cash prizes.
As a judge, all judging responsibilities will be conducted virtually and the total time commitment is minimal (30 minutes). All judges will be assigned three to four presentations via email and they will be tasked with viewing and scoring their assigned presentations. Read more details below!
Who can judge at PRD?
- Princeton undergraduate and graduate students
- Princeton undergraduate alumni
- Princeton graduate alumni
- Princeton staff, faculty, and postdoctoral researchers or another post-secondary educational institution
- Members of the community
How judging works
Princeton Research Day serves as an opportunity for researchers, scholars and artists to share their work with the community. Presentations include research and creative works from the natural sciences, social sciences, engineering, the arts and the humanities.
As a judge, you play an integral role in this event, and will help to distinguish which presenters effectively communicate their research to a non-specialist audience.
- Judges will be assigned 3 to 4 unique video presentations of approximately 3 minutes in length covering a wide range of topics. Overall, judges should be prepared to dedicate at least 10 to 15 minutes for viewing their assigned presentations, and another 15 minutes to judge their assigned presentations using the provided online Google Form. A link to the assigned videos and online form will be shared with judges via email.
- For each presentation, judges will provide scores and questions for the presenters through an online Google Form. The Google Form will work with either a computer or cellphone. Judges may also review and print the judging rubric to score each presentation and then input their scores into the Google Form.
- All scoring must be entered online using the Google Form. Handwritten scores using the judging rubric will not be accepted via email or mail.
Please note, students will not be able to see their individual scores.
Judges FAQs
When will presentations be available for judging?
Presentations will be available online late in the day on May 2, 2025. Typically judges have about two days to judge the assigned videos. Dates and deadlines for judging will be provided. All online judging must be completed within this time frame. Judges will receive a link to the presentations via email.
How will I know which presentations are assigned to me?
Each presentation will be assigned a unique number. Judges will be notified via email with their unique presentation assignments. Included in the email will be a link to the online judging form.
What is the most important factor I should consider when judging a presentation?
Judges are expected to evaluate presentations primarily on how effectively the presenter communicates their research to an educated, non-specialist audience.
May I request to judge presentations covering a specific topic?
Because judges are asked to evaluate presentations based on how well the presenter communicates their research to a non-specialist audience, we kindly ask that judges remain open to presentations ranging from a wide variety of topics.
When is the awards ceremony?
The Princeton Research Day awards ceremony will be on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
Will I be notified before the ceremony that one of the presentations I judged was selected as a winner?
Winner notifications will not be sent to individual judges prior to the ceremony. Please be sure to register for the awards ceremony on May 8, 2025 (registration will open in April) to find out which presentations have been selected.
Will I receive a certificate for my judging service?
Judges will receive an email of appreciation for their service. Certificates or personalized letters are not available.
How are judges recruited?
Volunteers are recruited from the public, Princeton alumni, and current students, researchers, faculty and staff. Subject matter expertise is not expected or required.