Grants and Writing Resources for University of Detroit Mercy

In November 2025 the Student Union Ballroom held more than 100 research posters by Detroit Mercy undergraduates and graduate students for the 12th annual Engineering & Science Research Symposium, with prizes for research excellence in engineering and in science. Writers had their turn in fall 2026. The English Department announced the winners of its 2026 Magnetic Poetry Contest, and their poems are slated for the next issue of [sic], the university's literary and arts journal.

Presenting Research

The Engineering & Science Research Symposium is a printed-poster event for undergraduate and graduate work, and high school students and alumni are invited. Besides the research excellence prizes there's a People's Choice award voted by participants and a newer category, SMORE (Social Media of Research Experience), for a 30- to 90-second video about a student's research. The 13th annual symposium is set for the McNichols Campus in November 2026.

Work from across the university's campuses goes on display at the Celebration of Scholarly Achievement & Community Engagement, a university-wide spring event of research posters, artistic displays, performances and lightning talks; its 17th edition took place in April 2025. Health sciences researchers have their own venue. The College of Health Professions' research symposium takes posters and 15-minute podium talks and gives awards for Best Student Poster, Clinical Innovation, Community Engagement and Wellness.

Student Journals and Writing Groups

Dichotomy, the School of Architecture & Community Development's student-produced journal, has editions going back to 1978. Its November 2026 Dichotomy Day reveals the winner of the journal's student competition along with the theme for the next call for submissions. The literary and arts journal [sic] will carry the 2026 Magnetic Poetry winners.

For writers who want company, the English Department hosts the Creative Writing Collective, where students, faculty, staff, alumni and members of the community read, write and talk together. No creative writing experience is needed.

The Writing Center

Detroit Mercy's Writing Center, in Room 131 of the Briggs Building on the McNichols Campus, works with students at any course level and in any discipline, from English to nursing and engineering. Sessions last 30 minutes. Students can meet a trained peer or professional consultant in person or work online in real time, pasting a draft into the session and chatting with the consultant. The center also reads personal statements and letters for Ph.D., master's, medical and dental school applications, and its main site lists campus-wide workshops each semester and class visits for workshops or peer review.

Where Theses Are Kept

The McNichols Campus Library holds more than 8,000 theses from the University of Detroit and Detroit Mercy that exist only in print on site, and many bachelor's and master's theses have been digitized for the web. Authors of print theses can ask the library to digitize their work. The UDM Libraries/IDS Digital Repository holds School of Architecture theses from 2004 on and is set to collect Honors Program theses.

Our editors work with Detroit Mercy writers at the final-draft stage, from seminar papers to dissertations. See our University of Detroit Mercy dissertation and thesis editing and University of Detroit Mercy essay editing pages, or write to editors@editorsforstudents.com.

From Our Writing Guides

• The Lecture as a High-Stakes Professional Presentation
• Identifying the Clinical Practice Gap: Finding Your Basis of Critique
• The Secret to Better Grades: Starting Your Writing Process Early