The Postgraduate Caucus provides a number of valuable opportunities for postgraduate students, who are able to join APSA at generous concessional rates.
APSA Postgraduate Student Caucus Election
Every year, members of the APSA Postgraduate Student Caucus are invited to vote for their representative on the APSA Executive Committee during the APSA annual conference.
Membership benefit
Concessional rate for the APSA annual conference
Attendance at the Annual Conference is also provided at concessional rates, and a number of traveling scholarship awards are available each year to encourage and assist postgraduates to attend. Postgraduate students regularly report their experience at the conference as a highlight of their academic year.
APSA Postgraduate Workshop
The Caucus now also runs a full day workshop prior to APSA Annual Conference. This is an exciting opportunity to network prior to the conference with postgraduate colleagues pursuing similar interests. It is also an invaluable opportunity to prepare for the conference by meeting key APSA academics. Informal but informative presentations are provided. Topics covered generally include career options, publishing and the range of opportunities offered by APSA to its postgraduates.
APSA Representative
Caucus meets during the Conference to identify issues relevant to postgraduate students, which are then brought to the attention of APSA executive. At the same time, it elects one of its members to represent the interests of postgraduates on the executive committee throughout the year.
The 2023-24 Postgraduate Representatives are available here.
APSA Mentoring Program
As a part of APSA’s commitment to help support and assist junior academics, APSA is offering a mentoring program for Early Career Researchers and Research Higher Degree students who are APSA members. Any APSA member who is either a PhD student (either full or part time), or any ECR who is within five years of completion of their PhD is eligible to become a mentee. Any APSA member who is willing and able to commit their time to the mentoring program is eligible to become a mentor.
Postgraduate networks
Caucus also attempts to keep postgraduate APSA members up to date with meetings, conferences and news relevant to them via the website and an email list, and you can connect with APSA Postgrads on Facebook.
Caucus appreciates that the general membership and the executive of APSA continue to express, not only financial support, but a continuing interest in promoting the welfare and career development of postgraduates.