Dear future authors,
Welcome to your one-stop-shop for everything regarding content criteria and submissions! Below you will find details surrounding word counts, file types, and all of the nitty-gritty of becoming a published author. But first, we want to focus on you. By submitting your artwork to the Stimulus team, you have committed to something larger than just yourself. You have become part of a much bigger picture; a group of diverse students with their many forms of artistic expression coming together to be a stimulus for change. We hope that you will take the time to learn more about our mission and what the Medical Humanities is all about, and channel that message into your artwork. We can't wait to see what you create!
Types of Creators
Please read the descriptions below to learn more about the crediting process for each type of submission. The type of creators present in each submission is up to the discretion of those involved in the project. Please choose one author type per submission.
Individual Creator
You are the only one who created and performed (if applicable) the final submission and are therefore the only name to be credited.
Creative Director
The person who submits is the only person who helped design, write, or create the content, but there are other members of the group who were needed for the final product. Additional members of this group will have only contributed to the final product in their appearance or mention in the work and should be credited.
Creative Collaborator
A group of people helped to design, write, or create the submission, and everyone in the group contributed to the final product. In this case, each person’s name should be listed as a creator.
Submission Criteria and Guidelines
General Criteria
The content in this section applies to all creators and submissions.
Academic Dishonesty: Content may be submitted on behalf of yourself or on behalf of a group of people, but each submission must be created only by the person or people that it is credited to, and every creator must be listed. The submission must not be plagiarized or be entirely from another source. Any outside source that is included within the work must be properly cited and given full credit, and must not make up more than half of the submission. Please see the University’s academic dishonesty policy for further guidance.
Citing Sources: If you need to cite any sources or add any captions or other formatting in your submission, please use the citation style most appropriate to your field and state the utilized style in your submission.
Appropriate Content: Please keep the nature of the content in submissions appropriate for a professional audience. Although strong language or mature themes may still be considered for publications, please keep in mind that your submission, if chosen, will be tied to your name and published within the journal that is open to be viewed by the public.
Submission Limit: Each creator may submit one creation per creator type for each publication year; that is, one individual submission, one group (creative collaborator) submission, and one creative director submission. The only exception to this is combined submissions, in which the content is specified to go hand-in-hand (such as a poem that is meant to be read alongside a photograph or painting- see below for more details). This survey should be completed separately for each submission.
Cover Art: If you wish to submit a piece of art for the cover art of that year's journal edition, please indicate this on the form when asked. This type of submission does count towards the limit of 3 submissions per year.
Resubmissions and Publisher Limit: Submissions that have not already been published in the journal can be resubmitted for consideration to be in the next issue of the Stimulus Journal. There is no limit on how many years a piece can be submitted, nor is there a limit on how many years a creator can be published within the journal.
Detailed Criteria by Content Type
The content in this section outlines the criteria for each specific type of submission. Please read the category that best explains your art form to ensure that you are complying with all of the criteria listed.
Visual Arts
Submission File Type: JPEG, JPG, GIF, PNG, and TIFF
Image Size: minimum of 300 DPI
File Size Limit: 10 MB
- Photography
Each submission should include one photograph (or a series/collage of photographs) and the title of that photograph
or collage. Photographs that are a part of a series are limited to 3 full pages (including the optional description, which
should be allowed one-half of a page). A collage of photographs must only take up 1 full-page, and must adhere to the
file size limit.
Optional: Brief description of photograph concept and ideas
Description Word Limit: 250
- Physical Art Medium (painting, drawing, sculptures, digital arts, comic or graphic medicine, other creations)
Physical art that is a part of a series or has an attached written component are limited to 3 full pages (including the
optional description, which should be allowed one half of a page).
Each submission should include one piece of art with the title of the work.
Optional: Brief description of the art concept and ideas
Description Word Limit: 250
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Prose
Submission File Type: Word Document (.docx) and Google Docs (.docx)
- Short Stories
Short stories include fictional works, personal stories or experiences, or the stories and
experiences of others (with permission from the subject).
Word Limit: 4,000 or 4 pages single-spaced
- Poems
Word Limit: 1,000
- Essays
Essays include a summary of personal research or meta-analysis of the research of
others, academic findings, book or movie reviews and/or recommendations, or
literature, film, or song analysis.
Provide citations and appropriate external links.
If the essay is a summary of personal research, a link to said research will be included in
the publication.
No more than 50% of the submission should be another person’s work: the primary
focus of the essay should be the author’s own thoughts, commentary, and findings.
Word Limit: 4,000 or 4 pages single-spaced
Student and Professional Life Section
Submission File Type: Word Document (.docx) and Google Docs (.docx)
- Student to Student
Submissions include personal thoughts relating to student life, academic or personal
advice to other students (can be addressed towards certain majors or groups), or
student reflections or experiences.
Word Limit: 2,000 or 2 pages single-spaced
- A Day in the Life A ...
… Patient, physician, other medical personnel, family member, third-person, etc.
Submissions include the activities included in a professional’s day-to-day life, advice to
students who aspire to enter a certain profession from a current member of that
profession, or the experience of a person who fits into a certain societal role or unique
life experience.
Word Limit: 4,000 or 4 pages single-spaced
Media
- Videos/Short Films
Submissions include original dance and choreography, live-action or animated short
films, music videos for original pieces, artistic processes for other art forms, etc.
Creative video projects may be fiction or non-fiction.
If actors or additional members participate in the film, they must be credited in full.
Submission file type: .MP4, .MOV, or .WMV.
File Size Limit: 10 MB
If your file is larger than this, please contact stimulus.mhj@uta.edu with an attached copy of your
submission for review.
- Audio
Submissions include original music, slam poetry, spoken narratives, or other audio
creations.
All musicians, voices, or other contributors to the final product should be credited in full.
Submission file type: .MP3, .MP4, .WAV, or .M4A.
File Size Limit: 10 MB
If your file is larger than this, please contact _____ with an attached copy of your
submission for review.
Activities
Submission File Type: Image file (JPEG, JPG, GIF, PNG, and TIFF) or Text file (.DOCX)
- Brain-teasers
Submissions include puzzles, trivia, mazes, or other short, interactive activities.
Page Limit: 1
Student Wellness
Submissions include tips for staying physically or mentally healthy, including
exercise, meditation, de-stressing activities, etc.
Page Limit: 1
Combined Content
This section is for any creators who wish for their content to be viewed alongside another creation (such as a poem that goes along with a photograph). Please read over the following criteria if you wish to submit combined content.
- Combined content is defined as two separate creations from two different categories above that are created to be viewed together as one. This content can come from a single creator or multiple creators but should be submitted as one file with the appropriate names credited.
- Each individual piece of content must confine to the criteria listed above that is applicable to them. When combined into one file, the submission must still fit within the file size limit of 10 MB.
Author Biographies
Creators who have content that is chosen to be featured in the upcoming edition of the journal will be required to submit a personal photo and biography.
Biographies should be submitted alongside content submissions. Creator biographies should give a brief (1000 character maximum) background on the creator and should detail the meaning behind their work. This is a unique opportunity for our audience to see behind the curtain into the meaning and inspiration for your piece!
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Biographies may include, but are not limited to the following suggestions:
- Who you are: your position relative to UTA and any other details you wish to share about your past, present, and future!
- What your work means to you
- The method you use for your art-form and the reason for choosing a particular medium
- The inspiration behind the piece
For Creative Collaborations, each member of the group has the option of submitting their own biography (please submit all remaining biographies and creator photos that are not submitted to the submission portal with the correct names to our email, stimulus.mhj@uta.edu). For creative directors and creative collaborators who wish to submit one biography, a single biography should be submitted on behalf of the group. Please incorporate the names of every person within the group.
We will also ask each creator to submit a photo to go alongside their biography. This image should be as professional as possible. If you are uncomfortable with submitting an image, please submit a placeholder instead and email us (stimulus.mhj@uta.edu) so that we can figure out another option for you!