Carolina CrossTalk is USC’s student-led undergraduate research magazine, featuring students’ personal stories in conducting research across diverse disciplines. CrossTalk aims to communicate about research and inspire others to pursue their own research curiosities.
Check out this issue to see how USC researchers have broadened their horizons. They're working to make an impact all around the world, whether it's studying animal populations in Ukraine through motion-detection cameras or studying oyster reefs in South Carolina.
Check out this issue to meet some of our research heroes. As you read, you'll find qualities that your favorite DC or Marvel superheroes share such as perseverance, commitment, and a passion for making a positive impact.
Check out this issue to see research through a new lens. Student researchers looked at climate change, mental health stigma, social support, and extraversion with an inquisitive eye. Read this issue to learn about research from a new perspective.
Check out this issue to listen to research stories from the voices of student researchers. We tell stories of butterflies, birds, manufacturing, dance, stem cells, sports, viruses, bones, and, most importantly, the researchers themselves. Through this issue, let’s engage in more story listening.
Check out this issue to explore the dimensions of diversity in research through the diversity of people and of thought. The stories encompassed in this issue are living embodiments of the term “diversity”: the research projects and the researchers themselves.
Check out this issue to learn about student researchers that exhibited resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic as they moved towards a ‘new normal’ in and outside of research.
Check out this issue to read about how student researchers have pushed the boundaries of research by challenging what research can look like in different spaces. Read about K-Pop, local businesses, race cars, dystopian worlds, antibiotics, the Holocaust, water purification systems, international foreign aid policy, relationships in college, southern hospitality, and diversity in the courtroom.
Check out our very first issue of Carolina CrossTalk, where we hear from student researchers that took their first step in the research journey: simply, getting started. We hope that conversation about research will catalyze this first step of research for others looking to get involved with research.
Get Involved
There are two ways to be featured in our CrossTalk issues:
Email carolinacrosstalk@gmail.com to let us know how you want to be involved.
We would love to have your photos to accompany your article!
Carolina CrossTalk accepts research from all disciplines! You can publish an article regardless of whether you started the research project or joined one in progress. Also, CrossTalk qualifies as an alternative publication towards Graduation with Leadership Distinction if the researcher writes their own article. This experience will provide a professional environment for critiques.
Whether you’ve been working on a research project for a few months or two years, we would love to feature you in our next issue! Our purpose is to share the research experiences of individuals at different points in the research—from getting started with emailing professors to presenting research projects at conferences.
Carolina CrossTalk has opportunities for editors, writers, photographers, graphic designers, and public relations representatives. Joining the CrossTalk team will teach you editorial, marketing, and design skills with no prior experience required! Email carolinacrosstalk@gmail.com with your name, major, year, and which roles caught your interest.
There is no experience required, though some writing experience is preferred. The CrossTalk team can help refine your skills and train new members if they are unfamiliar with the responsibilities of their role. We are always looking for enthusiastic people to join our staff!
Being a researcher is not required, but Carolina CrossTalk is looking for people who have a natural curiosity for the world around them! We still encourage researchers to join CrossTalk if interested
It depends on how involved you want to be! We do our writing, editing, and designing in phases where writers and editors have alternating week-long deadlines for three drafts. Then graphic designers are needed towards the end of the semester to put the magazine together. Public relations representatives market the magazine throughout the semester whether it’s sending email blasts, posting on social media, or hosting a table at the student organization fair. Photographers work on an as-needed basis because some researchers may already have finished their project.
Our existing team members are willing to meet with you to give you a better idea of what the roles look like for each position. We do ask that you commit to a role(s) 2-3 weeks into the semester
Carolina CrossTalk prints physical magazines by request. Either email carolinacrosstalk@gmail.com or fill out this form. The cost of the individual magazine depends on demand.
Generally, the magazine issues are released in the first few weeks of the following semester. They’ll be published on this website, but if you want a print copy, please reach out to us at carolinacrosstalk@gmail.com to place an order in advance.