83rd Annual Midwest Political Science Association Conference
Thursday, April 23 through Sunday, April 26, 2026
Hybrid Format: In Person at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, IL or Online
All Panels/Paper Sessions, Roundtables, Lightning Talks and Working Groups will Feature a Hybrid Format (for In-Person or Virtual Participation). Undergraduate Poster Sessions will be In Person Only.
Conference Program Co-Chairs:
Bethany Lacina, University of Rochester
Cecilia Hyunjung Mo, University of California-Berkeley
Learn more about the conference. Sign up here to receive email communications about the conference.
Conference Registration Fee Waivers
A limited number of fee waivers are provided on a first-come, first-served basis and cover the MPSA conference registration fee only; no additional funds for travel or hotel are provided. Fee waiver recipients can apply their fee waiver to either in-person or online conference participation. The fee waiver application deadline for the 83rd Annual MPSA Conference has passed, and the winners have been notified. Please check back later for information about fee waivers for the 2027 Annual MPSA Conference.
Eligibility:
Fee waivers are provided to individuals on the conference program who have not been previous recipients of the fee waiver and are one of the following:
- Scholars who are not political scientists (those in public policy, public administration, public affairs, international relations or a related field are not eligible). Examples of qualifying scholars include economists, sociologists, anthropologists, etc.
- Non-academic practitioners (e.g., judges, non-profit administrators, and congressional staff).
- Developing Nations Scholars. If you are a scholar from a developing nation you must apply for a complimentary membership. After your complimentary membership is approved, you will be eligible to apply for a conference fee waiver. Learn more about Developing Nations scholarships here.
Please note: if you are awarded a Conference Fee Waiver, you are not eligible to receive a Graduate Student Travel Scholarship, and vice versa.
If you complete a conference fee waiver application and do not receive the fee waiver award, we will honor the early bird conference registration rate. You will be contacted directly with more information on how to register at this rate, following the announcement of the award recipients.
Additional Conference Scholarships and Awards
The MPSA offers additional financial assistance opportunities for conference through Graduate Student Travel Scholarships and Conference Childcare Awards.
Not eligible for a fee waiver and not presenting on the conference program? Serve as a discussant and attend the conference for free!
A complimentary registration will be available for those who are attending the hybrid conference (either in person or online) and only participating as a discussant.
In order to qualify for a complimentary registration:
- You cannot be assigned to any author roles or have research listed on the program.
- You cannot be a participant on any roundtable outside of the MPSA Professional Development Section 63.
- You must be placed in at least one discussant role. (While not required, fulfilling additional discussant or chair roles is greatly appreciated by your colleagues in the discipline looking for feedback on their research.) Click here to view a dynamic list of open roles and sign up to volunteer. You must be logged in with your MPSA username and password to volunteer. All users must complete their profile before volunteering for a chair or discussant role. You will be prompted to complete your account profile if you have not done so already. Learn more about conference participation roles here.
Being added as a chair on a panel in addition to your discussant role(s) will not disqualify you from a complimentary registration. However, holding a chair role alone does not qualify you for a complimentary registration. We highly encourage you to volunteer for chair role(s) in addition to your service as a discussant. You must hold at least one discussant role to qualify.
If you are eligible to receive a complimentary registration, you will be emailed a link to register at no charge.
If you receive a complimentary registration but no longer meet the above requirements, your complimentary registration will be revoked and you will be need to purchase a conference registration.