APSA sponsors in-person and virtual dissertation workshops annually. Our in-person events are held on the Wednesday prior to the APSA Annual Meeting. Each full-day workshop includes six PhD candidates who present a dissertation chapter, along with two faculty members who lead the workshop and moderate discussions. Our virtual workshops are held over the summer or fall.
All applications must be submitted by Sunday, April 27, 2025. Please direct any questions about the dissertation workshop program to grad@apsanet.org.
We are pleased to offer six dissertation workshops this year:
- Black Politics in the United States (virtual)
- Policy and Public Administration (virtual)
- New Topics in European Politics (virtual)
- Migration and Citizenship (virtual)
- Fieldwork Approaches in Comparative Politics: MENA Region (virtual)
- Comparative and Multi-Method Approaches in Political Economy (in-person during APSAs 2025 Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada)
| The following dissertation workshop will take place in-person at the 2025 APSA Annual Meeting in Vancouver, BC, Canada, Wednesday, September 10, 2025. |
Comparative & Multi-Method Approaches within Political Economy Research
Comparative scholars increasingly draw upon a variety of methods to investigate key questions raised by political economies across the global community. This “triangulation” of approaches often leads to substantially richer and more nuanced accounts of variation across and within countries on key matters of democratic policy and politics. In this workshop, the co-leaders will support early career researchers in considering the utility and sharpening the application of mixed methods approaches to key political economy questions including, but not limited to, such topics as redistribution, democratization, economic policy, unionization, and social policy.
The workshop is open to participants who utilize two or more methodologies of any nature within their thesis. Although individual chapters proposed for the workshop may utilize one method exclusively, participants should be prepared to contextualize the piece within their broader dissertation. We welcome research focused on any substantive area within political economy (broadly construed) and any regional, country, or subnational geographic focus.
- Co-leaders: Javier Pérez Sandoval, University of Oxford, and Elizabeth G. Pfeffer, Dartmouth College
- Format: In-person
- Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2025, in Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Start Your Application Here
| The following 5 dissertation workshops will take place virtually: |
Black Politics in the United States
Many scholars of black politics find themselves at a troubling crossroads. There is currently a concerted effort at the local, state, and federal levels of government to undermine, discredit, and discourage those tasked with teaching and studying black politics. This reality is almost certainly impacting the development of graduate students interested in illuminating and explaining the conditions many black Americans face in the United States and beyond.
We seek to combat ideologically extreme and racist ideas that threaten our collective knowledge by providing space to develop and engage with emerging scholars whose dissertations explore black politics in America. This workshop will be held in virtually [insert date range]. The ideal candidates will be ABD students who have defended their dissertation prospectus in a topic focused on black politics. Candidates will be asked to submit a single chapter from their dissertation project for feedback and discussion. They will also have an opportunity to provide a brief presentation of the broader project to begin the conversation with colleagues at the mini-conference.
We invite submissions in the following, but not exhaustive, topical areas of black politics situated across the full spectrum of theoretical and methodological orientations:
- Critical studies rooted in blackness/anti-blackness
- Black political behavior
- Black representation
- Black-led social movements
- Black political psychology
- Intersectionality
- LGBTQ+ identity and black politics
- Black rural politics
- Policies that disproportionately impact black communities
- Black incarceration
This virtual workshop will be organized into two parts. The first section will be devoted to providing targeted feedback and facilitating robust conversations around chapters submitted by the individual students. The second section will focus on developing strategies for completing the dissertation, positioning the work on the academic job market, and advancing the dissertation project while on the tenure track.
Through this process, we will provide individual students with guidance and create a space for a broader discussion about the state of the literature and avenues for new research. The workshop will require participants to engage in peer review and will be a collaborative space. Students will leave the workshop with directed revisions to strengthen both their theoretical and methodological approaches to dissertations and future studies. Finally, this workshop will create a stronger relationship with their peers and others that they are in intellectual conversation with. We intend for students to use this opportunity to build their scholarly network, engage with peers and faculty with shared interests and experiences, and commune with one another – “relax. relate. release.”
- Dates: June 16-30 (exact dates and times will be determined once participants have been selected)
- Co-Leaders: Jenn Jackson, Syracuse University, and Perlioux C. Peay, University of Maryland, College Park
- Format: Virtual
- Start Your Application Here
Policy and Public Administration
This virtual dissertation workshop focuses on providing feedback to doctoral candidates pursuing their doctorate in public administration and policy or with dissertations on topics in public policy. The topics can span the breadth of the fields in both public administration and policy. Potential topics include public management, organizational theory, political economy, policy theory (i.e., punctuated equilibrium, policy diffusion, advocacy theory, multiple streams theory), and policy areas such as but not limited to education, higher education, housing, immigration, and environmental/energy policy. Dissertations using both qualitative and quantitative methods or a mixed-methods approach are welcome.
The goal of this workshop is to offer doctoral candidates at various stages an opportunity to engage faculty and peers on their work. The workshop setting will allow for collegial engagement among all involved and is designed to assist with methodology, structure, theory, writing, and/or research direction. Before the workshop, candidates will submit a chapter of their dissertation for review by all candidates and faculty two weeks ahead of time. During the workshop, the candidates will participate in three sessions. The first session will be an introductory session with the faculty to introduce topics and concepts and set the stage for where the candidates are in the process. Each candidate will be expected to preface their submission and provide context.
In the first session, the students will be grouped with a faculty co-lead by methodology to get help within a small group. The second session will be inclusive of fellow candidates. This will be a writing workshop, where each candidate will be put into one of two groups based on topics or approach. The goal of the second session is to workshop writing styles and approaches based on the feedback provided. The third session will be with the faculty co-leads and allow for each student to present their work and field questions that contribute to a constructive edit of their work. We will use Zoom for holding the sessions and candidates will be expected to be prepared to engage in all parts of the process.
- Dates: June 2-13 (exact dates and times will be determined after participants are selected)
- Format: Virtual
- Co-leaders: Darrell Lovell, West Texas A&M University, and Scott Langford, Arizona State University
- Start Your Application Here
New Topics in European Politics
We invite graduate students working on European politics to submit proposals for our PhD workshop. The workshop provides a unique opportunity to receive in-depth feedback on ongoing research from peers and senior scholars, engage in discussions on methodological and substantive challenges, and gain insights into academic job markets. The workshop is open to all methodological approaches and research areas within European politics.
While the expertise of the workshop leaders—Mareike Kleine (EU politics, international political economy, and international organizations) and Miguel Pereira (political behavior, elite politics, and comparative politics)—covers a broad spectrum, we welcome submissions on any relevant topic.
The workshop will feature two sessions dedicated to presentations and feedback, individual consultations with one or both workshop leaders, and a 1-hour Q&A session on European job markets.
We encourage proposals from students at various stages of their research.
- Date range: June 4- 24 (exact dates and times will be determined once participants are selected)
- Format: Virtual
- Co-Leaders: Mareike Kleine, London School of Economics, and Miguel Pereira, London School of Economics
- Start Your Application Here
Migration and Citizenship
This virtual dissertation workshop welcomes proposals from PhD candidates working on any aspect of citizenship and/or migration, such as those highlighted by the APSA Migration and Citizenship Organized Section:
- The local, national, transnational, international, and global politics of voluntary and forced migration, including political attitudes and orientations both towards and of all categories of migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, and economic, family, circular, business, high-skilled, and irregular migrants.
- Immigration and emigration policies and laws, including the international relations, international political economy, and political philosophy aspects of such policies and laws.
- Immigrant integration and refugee resettlement policies and their implementation, including immigrant and refugee civic engagement, political incorporation, and citizen-making.
- Border and security studies as well as studies on intranational, regional, transnational, and international cooperation on the management and control of migration.
- The changing meanings and practices of citizenship, including the relationship between citizenship and identity, gender, multiculturalism, race and ethnicity, racism and xenophobia, human rights, indigenous peoples, empires and imperialism, civic engagement, transnationality, welfare, and public policy.
- The relationship between citizenship and transformations in or political contestation of sovereignty and political community, including state formation or disintegration, nationalism, sovereignty or secession movements, language, ethnic or other minorities, the politics of diaspora mobilization (including conflicts, democratization, voting, and economic development), and subnational, supranational (e.g., European Union), multilevel, corporate, or global citizenship.
- The politics of nationality and citizenship (and the distinctions between them), including the moral and empirical rights and obligations attached to citizenship, comparative or historical nationality law, statelessness, and policies and practices concerning the acquisition and loss of nationality through such procedures as naturalization and expatriation as well as dual or multiple citizenship.
By the end of the workshop, students will leave with concrete revisions to strengthen their dissertations and future research, as well as an expanded network of scholars working in similar areas.
- Co-leaders: Irene Bloemraad, University of British Columbia, and Willem Maas, York University
- Format: Virtual
- Dates: First meeting on/around June 30 and remaining sessions end of August (exact dates and times will be determined once participants are selected)
- Start Your Application Here
Fieldwork Approaches in Comparative Politics: MENA Region
We invite dissertation projects that employ fieldwork methodologies to explore a wide range of political issues in the MENA region. This workshop will be held virtually and is designed for advanced ABD students who have defended their dissertation prospectus and are conducting research in comparative politics with a fieldwork-based approach in the MENA region.
Participants will submit a single dissertation chapter—preferably one focused on analysis—for structured feedback and discussion. The workshop will provide an opportunity for participants to present a brief overview of their broader project to foster intellectual exchange in a collaborative mini-conference setting.
We specifically welcome diverse methodological orientations in conducting fieldwork and innovative methods that challenges traditional knowledge production on/in the Middle East and North Africa. Submissions may address, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- State-society relations and authoritarian governance
- Conflict, post-conflict reconstruction, and transitional justice
- Contentious politics, protest movements, and revolutions
- Political parties, elections, and democratization
- Urban and local politics
- Identity politics, sectarianism, and nationalism
- Refugees, migration, and diaspora politics
- Gender and politics, including feminist and queer perspectives
- Informal institutions, clientelism, and patronage networks
- Comparative political economy of the MENA region
- The role of religion in politics and governance
- Foreign interventions, humanitarianism, and peacebuilding
- Surveillance, digital repression, and the politics of technology
The workshop will be organized into two key sections:
- Targeted Chapter Feedback – Participants will receive in-depth comments on their submitted chapters from peers and faculty facilitators, fostering constructive discussions about theoretical, methodological, and empirical contributions.
- Advancing the Dissertation & Professional Development – The second half of the workshop will focus on strategies for completing the dissertation, positioning research for the academic job market, and advancing projects while on the tenure track.
In addition to individual guidance, the workshop will serve as a space for broader discussions on emerging research trends, methodological challenges, and the state of the literature in comparative politics and MENA studies. A key goal of this workshop is to cultivate an intellectual community where participants engage in peer review, receive constructive critiques, and develop lasting professional relationships.
By the end of the workshop, students will leave with concrete revisions to strengthen their dissertations and future research, as well as an expanded network of scholars working in similar areas. We look forward to fostering a dynamic and supportive environment for advancing fieldwork-based scholarship in comparative politics.
- Co-leaders: Ozlem Tuncel, Georgia State University and Ronay Bakan, Johns Hopkins University
- Format: Virtual
- Date range: early-mid October (exact dates and times will be determined once participants have been selected)
- Start Your Application Here
All applications are due Sunday, April 27, 2025. Please direct any questions about the dissertation workshop program to grad@apsanet.org.