Featured Publications

Cardinal Compositions

Cardinal Compositions is an online, open-access journal that annually features outstanding written and multimodal work from UofL undergraduate students in Composition Program courses.

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses (College of Arts & Sciences)

This collection includes Senior Thesis projects that were completed by undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Louisville who as a result graduated With Highest Distinction from the College (prior to 2024, this designation was Summa Cum Laude). It also includes retrospective honors theses from years prior, with permission of the authors.

Confluence: Emerging Voices in Music Research and Creativity (School of Music)

Overview

Confluence: Emerging Voices in Music Research and Creativity is an open-access, refereed journal of the University of Louisville School of Music. The journal provides a platform for undergraduate and graduate students to share scholarly and creative work with a broader audience, affirming the value of student inquiry as a meaningful contribution to the field of music.

Positioned at the intersection of multiple musical disciplines, Confluence reflects the diverse ways students engage with music as a field of study, practice, and creative expression.

Mission and Purpose

The mission of Confluence is to amplify student voices and support the development of emerging scholars, educators, and artists. The journal is grounded in the belief that student work—when thoughtfully developed and shared—can contribute meaningfully to ongoing conversations in music.

Through publication, Confluence seeks to:

• Foster cross-disciplinary dialogue within music and related fields
• Encourage innovative and exploratory approaches to scholarship and creative work
• Model professional standards of research, writing, and presentation
• Provide students with authentic experiences in scholarly dissemination

Editorial Approach

Confluence employs a refereed review process designed to balance rigor with mentorship. Submissions are evaluated by members of the editorial board for clarity, originality, and contribution to the field.

Because many submissions originate from coursework or faculty-mentored projects, the review process is not anonymous. Instead, the journal emphasizes transparency, constructive feedback, and educational value.

All submissions must be supported by a faculty endorsement confirming that the work has been reviewed for quality and is ready for consideration.

Audience

The journal is intended for students, faculty, and researchers across music disciplines, as well as practicing educators, clinicians, and artists interested in new and evolving approaches to music scholarship and creative work.

Doctor of Social Work Capstone Projects (Kent School of Social Work and Family Science)

Journal of Student Financial Aid

The Journal of Student Financial Aid (JSFA) is a scholarly, peer-reviewed outlet featuring works of significance in all areas pertaining to the finance of higher education, especially student financial aid. Our mission is to bring scholarly work to bear on the practice and theory of providing financial assistance to students pursuing postsecondary education. We invite the submission of manuscripts that report original research findings; editorial opinions on policy issues; book reviews; and research in progress on promising practices or policies. We encourage submissions from diverse methodological and conceptual perspectives with implications for the practice of financial aid administration. Although the focus of the Journal has historically been on financial aid in the United States, we welcome the submission of comparative and international work.

History of the Journal

Thanks to the strong leadership of Dr. Robert Huff in the early years of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) in the late 1960s, the publication of the NASFAA Journal of Student Financial Aid was approved. His convincing rationale was one based on what most, well-respected organizations would agree to be essential to any group hoping to be seen as "professional" (i.e., the need for good, timely research as the basis for forming and refining effective policies). The first issue of the Journal was published in 1971.

In 2018, NASFAA decided that the mission of the Journal had become distinct from its own mission and goals and looked to move the Journal to a more academic setting. The Center for Economic Education at the University of Louisville became the official home of the Journal in 2019.

Journal of Wellness

Welcome to the Journal of Wellness, an open access, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the scholarly pursuit of wellness for first responders and healthcare professionals and personnel. JWellness publishes peer-reviewed research to enhance resilience, physical strength, nutritional completeness, disease prevention, and mental health. Accepted journal articles are assigned DOIs, deposited in Global LOCKSS for permanent archiving, and compiled into yearly volumes. Articles are accepted following a double-blind peer review by at least two external reviewers and approval by the editors-in-chief. The Journal of Wellness is published through the University of Louisville's Institutional Repository powered by bepress. JWellness is indexed in Google Scholar and the Directory of Open Access Journals. JWellness is currently undergoing review for inclusion into MEDLINE within the National Library of Medicine and PubMed; thereafter we will seek to have all full text PDF articles freely available via archival at PubMed Central.

There are no article processing or publication charges of any kind. Also, all articles published with the Journal of Wellness are freely available.

jwellness@louisville.edu

The Cardinal Edge

Welcome to The Cardinal Edge!

The Cardinal Edge is UofL's only faculty-reviewed and peer-reviewed multidisciplinary undergraduate research journal aimed to showcase and celebrate the novel student research conducted at UofL. TCE aims to prepare undergraduate students for future publishing endeavors by allowing students to participate as both authors and editors.

We are committed to publishing faculty or peer-reviewed original research articles, reviews, and commentaries. More detailed descriptions of the journal content can be found on the Aims and Scope page.

Undergraduate Research Events (Undergraduate Research)

The University of Louisville provides a range of undergraduate research opportunities across disciplines. From the sciences and humanities to business and education, students can gain practical experience in their fields of interest and conduct their own research projects.

For additional information on upcoming undergraduate research opportunities, follow this link: Center for Engaged Learning, Undergraduate Research.

University Libraries Undergraduate Research Award (University Libraries)

In the 2025-2026 academic year, the University of Louisville Libraries launched an Undergraduate Research Award to recognize exemplary student scholarship enriched by library services and resources. To attain submission eligibility, students completed a research consultation with a librarian/archivist. Their applications were then assessed on the quality of both their finished project and supplemental reflection on finding, accessing, and incorporating relevant source material.

As of the 2025-2026 academic year, the University Libraries are committed to offering a $1000 research award each to two eligible projects each spring.