To stay up to date with announcements about PSA27, the dedicated webpage for PSA27 will include all the latest information, deadline dates and related links.
PSA Members will also receive regular updates in our e-newsletter, and information will be shared and circulated publicly via our PSA groups, networks and social media.
Registration
Registration for the PSA Annual Conference will open in late 2026. All registration will take place online later in 2026, specific details will follow soon.
PSA27 is a ticketed event with a range of registration options that are designed to reflect the different needs and budgets of our delegate communities. Registration pricing and options for PSA27 will be shared as early as possible: this is so that delegates can consider the cost commitment when submitting paper proposals and if they are requesting funding from institutions.
Your registration fee includes attendance to the conference with full access to all keynote presentations, receptions, roundtables, workshops and exhibitors. It usually includes breakfast pastries with morning registration, tea and coffee refreshments at breaks during the day and drinks/light snacks at receptions. Delegates are usually required to source their own lunch and evening meals, unless a special lunchtime event is taking place. Delegates will be provided with a badge and lanyard and full access to the programme.
We encourage all delegates to register as early as possible, and to register before the booking deadline. This means that delegates can take advantage of ‘early bird’ rates, and we can ensure that delegates are registering for the correct ticket. The PSA team will get in touch if there is any discrepancy about ticket types, for instance if you have selected a PSA member rate and are not a member. Conference fees cost less during the early bird booking period: when the deadline passes, standard conference fees will apply. The final registration deadline will be fall in February. We cannot guarantee conference places after the booking deadline and would encourage you not to consider turning up on the day.
Your registration fee includes attendance to the conference with full access to all keynote presentations, receptions, roundtables, workshops and exhibitors. It usually includes a breakfast with pastries, tea and coffee refreshments at breaks during the day and drinks/light snacks at receptions. Delegates are usually required to source their own lunch and evening meals, unless a special lunchtime event is taking place. Delegates will be provided with a badge and lanyard and full access to the programme and conference app.
Absolutely! The PSA Annual Conference is open to all. Many of the attendees do present papers, but approx. 25% of delegates attend to hear about ongoing research and engage with the speakers and exhibitors. It’s also useful to come along and see what the PSA annual conference is like if you are considering presenting a paper in the future.
You don’t have to be a PSA member to take part in the conference, but PSA members do benefit from significantly discounted conference tickets, especially early bird member rates. You may find that you pay the same amount of money for a non-member ticket as you would do for a year’s membership and a conference ticket – and you will also have twelve months’ worth of membership benefits. We will check and verify membership status for those purchasing discounted member rate tickets, and if you have chosen a member ticket type but are not a member you will be asked to either pay the difference or become a member.
Delegates need to arrange their own accommodation. Potential accommodation options can be found here; these will range from high quality student accommodation to various hotel and B&B options close to the conference venue. Oxford is a popular location, so we advise arranging your accommodation as early as possible to get the best deals.
If you need to cancel your conference ticket the conference fee is fully or partially refundable at different percentages over a different duration of time. Each fee includes a £10 admin charge that is not refundable. Exact details of our policy will be listed in the cancellation terms (which will be viewable when our terms and conditions are available to the public).
Funding and Support
We usually offer discounted rates for students, early career researchers, retired and unwaged delegates. We anticipate PSA27 registration options being similar to last year's registration options, and our terms and conditions of support will be made available as early as possible.
In addition to early bird, concessions, and member discounts we often try to make available relevant support or funds for those identified as most in need of this. We review this each year and will if the PSA can offer any support when registration opens in late 2026, please assume for now that we won't be able to provide any additional funding or grants.
If you are presenting a paper, or participating in a roundtable discussion, we can provide a letter of acknowledgement stating the agreed time, place and date of your participation which you may use to support your visa application. We cannot provide a visa supporting letter if you are only attending the conference and not a panellist.
Paper Proposals
Proposals for 15 to 20-minute paper presentations are invited during the open call for papers, which runs from July – October 2026. We will provide details and guidelines on how to submit proposals when the call opens up.
We will limit the number of proposals you can submit for PSA27 to two. If both papers get accepted, they aren’t guaranteed to be scheduled on the same day in the programme. You can’t submit the same paper proposal to more than one topic, any duplicate submissions will be removed. If you need to amend an existing proposal, you should contact the PSA team.
There is a 300-word limit for paper proposals. We encourage all proposals to have a clear and concise title and abstract. Please keep references short and concise and use standard formation for titles - e.g.: capitalisation where required.
Yes, if you submit more than one paper proposal for different topics, and your proposals are accepted by different groups for different panels/roundtables, then you can present papers in more than one panel/roundtable. However, we try to encourage as broad a participation as possible from a range of different delegates.
Once the call for papers deadline has passed, we will not accept late paper proposals. We encourage everyone to submit proposals within the open call period.
Panel & Programme Queries
You should find out in early November ‘26 if your paper has been accepted and which panel you will be presenting on.
In most cases the PSA Specialist Groups are responsible for composing and agreeing the panels, which make up a large part of the PSA conference programme. There are 48 PSA Specialist Groups that cover a huge range of different areas within Political Studies and International Relations. Convenors of these groups will review and select paper proposals to form panels (or roundtables). A conference Academic Programme Committee will also review and input on conference panels and the full programme. Panels are usually 90 minutes in length and formed of four 15 to 20-minute paper presentations, with Q&A. A minimum of four papers is required for a panel to be placed in the programme.
Minor changes to the title and abstract of your paper will be accepted up until a specified date (to be advised), after which no changes will be able to be made. Significant changes to the content and point of your paper would need to be discussed with your panel convenor and may not be accepted if the changes divert significantly from your original proposal. If you need to withdraw your paper, please inform the PSA team and your panel convenor as soon as possible as one paper withdrawal can put a whole panel in jeopardy.
If paper presenters and panel convenors have specific time or day requests, we will try our best to accommodate these. However, with over 700 papers to schedule into the programme we cannot always guarantee requests can be met. Please advise the PSA team as early as possible if you have specific date or time requirements so that we can factor these into the programme planning as much as possible.
Usually, the panel convenor will share details of who else is presenting in advance. The names of all paper presenters will be included in the final conference programme.
We aim to compile a draft programme in December, with a view to making the final programme available publicly as early in the new year as possible - ideally by February. Timings and dates will be shared with speakers beforehand, but we only publish one final programme once everything is confirmed.
PSA Annual International Conferences are primarily In-person events, so we expect all speakers to attend in person. Due to the scale of the conference, we cannot offer or guarantee virtual provision or presence. But we do our best to accommodate exceptions relating to accessibility barriers.
Presenting at PSA27
Paper presentations should be up to 15-minutes long. Depending on how many presentations are scheduled, you may be allowed more time. Audience Q&A will either be invited at the end of each presentation or at the end of all presentations, depending on how the panel convenor chooses to run Q&A (your panel convenor will let you know this before or on the day)
Most paper presentations include slides. You should have slides available to present on the day, ideally in a PowerPoint format, although PDF format is an option. If your presentation is not a PowerPoint file, we ask that you instead connect your laptop to the screen/projector and present directly from your device. Please ensure that you have your slides on a portable USB drive and on your laptop.
We anticipate most panel rooms will have laptop computers provided; however, we would still strongly encourage you to bring your own laptop. You should be able to insert a USB flash drives/memory stick containing your presentation into the laptops provided which will be connected to a projector or a screen to present from with audio if needed.
Some rooms may have microphones or other audio devices. If you require audio equipment for accessibility reasons, please get in touch.
There will be tech support available in each venue.
No, you will not need to full paper for the conference. The only thing we require is for you to present your work during your presentation. We do not publish paper abstracts in the programme, only titles of papers.
No, sessions will not be recorded or streamed. All sessions will be in-person only, with possible exceptions made for presenters with accessibility issues.
We only allow people to present virtually if there’s an accessibility concern which wouldn’t allow them to attend in-person (health risks, disabilities, etc.).
Otherwise, PSA27 will be an in-person event and we encourage all presenters to attend in person. We don’t allow virtual presentations for most attendees as we don’t have the facilities to support a fully hybrid event.
Information about the following questions will be shared closer to the event:
Presenting at PSA27
- How long should my presentation be and should I provide slides?
- What AV facilities will be available?
- Do I need to submit a full paper?
- Will sessions be recorded or streamed?
- Can I present virtually if I can’t attend in person?
Attending the Conference
- Where do I collect my delegate badge?
- Will there be a cloakroom or luggage storage?
- Is Wi-Fi available at the venue?
- Will there be accessibility support or quiet spaces?
- Are meals or refreshments provided?
Post-Conference:
- Will recordings or papers be shared after the event?
- Can I request a certificate of attendance or presentation?
- How do I give feedback about the conference?