Submissions
The Submission Portal for MPA 2026 will open in September (but you can see the page for 2025 for reference)
Please read everything below carefully as our instructions for submitting to the MPA Conference and the three affiliate programs that also present at MPA (Psi Chi, STP, SCRA) have changed.
(scroll down to find which program to which you’re submitting)
For All Undergraduates: Apply to Psi Chi (submission deadline November 6th)
If you are a recently graduated student and want to submit to Psi Chi, you may do so as long as you graduated within 6 months of the submission deadline. So anyone graduating in May 2024 or later is eligible to submit to Psi Chi this year!
All undergraduate students who are submitting their own work (e.g., an honors thesis) should submit a poster through the Psi Chi portion of the annual meeting. You do NOT need to be a member of Psi Chi to submit to the Psi Chi portion of the program. Additionally, your study does not need to be complete at the time of submission. Submit or edit your submission HERE. Undergraduates who have collaborated on faculty-generated research may be coauthors on MPA papers and posters as long as the MPA member is also an author and present at the meeting. Please remember that all submissions should be empirical, rather than theoretical or review (experiments, self-reports, naturalistic observation, archival research, and case studies are all considered to be appropriate methods). Researchers applying to Psi Chi may be the first author on no more than two submissions.
To submit, please prepare a 400-word abstract to be reviewed by the Program Committee. If first author is a PSI CHI member, please also submit a short 50-word abstract. This short abstract will be published in the MPA program if you are selected as a Regional Research Award Winner. You will also be asked the extent to which you (the first author) and your faculty mentor(s) contributed to the elements of your submission (i.e., study design, data collection, data analysis or analysis plan, interpretation of data, conclusions or implications, writing and revising the abstract).
Submissions to Psi Chi are not required to have the studies complete at the time of submission.
Instructions for the 400-word abstract:
Please note that your abstract will be entered into a text box and cannot exceed 400 words. To include references, tables, or figures, you may also submit an additional document, which does not count toward your 400-word total. The additional file should be a PDF. Do not include your own name, or your institution, in the file name.
All abstracts must include the following:
Problem or major purpose
Procedure
Results (to date) or expected results
Conclusions and implications
Do NOT include authors’ names or affiliations. Your submission is sent out for masked review. If you fail to remove your names or the name of your institution, your submission may be automatically disqualified.
Note: Psi Chi welcomes proposals for projects that are underway but not yet completed, as long as your project will be complete in time for the conference. If this applies to you, then we have two recommendations for your long abstract. First, describe how far along you are in the process. For example, you might say that you have received IRB approval and will begin data collection in 2 weeks, or perhaps you have already collected 10% of the data. Second, we recommend that you describe the analyses and results that you anticipate. For example, you might say “I plan to conduct a 2×3 ANOVA with Y as the dependent variable. Consistent with our hypothesis, we expect a significant interaction.” These steps will communicate that you are serious about completing the project and will indicate how well the project is designed. Students will not be penalized in the review process if the project is not yet complete.
Psi Chi submissions will be judged on the extent to which it conforms to the proper form and length described above, the quality and originality of the study, and the clarity of the long abstract.
For Teachers and Scholars submitting to Society for Teaching Psychology (STP; submission deadline December 8th)
If you are interested in submitting to the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (STP) program at MPA, please click HERE to find instructions on submitting or submit HERE. The submission deadline is December 8th.
For those submitting to Division 27/Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA; NEW submission deadline December 8th)
If you are interested in submitting to the Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA) program at MPA, please click submit HERE. The NEW submission deadline is December 8th.
Questions about submissions to SCRA should be directed to SCRA Coordinators Moshood Olanrewaju (olaolamoshood@yahoo.com) and FaKelia Guyton (fakelia.guyton@gmail.com).
Instructions for Faculty/Post-Docs/Graduate Students applying to the MPA Main Conference (submission deadline November 6th)
Submissions for papers, posters, professional development sessions, and symposia for the annual meeting will be accepted through November 6th, 2024 11:59PM EST.
POLICY REGARDING INCOMPLETE STUDIES AT TIME OF SUBMISSION: MPA is now allowing submissions that are incomplete at the time of submission under specific circumstances.
- The submission is for a poster (papers must be complete at the time of submission).
- The submitter must identify the timeline for completion and the stage at which the current project is during submission and indicate that the study is not complete at the time of submission.
- The submitters are post-bacs, graduate students, post-docs, or faculty. Undergraduates should still submit to Psi Chi.
- The eventual project must be complete at the time of the conference or the submission must be removed from the program.
1) Papers, Posters, and Professional Development Sessions Submissions
To submit a poster, paper, or Professional Development Session please prepare two abstracts describing your work: one 400-word abstract to be reviewed by the Program Committee and one 50-word abstract that we will appear in the Program Book if your submission is accepted. Instructions for abstracts appear below:
For Papers and Posters
Title: Your title should be 10 words or fewer in length.
400-word Abstract for Review. The name(s) and institution(s) of the author(s) must not appear on the abstract since these are reviewed blind. The following format should be used, including the headings:
A. Problem or Purpose: The Committee finds it helpful to have the paper put in context, perhaps even with references.
B. Procedure: State the rationale, design, controls, sample sizes, characteristics of the sample you collected.
C. Results (including statistical tests have been employed and the statistical results you found as you would include in a paper). Only empirical papers/posters will be accepted.
D. Conclusions and implications.
It is important that you provide adequate background information in the form of references (in text citations only, no need to include full references) and names of investigators or theories to help reviewers evaluate your abstract. The blind reviewing process does not permit reviewers to determine the background on the basis of the author(s) names(s).
You have the option of uploading one document containing tables or figures to supplement your 400-word abstract. Your tables or figures must be in pdf format to be uploaded. Only upload tables and figures. Please do not upload any other portions of your 400-word abstract.
If your POSTER is NOT complete, please describe the procedures you have done/plan to do; the results you have conducted/plan to do; and the status and timeline of your study completion. You will not be able to present at MPA if you do not finish your study in time and you must explain to reviewers the status of your study and your timeline of completion. You will be evaluated both on the theoretical merit and method design (as anyone else would be) as well as whether you appear likely to finish the submission in time so please be detailed in your responses.
50-word Abstract for Program. A short abstract not to exceed 50 words is also required. If your paper is accepted, this abstract and all of your contact information will be inserted directly into the program, so proofread it carefully.
Edit your paper, poster, or professional development session at the following link: SUBMISSION SITE FOR PAPERS, POSTERS, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS.
For Professional Development Sessions
Title: Your title should be 10 words or fewer in length.
Include a 400-word Abstract discussing the the goal of the session, topics to be covered, and a description of the format. What will the audience leave the session having learned?
These sessions will run for 50 minutes as of the 2024 conference.
Also include a 50 word abstract that will be printed in the program so people know what to expect from the session.
Edit your paper, poster, or professional development session at the following link: SUBMISSION SITE FOR PAPERS, POSTERS, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS.
2) Symposium Submission
Title: Your title should be 10 words or fewer in length.
To submit a symposium, one of the organizers should prepare a brief overview of the symposium, collect the contact information, talk title, and 400-word abstract from each person who will be presenting research, and get the contact information from the discussants (if there are any). A symposium must include at least three, but no more than six research presentations, and may include up to two discussants. All symposia must be presenting empirical work and all symposia submissions must be complete in terms of data collection and analysis at the time of submission.
Edit your symposium at the following link: SUBMISSION SITE FOR SYMPOSIA.
Note: Only one contact email can be associated with each unique submission login. Don’t use your colleague’s, professor’s, or student’s login unless that person’s email address should be the contact email address for all the submissions. The last email address entered will be used for all submissions under that login.