Attending conferences and giving presentations allows you to become actively involved in your discipline's debates and provides you an opportunity to present your work publicly for the first time. Advanced graduate students will tell you that giving conference papers and serving on panels are wonderful preparation for the all-important academic job talk and the professional responsibilities of an academic scholar.

Conferences also present aspiring scholars with the opportunity to begin building a series of professional relationships with other scholars working in their particular field. Making contacts with scholars from other universities can be a great way to get additional feedback on your research and build a network in your discipline.

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Attending Conferences & Presenting Your Work

The nature of academic conferences varies greatly: from smaller graduate student conferences, organized and run entirely by graduate students, to major professional conferences consisting of several days of simultaneous panels. Be sure to think about the kind of venue at which you want to present your work. If it's a rough draft, you may wish to present at a graduate student conference or at a smaller regional conference, before polishing the talk for a major conference.

The kinds of presentations you may make at an academic conference also differ. You may give a short 15 minute paper as part of a three or four person panel with a moderator. You may be asked to give a longer talk. Or, as is common in the Sciences, you make be asked to submit a "poster." Look at conference call for papers carefully to determine what kind of presentation you'll be asked to make, since the nature of the presentation will determine the parameters of your talk.

Tips on Giving Conference Papers & Posters

The following websites give some advice on how to make your conference presentation a successful one.

Claremont Graduate University Writing Center
Great advice on giving different kinds of academic presentations, from a conference paper, to a poster, to acting as a discussant on a panel.

"How to Give a Talk"

"Tips for Attending a Conference"
Useful advice compiled from the Doc-Talk discussion listserv

"How to Prepare a Poster" by Sven Hammarling and Nicholas J. Higham.
Useful advice on how to prepare an effective poster from the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics website.

"Research Posters 101"
A guide from the Association for Computing Machinery

Giving a Practice Talk

The Sheridan Center for Teaching at Brown University
Offers presentation consultations for students and faculty preparing for job talks, dissertation presentations, and conference talks. They will even videotape your presentation for you. For more information, visit the Sheridan Center website:

Where to Look for Calls for Papers

Professional associations and organizations in your field of study often advertise calls for papers. These associations are the best source of discipline-specific conference news and calls for papers.

H-Net's Academic Conferences and Calls for Papers
Listings of academic conferences and calls for papers in the arts, humanities and social sciences.

Science Magazine's Announcements and Meetings
Listings of academic conferences and calls for papers in the sciences.