78th Annual MPSA Political Science Conference will be Virtual, April 14-18, 2021
Networking • Professional Development • Over 90 Sections

In order to protect the health of attendees and the broader community, the 2021 conference will be held virtually. If you have ever wanted to present at the MPSA Conference, but travel costs or your schedule prevented you from attending, now is your chance. Submit a proposal and experience the conference:

  • Simple Technology. The virtual conference will use a simple and robust technology for the best user experience and staff will be available to help with technical support.
  • Quality Feedback. To encourage senior scholars to serve as discussants, registration fees waived if they serve as a discussant and are not otherwise presenting. Please volunteer to be a discussant here.
  • Relaxed Atmosphere. Let’s not pretend that everything is normal out there; many of us are juggling teaching, caring for family, and regular life challenges. This year’s conference is organized to allow participants the greatest schedule flexibility and to maximize high-quality research feedback.
  • Networking. Throughout the conference, there will be structured and unstructured opportunities to meet with colleagues to discuss research. Participants may also propose innovative networking opportunities through the relevant section chairs. Creative thematic networking opportunities are very welcome! Offer to serve on a Professional Development Roundtable in eight general areas of professional development topics that focus on the career stages of individuals as well as topics that would be of interest to most including publishing, research, and teaching. View the full listing and volunteer here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ProfDev2021. MPSA is also calling on individuals to propose meetings, receptions, and creative networking ideas in order to facilitate the sessions you want (on the topics you want), that are the most beneficial and pertinent to you. Remember to follow all conference updates on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram and add the #MPSA2021 hashtag to your own messages about the conference!
  • Financial Help. Many members and their families are experiencing financial challenges and uncertainty. The MPSA is deeply discounting member registration rates to allow for broader participation: $75 for faculty; $25 for emeriti; $25 for graduate and undergraduate students.
  • Friendly to International Presenters. Sessions will be scheduled throughout the day at reasonable times for people from different time zones. No travel costs or hassle. Scholars from the developing world may attend and present at no cost (membership in MPSA is also complimentary for scholars from the developing world)!  You must apply to participate. Apply here.
MPSA recognizes that these are unusual times and hopes to provide a virtual conference that accommodates people’s needs under stressful circumstances. Toward that end, we are asking for additional information that will make it easier and more worthwhile for people to participate.

The 2021 virtual conference will emphasize and prioritize high-quality research presentations and high-quality discussant feedback from senior scholars to assist junior scholars in getting the kind of professional research feedback they need to move their research forward.
When you submit your proposal, we would like to know whether weekend or weekday participation is better, and we would like you to list any preferred discussants you would like to have for your paper.

MPSA improved its website in August 2020. All users who previously had an account with MPSA will be required to set up a new password. If you do not have an account, have not yet activated your account, or are unsure, please click here. If you need to reset your password, please click here. Proposals must be submitted electronically and you must be logged in at MPSAnet.org with your activated account to access the proposal submission system.

The Conference Proposal Submission is temporarily unavailable. It will be available again on Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Full instructions for doing so can be found on our Submission Guidelines page. Program participants are not required to be MPSA members, though all participating presenters are required to register for the conference and MPSA members receive significant registration discounts.

Upcoming Conferences

2022 Conference, Thursday, April 7–Sunday, April 10
2023 Conference, Thursday, April 13–Sunday, April 16