Networking

Prioritizing the Undergraduate Experience

By Emily Boykin, Doctoral Candidate in Public Administration at Florida State University As a newfound Ph.D. candidate and first-time instructor of record this past semester for an undergraduate course, I’ve reflected quite a bit on my educational progression and informed pedagogy. With my blogging…


Overheard at the Palmer House – A Love Letter to the 80th MPSA

By Kelsey Larsen, Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida MPSA2023 finally wound down—the badges were all printed, the Zoom sessions were troubleshooted, and number of people sitting in the Palmer House lobby with their carry-ons ebbed then flowed. People had finally figured out…


Insights From a MPSA First-Time Attendee

By Juan Corredor-Garcia, PhD student in political science at the Graduate Center, City University of New York Academic conferences are privileged spaces for graduate students for various reasons. Whether it is submitting a work-in-progress, a dissertation chapter, or an article to submit to a…


The False Promise of Conference Imposters

By Kelsey Larsen, Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida Now that MPSA23 is in full swing, all of us are getting into our conferencing groove; comments are being offered, posters are being presented, mini mentoring session coffees are being drank. While not all of the conference…


On Returning to In-Person Conferences: A How-To(-Not-Be-Awkward) Guide

By Kelsey Larsen, Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida   We’re officially back in Chicago in full force for MPSA 2023—and as one of this year’s Conference blogging team, myself and others are here to offer some insider commentary on the overall MPSA experience. The folks…


Last Minute Planning Chicago? You’re Not Alone

By Emily Boykin, Doctoral Candidate in Public Administration at Florida State University If you’re like me, you’re currently sitting in the airport preparing for your flight to Chicago with a preliminary plan of touring the Windy City in between panels, poster sessions, luncheons, business…


Conference Smarter Not Harder: An Interview with Dr. Gustavo Diaz

By James Steur, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign In this blog post, I’m interviewing Gustavo Diaz (pictured at left): a recent PhD graduate and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Inter-American Policy and Research at Tulane University. Gustavo has attended MPSA six…


To Networking & Beyond: Strategies for Successful Networking

By James Steur, a Ph.D. student in political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign As MPSA 2020 fast approaches, my colleagues have talked to me about the part of conferences they dread more than their presentations: networking. Someone I know remarked, “I feel like an…