How to Go to an Academic Conference

A large part of the college experience for most Master's and PhD students, as well as professors, is attending academic conferences. Conferences are made up of panel presentations at which various individuals discuss the written work they have done on a myriad of topics. No matter what your field, there is an academic conference for you, and a few simple steps can help you attend.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Find a topic that you are interested in hearing more about. For instance, if you are an English major, you might like to attend a conference on British literature, children's literature or even popular culture. There are a number of conferences in every field, as well as some larger academic conferences that encompass multiple areas of study.
2. Refer to a conference website or listserv to find out the details. Conference organizers put together a Call for Papers (CFP) that goes out to various sources and appears on the conference website. If you find a CFP that is interesting, you might be able to go to the conference.
3. Prepare a paper for presentation at an academic conference. Most conference attendees will present a paper. By submitting their work in advance, the conference organizers can group them into panels under the umbrella of similar topics. Conference papers in the arts are generally 15 to 20 minutes long when read aloud, although this guideline varies by discipline.
4. Consider organizing a panel of your own. For students or young professionals with limited conference experience, a great way to get accepted is to put together your own panel of three to four people. A ready-made panel is attractive to conference organizers because it's less work for them.
5. Mingle and network because you will probably be around people that could be helpful to your career. If you choose to go to a conference in a field you're closely associated with, take the time to talk with presenters about their work. It's a great way to network, and you never know when you will run into someone you met at a conference at a job interview.

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