About the ECPR Graduate Student Conference

The Graduate Student Conference (GSC) is run by students for students, but with the experience and expertise of the ECPR providing the organisational framework.

Its aim is to give young scholars their first taste of a high-profile international academic event, sharing their work with peers in a supportive and stimulating environment.

Students can take part in an any capacity, from Section Chair to Paper-giver; or, if they don’t yet feel confident enough to be an active participant, they can simply sit in on Panels as a passive observer.

An exciting plenary programme looks at topical issues in political science, and professional issues facing students. It also includes a keynote lecture from a high-profile academic, and social activities designed to grow the networks essential to a successful career.

The event, which has run biennially since 2006, will not take place in 2018.

Why?

In 2013, our General Conference switched from being a biennial to an annual event. Since then, it seems that many young scholars have been submitting the same Papers to the GSC and to the General Conference. Many of them felt, perhaps with reason, that if they could get a Paper accepted for the General Conference, it would be preferable to present it to a broader audience there, rather than at the GSC.

The result was high number of scholars with accepted Papers dropping out of the GSC at the eleventh hour, in favour of presenting their work at the General Conference later in the year.

What happens now?

This is not the end of the Graduate Student Conference. The Executive Committee of the ECPR is very much in favour of continuing to offer an academic event tailored to the particular needs of graduate students.

To that end, ECPR is currently exploring ways to improve the format and/or content of the Graduate Student Conference, to make it a more attractive and valuable event for young scholars.

In the meantime, please bear with us while we work to find a mutually beneficial way forward for the political scientists of the future.

We will let you know through all the usual channels as soon as we are ready to announce more concrete plans.

Have you attended a Graduate Student Conference in the recent past?
Perhaps you have some suggestions as to how we could improve the format and offer of this event going forward. If so, we’d love to hear from you.

Email graduateconference@ecpr.eu with your comments and suggestions. Thank you!