Make a Request
We’d love to partner with you by bringing in our expertise to elevate your messaging toward our college’s shared goals. If you are a member of the Eberly College of Science and are looking for strategic communications support, please submit your request by emailing sci-comm@psu.edu.
When making a request, please make sure that your request includes the following information:
- Your communications goal(s)—e.g., are you trying to drive attendance to an event? Publicize research findings? Share a resource or build department/unit/college reputation?
- Your audience(s)—e.g., is this a communication internal to the college? To Penn State? Or is the intended audience external? Please define: undergraduate students, graduate students, postdocs, faculty, staff, alumni, industry/institutional partners, friends/visitors.
- Your deadline—i.e., when do you hope to communicate this information? For example, when is your event or journal embargo? If your request is for printed materials, when do you need to have the printed copies in hand (and should we handle the printing, or will you)? And finally, do you have any upcoming scheduling conflicts before that deadline that would prevent you from being available to review draft communications or print proofs?
This information is incredibly helpful to our team as we work to prioritize your request.
Please also see our typical turnaround times for University Brand Reviews (UBRs), under Frequently Asked Questions, below.
We look forward to partnering with you!
Newsletters
When submitting items for consideration to Eberly Pulse or the graduate student newsletter, your request must be received by the Wednesday prior to publication.
For Eberly Pulse submissions, please note:
- Blurbs will be edited by communications office staff for consistency of voice and to align with college and University brand editorial standards.
- Events must be submitted to the college's 25Live calendar to be included in the Upcoming Events calendar.
- Graphics must be aligned with University visual identity standards. If your graphic has not previously been reviewed and approved, please allow additional time for review.
For submissions to the alumni newsletter, we require a minimum of one week advance notice.
For all newsletters—if your submission requires revision to meet editorial and/or visual identity standards, you will need to allow for additional review time beyond the deadlines noted above. Please see our turnaround times for University Brand Reviews (UBRs), in the "Frequently Asked Questions" section, below. If you have questions about review requirements and/or timelines, please reach out to us at sci-comm@psu.edu in advance of your request.
Feedback
Have you worked with us recently? Please fill out our feedback form to let us know how we did!
Frequently Asked Questions
Turnaround time for University Brand Reviews (UBRs) of marketing materials depends on the scope of the request*:
- Single-item digital requests (such as a standalone digital sign or flyer using an Eberly College–branded Canva template) typically take a minimum of up to two weeks.
- Single-item print requests typically take a minimum of up to four weeks, allowing for printing and shipping.
- Multichannel projects—such as event promotion including digital signage, flyer, calendar listing, announcement, etc.—typically take a minimum of up to four weeks.
* Turnaround time is dependent on the number of requests in our queue, timeliness of your responses to our feedback and questions, promptness of your implementing changes, and your availability for final review/approval, as well as the quality of the content submitted (Did you use an Eberly College–branded template? Did you follow the college's editorial guidelines?).
A complete list of materials that require University Brand Review (UBR), as well as the limited number of items that do not, is posted at ubr.psu.edu.
Editorial:
- Since graphics are not typically the primary source of information, but instead serve to get high-level, initial attention, using fewer words is generally better. Digital signage, for example, is only seen for 15 seconds and should be able to be read in that amount of time.
- All graphics' text should follow the college’s editorial guidelines.
- Depending on the type of graphic, it may or may not need to have University statements (alternative format, nondiscrimination, accommodation) included. A breakdown of which graphics require the statement and which graphics require review but no statement is available at ubr.psu.edu.
Design:
- One of Penn State's primary brand blues should be featured prominently in the layout (i.e., as text or background color, or in another prominent design element). There are occasionally some exceptions, such as colors associated with specific national holidays, but these are limited. See the Penn State Brand Book’s Design Essentials Color Guide for more detail.
- The graphic must include the proper use of the college or department mark, including
- appropriate file type and color contrast for the intended application; and
- proper “clear space” around the mark, where no other elements may be placed.
- Note: The college's digital signage system has the college mark embedded in the layout, so digital signs created solely for college screens do not need to include the mark.
- All graphics are also reviewed for accessibility; this includes color contrast as well as intended use and means of distribution.
Please reach out to sci-comm@psu.edu, at the latest, when your journal article has been accepted.* We will then work with you as a partner under the embargo date to prepare communications materials.
When you reach out, please share the article draft, publication date (if you know it), and a high-level description (i.e., understandable by the general public) of the findings and their potential implications or impact on your research field and society.
* We appreciate getting a heads-up on positive feedback from a journal even before formal acceptance, especially for journals that tend to have quick turnaround times to publishing.