Professional Development

MPSA Roundtable: The Path to Full

This MPSA roundtable session on “MPSA Roundtable: The Path to Full”, hosted by the Midwest Women’s Caucus and chaired by Tiffany Barnes of the University of Kentucky, features James Adams of University of California, Davis, Leslie Schwindt-Bayer of Rice University, and Miki Kittilson of Arizona…


Back End Skills

By Chad Raymond of Salve Regina University and Active Learning in Political Science Most ALPS posts deal with the front end of teaching — the stuff that eventually turns into the student experience. Today I’m going to talk about the back end of the job: skills that are beneficial for one’s career…


Diffusion by Any Means Necessary

By Harold “Harry” Young of Austin Peay State University Members of the "GRAD SCHOOL: What to Expect at a Job Interview at a Teaching School" roundtable at the 2018 MPSA conference in Chicago. They stood in place at each poster in the exhibit hall, graduate students eager to share their research…


Reflections on the #MPSA18 Mentoring Reception

On the second day of the 76th Annual Conference, MPSA held a mentoring reception for which graduate students, PhD recipients in non-academic positions, junior, mid-career, and contingent faculty could select volunteer mentors for small group mentoring to discuss their current research and…


Do Academics Stink at Work/Life Balance?

And is this scaring away students? By Alex Ellison At the 2018 Midwest Political Science Association Conference in Chicago, IL, I attended the session, Trying to Balance Work and Life with Joel Raveloharimisy from Andrews University, William Raymond from Benedictine College, Marjorie Hershey…


Why Would A Mom and A Business Owner Get An MPA?

And what does she do with it? By Alex Ellison Photo by Dakota Corbin on Unsplash I was accepted to the University of Chicago to their MA Program in Social Sciences. I visited, sent in my deposit and then backed out. I moved out west. I started a business. I had a kid. I applied to the Masters in…


MPSA in 2017 - Accomplishments Worth Celebrating (video)

  This year was confusing at times and exhausting at others, but it also had its high points. As we say goodbye to 2017, we welcome you to join us for the MPSA highlight reel. Our thanks to everyone who played a part in making these projects a reality, including our program chairs, council members,…