Please browse this page to find resources, professional communities, and funding opportunities relevant to Graduate Students. If you know of a resource but do not see it below, please share it with us here.
Accessing APSA eJobs
APSA eJobs is the most comprehensive database of jobs related to political science. But it is accessible to members only. The eJobs platform is updated daily with new job listings and candidate resumes. It is fully searchable by field of interest, employer or candidate name, region, keyword, position, salary, institution type, and most recent postings.
APSA’s Mentor Program
Mentorship is an important part of career growth and professional development. The APSA Mentor Program connects interested graduate students and junior faculty with political scientists who have made themselves available as mentors. This program is a member benefit. Learn more about the APSA Mentor Program.
Opportunities Across the Discipline
This Graduate Student Committee page features a regularly updated list of grants, fellowships, and awards for Graduate Students. View here.
Resources By Subject
Academic Resources
- Part 1: You’ve Decided to Go on the Job Market. What Might Your Next Year Look Like? By Kelsey Shoub
- Part 2: You’ve Decided to Go on the Job Market. Now It’s Time to Put Together Your Packet By Kelsey Shoub
- Part 3: The Phone Rings. Now What? By Kelsey Shoub
- Three blogs covering the job market stages in detail.
- Preparing Teaching Materials for the Job Market, Sondra Richards
- An 80-minute presentation and slide-show explaining the components of a successful teaching portfolio and providing guidance for teaching-oriented campus interviews.
- Poli Sci Jobs (twitter)
- “The Job Talk” (by Eric Min) A slide-show detailing how to construct and present an effective job talk during a campus visit.
- “Academia 101: Writing a CV” (by Steve Saideman) Advice on writing an academic CV for the job market.
- “Writing the Faculty Job Application Cover Letter for Political Science Ph.D. Students” (by Paul Musgrave) Advice on writing a cover letter for academic job.
- “The Unofficial Guide to Academic Interviews” (compiled by K. Anne Watson) A detailed guide to the job market with an emphasis on interview preparation.
Applied Career Resources
- Careers Outside of the Academy: An APSA Careers Diversity Committee Roundtable Webinar
- Turning Your Academic CV into a Resume: An APSA Careers Diversity Committee Workshop
- Career Planning & Training Tools
- How to translate your skills outside of the academy, a Twitter thread
- 5 places to find diverse jobs in mission-oriented organizations, a Twitter thread
APSA’s teaching and learning resource library: APSA Educate
- Advice for TAs and graduate students just starting:
- How to Teach American Politics (and Other Subjects) Effectively, by Marjorie R. Hershey. After spending several decades leading her department’s graduate seminar introducing the mechanics of political science education, Dr. Marjorie R. Hershey shares her ideas, experiences, and perspectives in this free APSA e-booklet.
- Serving as a Graduate Teaching Assistant: Tips and Strategies, by Zoe Nemerever and Christina Boyes
- Preparing for the First Solo Teaching Experience: An Alternative to Learning as You Go, by Mario Guerrero, Matt Lamb, and Mary Anne S. Mendoza
- What We Wish We Knew: Reflections of Brand-New Teaching Assistants, Journal of Political Science Education, by Nakissa Jahanbani, Charmaine Willis, and Donnett Lee
- Teaching as an International Graduate Student, by Irmak Yazici
- Between Remote Teaching and Learning: Teaching Assistants in the Time of Covid, by Charmaine Willis and Reyhan Topal
- Classroom ideas:
- Podcasting as Asynchronous Learning, by Rachel Torres
- Playing Politics: Using Games to Help Students Prepare for Final Assessments, by Justin Zimmerman and Kumar Ramanathan
- APSA Educate teaching collections:
- select APSA Educate teaching & learning webinars
- Navigating Jobs as An International Student in the U.S.
- Concerns for International Graduate Students in Political Science, by Thomas S. Benson and Silviya Gancheva
- Boston University International Graduate Student Guide
- Advice for international PhD applicants
- In-depth discussion of challenges international doctoral students face
- Advice for international graduate students coming to the US
- Forbes List of International Student Resources
- International Student Resources Hub
- Vortherms, Samantha A., and Coyle Neal. 2022. “Practicing Effective Time Management.”
- APSA Publications: chapter pdf.
- APSA Preprints: doi: 10.33774/apsa-2022-9h0ht.
- Free and low cost resources for graduate students, postdocs, and early career researchers (or really anyone else) covering time management, note-taking, transcription, and more (compiled by Jaclyn Siegel)
- Unpacking the Hidden Curriculum of Conferences: A 2024 virtual workshop from the Graduate Student Status Committee
- Six Pieces of Advice to Get the Best Out of Conferencing From the 2023-2024 Graduate Student Status Committee
- 2019 Grad Student’s Guide to the APSA Annual Meeting (made by the Graduate Student Status Committee)
- Surviving Your First Academic Conference
- ISA’s “Writing a Great Abstract: Post
- Andy Stapleton’s How To Conference Presentation:
- Lucy Kissick’s Tips for Conference Presentation
- People of Color Also Know Stuff (also on Twitter)
- Decolonial Politics Collective (also on Twitter)
- The Latinx Guide to Graduate School, by Genevieve Negrón-Gonzales and Magdalena L. Barrera
- National Conference for Black Political Scientists, NCOPS
- Politics of Race, Immigration, and Ethnicity Consortium, PRIEC
- Note that this is a conference for those studying REP, though is a welcoming space to build community among individuals of minoritized backgrounds.
- Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Society, SACNAS
- SACNAS is an inclusive organization dedicated to fostering the success of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans, from college students to professionals, in attaining advanced degrees, careers, and positions of leadership in STEM. They offer mentorship opportunities.
- Survival Guide for Graduate Students of Color in their First Year
- Concerns for First-Gen Political Science Students, by Thomas S. Benson and T. Mark Montoya
- First Gen Scholars
- Rise First, an online community that centers and supports first generation and first generation low income (FGLI) graduate students
- Things I wish I’d Known on Day 1 of my PhD, Twitter thread
- Enrica’s Guide for 1st Generation Graduate Students, a thorough website with podcasts, resources, videos, and more.
- Academic Chatter, Twitter page
- How to avoid burnout, a Twitter thread
- On the hidden curriculum in academia, a Twitter thread
- The Professor is In: an informative website
- Dr. Mushtaq Bilal’s Twitter page has several resources to get you organized, such as:
- How to read difficult research articles
- Zotero and Research Rabbit workflow
- If you struggle with:
- Jess Calarco’s Field Guide to Grad School
- Raul Pacheco-Vega’s website
This section features current communities that graduate students can join for free or at a low cost. If you have a virtual community you would like to share, please contact us at grad@apsanet.org.
Virtual Workshop for Historical Political Economy The Virtual Workshop in Historical Political Economy (VWHPE) aims to be a central hub for discussing state-of-the-art research in the field of HPE. It allows for members of the international HPE community to come together on a regular basis, learn about recent work on a broad variety of topics, and join a critical conversation. If you would like to be added to the mailing list, please contact Tine Paulsen at tpaulsen@usc.edu. |
Western Political Science Association Virtual Community WPSA Virtual Communities bring academics together on Zoom or other virtual platforms for scholarly, pedagogical, and/or professional development in political science and related fields. Virtual Communities (VCs) are organized around a variety of academic specializations or themes. Each community meets approximately once a month in formats that may include panels, colloquia, workshops, reading or writing groups, pedagogy discussions, mentoring opportunities, peer support groups, social/networking events, and more, depending on the interests of its co-chairs and participants. Currently, 25 co-chairs are collaborating to organize 10 independent Virtual Communities. Visit https://www.wpsanet.org/virtual/wpsavc.php to learn more about joining these communities. |
POCAlsoKnowStuff POCAlsoKnowStuff’s goal is to foster cross-institutional collaboration and networking across subfields and rankings, especially for graduate students and early-career scholars. They do this through promoting scholarship, celebrating professional wins, and serving as a resource for mentoring efforts in the discipline to resolve issues that arise from the underrepresentation of people of color in Political Science. They serve as an interlocutor for those seeking to contact POC Experts, to learn about issues facing people of color in the discipline, and to advocate as allies for people of color in the discipline. In doing so, their aim is to create space for meaningful dialogues that foster a healthy community of POC Experts in Political Science. Visit https://sites.google.com/view/pocexperts/home?authuser=2 to learn more |
Authoritarian Political Systems Group The Authoritarian Political Systems Group (APSG) is an online seminar series for researchers studying issues of authoritarian politics. We intend to connect researchers working on different aspects of autocracies and with different regional concentrations. Our bi-weekly seminar will provide an opportunity to receive feedback on their work in progress. We welcome presentations by scholars in comparative politics, international relations, and political theory, as well as with different methodological approaches (e.g., qualitative, quantitative, formal modeling, etc.). We particularly encourage submissions from traditionally underrepresented groups, including women and minorities, as well as early-career scholars (e.g., graduate students, post-docs, and junior faculty). Visit https://apsg.work/ to learn more. |
Junior Americanist Workshop Series (JAWS) The Junior Americanist Workshop Series aims to provide an alternative opportunity for junior scholars (ABD grad students, post docs, and pre-tenure faculty) who study American politics (behavior or institutions) to present and get feedback on their work and to network with other scholars with similar interests. While we focus on showcasing work from junior scholars, we welcome everyone (all ages/ranks/experience levels) to attend our events! To learn more about JAWS, visit https://jawspolisci.network/ |
Junior IO Scholars Workshop The Junior IO Scholars Workshop is a virtual, interdisciplinary, graduate-student-run workshop where graduate students, pre- and post-docs, and junior faculty can present and solicit feedback on their work. This workshop will be an opportunity to receive substantive feedback from peers and leaders in the field, and to develop a community of scholars with shared research interests. We invite people working on international organizations, broadly defined, inclusive of international law, foreign policy, and related areas, to participate and/or sign up to our mailing list. Additionally, we encourage participation across different types of research, including theoretical, interdisciplinary, empirical, and policy oriented work. To learn more about the Junior IOs Scholars Workshop, visit: https://io-workshop.github.io/ |
Graduate Students in International Political Economy (GSIPE) Workshop The Graduate Student International Political Economy Workshop (GSIPE) is a virtual, interdisciplinary, graduate-student-run workshop. We aim to provide a venue for graduate students (including pre-docs and post-docs) to present works-in-progress and solicit feedback from their peers and faculty. We invite graduate students and faculty from Political Science and Economics with an interest in International Political Economy (broadly defined) to participate, and to sign up for our mailing list. We welcome papers in all stages of progress and job market papers. To learn more about the Graduate Students in International Political Economy (GSIPE) Workshop, visit: https://gsipe-workshop.github.io/ |
Junior Scholars in International Security (JSISE) Workshop The Junior Scholars in International Security (JSISE) Workshop, previously GSISE, is a virtual, interdisciplinary, junior-scholar-run workshop. We aim to provide a venue for junior scholars (including graduate students, post-docs, and untenured faculty) to present works-in-progress and solicit feedback from their peers and faculty. To this end, we hold monthly panels and various workshops for practice job talks. We invite junior scholars from political science, international relations, and related disciplines with an interest in international security (broadly defined) to participate. Papers in all stages of progress as well as practice job talks are welcome. The workshop is committed to promoting the work and voices of Black, Global South, Indigenous, POC, LGBTQ+, and women scholars. To learn more about the Junior Scholars in International Security (JSISE) Workshop, visit: https://sites.google.com/view/jsise-workshop/ |
Chinese Politics Research in Progress (CPRP) Chinese Politics Research in Progress (CPRP) is a virtual workshop with the following objectives: 1) promoting intellectual exchanges of ideas on frontier research of Chinese politics, and 2) building a dialogue between China scholars and the broader political science community. To this end, this workshop encourages presentations of question-driven research on fundamental issues in political science and Chinese politics. We welcome presentations by scholars at all career stages (e.g., graduate students, post-docs, junior and senior faculty) in comparative politics and international relations and with different methodological approaches (e.g., qualitative, quantitative, formal modeling). To learn more about the Chinese Politics Research in Progress (CPRP) workshop, visit: https://chinesepoliticsresearchinprogress.com/ |
Women in Legislative Studies Mission statement: To engage, support, and promote women who study legislative politics. To learn more about Women in Legislative Studies, visit: http://www.womeninlegislativestudies.org/ |