Advertising junior Emma Nowinski is one of these students. She is involved with a movement known as cosplay, which is short for costume play.

Participants in cosplay, known as cosplayers, take a character from a show, movie or video game and make a costume to portray them at themed parties and regular group gatherings.

Shows such as the BBC’s “Sherlock” and The CW’s “Supernatural” have a strong cosplay culture.

Nowinski’s show of choice is ”Doctor Who,” a British TV show about a time-traveling alien, known as the Doctor, who works to save the Earth. Nowinski is a member of a “Doctor Who” fan club at MSU known as the United Nerdy Inter-temporal Travelers, or U.N.I.T

She said the name is a play on a group in the show with the same acronym.

“I found (the ‘Doctor Who’) fandom in high school and wanted to enjoy it with others,” Nowinski said.

In addition to watching the show, U.N.I.T. members often get together for cosplay parties, the group’s president, microbiology senior William Bohlen, said.

For many of the members, cosplaying is a serious investment. Nowinski, who cosplays as River Song, a sidekick to the Doctor, said her current costume has hours of labor across many days put into it.

“Many things in the show are made specifically for the show — you can’t find them in real life,” Nowinski said. “You either have to buy a recreation off the internet, or make it yourself.”

Many cosplayers do extensive research to make sure their outfits are not only unique and good quality, but also similar to the original work.

Often times, slight modifications can be made to real world items to transform them into a usable piece.

Nowinski said cosplay has forved her to learn many unique skills to make her costumes.

“I’ve had to learn leatherworking, sewing, painting — I’ve even had to learn how to modify Nerf guns,” she said.

All of the hard work, craftsmanship and preparation boils down to a single day of cosplaying. Cosplayers will flock to conventions, such as a local Comic-Con, to share their costumes with other fans.

For U.N.I.T., the big convention is the Chicago TARDIS, one of the largest “Doctor Who” conventions in the Midwest. Many U.N.I.T. members travel to Chicago for the event, bringing their costumes for all to see, Bohlen said.

For Nowinski, the day of the convention makes all of the hard work worthwhile.

“It’s so rewarding. Cosplaying is the greatest expression of the nerd culture,” Nowinski said. “You don’t just get to look like the character, you get to act like them — you try to be them.”