Proposal Due Date April 6th
Conference Date April 22nd
Conference is Fully Online
Submit Proposal Here: https://forms.gle/48HPv6ST3GsJjxHx7
Undergraduate and junior graduate students are invited to submit proposals to present completed research papers/projects, research in progress or roundtable discussions on any topic related to the general fields of government, international and public affairs. Students from colleges and universities in and around Virginia, as well as national and overseas colleagues, are also invited to submit proposals.
Students who present at the conference (or any research
conference) should include this on their academic resumes. When graduate or
professional schools consider applicants, they often look for this kind of
credit on a CV. Having presented your research as an undergraduate powerfully
indicates that you are already doing graduate level work and gives you a
competitive advantage over other applicants.
Students get the opportunity to present their own ideas,
arguments, and evidence to their peers and faculty. This gives a work in
progress a preliminary test-run. Students receive comments, advice, and
recommendations for further development in the process without having to
receive a grade. Often these presentations help students to submit better
papers, and occasionally these presentations help turn existing papers into
theses or even articles for publication.
You are engaging your discipline or research
agenda of choice at a high level. This is an intellectually fulfilling
opportunity with no chance of risk. Our conference panel chairs are there to
help foster discussion and enhance your presentation.
Unlike some professional conferences, this event is not designed to competitively challenge your research findings as much as it is to help you further develop your research interests.
Your participation in this conference will likely place you in panels with students from any number of different universities and fields of study. In recent years, we have had participants from a number of international partner universities, dozens of universities from our region, and hundreds of VCU students, making our conference one that is local, state, regional, and international. In 2019, the conference featured students from 20 regional universities and 2 countries. This is a great opportunity for students to engage their ideas with those from all over the field.
The conference is targeted at undergraduate
students although we will consider graduate level papers as they fit the
panels. We DO NOT REQUIRE completed paper. We will consider works in progress,
new ideas you want to develop, old papers you want to present, and most other
research possibilities as long as they fit into the following criteria:
Papers or ideas should fit into the very broad
categories of: Government, Public Policy, and International Affairs. Papers can
range from the formal and theoretical to pragmatic policy and issue analysis.
Strong consideration will be given to papers that
deal with issues of:
American politics and policy, public
administration, sociology and social structures ,international
relations and world affairs, human rights, civil rights, criminal
justice and public safety, national security, human security,
geography and demography health policy, environmental
policy, economic policy and
political economy, race, class, and gender politics, social justice
We hope to hear from those of you are inspired to participate. Please consult the attached call for all submission details. No travel necessary, all you need is a good idea, good research, and internet connection!