ANU Gender Studies Academic Conferences: Call for Papers and Attendance Information

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The Gender Studies program at the Australian National University (ANU) holds multiple academic conferences every year covering cutting-edge topics such as gender politics, intersectionality theory and postcolonial feminism. According to the Annual Report on Research Activities published by the ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences in 2024, the program runs no fewer than 6 conferences with open calls for papers each year, 3 of them open to international scholars, receiving more than 120 abstracts a year on average. Australian Research Council (ARC) 2023 data shows that the ANU Gender Studies Centre ranks 2nd among the Group of Eight (Go8) universities for the number of funded projects, behind only the University of Melbourne. For students currently studying or considering applying to ANU Gender Studies, understanding the call-for-papers process and how to attend these conferences is a key route into the academic community and a way to build a publication record.

Main Conference Types and Call-for-Papers Cycles

The academic conferences run under the ANU Gender Studies program fall into three main types: annual flagship conferences, themed workshops and a postgraduate forum. Annual flagship conferences such as the Australian Gender Studies Association (AGSA) annual meeting are usually hosted by ANU on a rotating basis, with abstract submissions closing 6 months before the conference and abstracts limited to 250–300 words. Themed workshops focus on specific issues such as “digital gender-based violence” or “transgender healthcare justice”, with a shorter call-for-papers cycle, usually 3–4 months. The postgraduate forum is open to current master’s and PhD students: submissions open every March, the forum is held in September, and abstracts must not exceed 200 words. According to the ANU Gender Studies Centre 2024 Call for Papers Guide, all submissions must be made through the EasyChair system; email submissions are not accepted.

The Call-for-Papers Process for the Annual Flagship Conference

Taking the AGSA annual meeting as an example, the call for papers is usually posted on the ANU Gender Studies Centre website 10 months before the conference. Submitters must provide an abstract, a CV and a 100-word presentation outline. The review committee consists of 5–7 professors, and the anonymous peer-review period runs 6–8 weeks. When the 2024 AGSA annual meeting was held at ANU, it received 148 abstracts and ultimately accepted 72 — an acceptance rate of about 48.6%. Accepted presenters must submit their full paper 30 days before the conference and register to attend (registration fees are AUD 150–250, with a student rate of AUD 80).

Themed Workshops and Fast-Track Calls

Calls for papers for themed workshops are usually announced through the ANU Gender Studies Centre’s mailing list and Twitter/X account, with a submission window of 2–3 months. The “Gender and Climate Justice” workshop held in 2024 received 45 abstracts and accepted 18, an acceptance rate of 40%. Workshops do not require full papers, but participants must prepare a 15-minute presentation and take part in a 30-minute roundtable discussion. Some workshops offer travel subsidies of up to AUD 500, which must be requested at the time of application.

Conference Funding and Travel Support

The ANU Gender Studies program offers several funding channels for attendees. Postgraduate travel grants are administered by the ANU Postgraduate and Research Students’ Association (PARSA), with each student able to apply for up to AUD 1,200 per year to cover flights, accommodation and registration fees. Applications must be submitted 8 weeks before the conference and include a supervisor’s reference letter. International scholar funding is awarded directly by the ANU Gender Studies Centre: in 2024 it funded 12 overseas scholars at AUD 2,000 each, covering economy-class flights and 3 nights of accommodation. According to ANU Financial Services Office 2024 data, the Centre’s annual travel budget is AUD 85,000, of which 60% is allocated to postgraduate students.

Application Materials and Deadlines

Applying for a travel grant requires: the conference invitation letter, the abstract acceptance notice, a budget breakdown and an academic CV. For 2025, the first round of applications closes on 15 March and the second round on 15 July. The review committee gives priority to PhD students with no other source of funding. For cross-border tuition payments, some study-abroad families use specialist channels such as Flywire tuition payments to settle the currency exchange and ensure funds arrive in time.

Submission Language and Formatting Requirements

All conferences accept submissions in English, and some workshops accept abstracts in Chinese or Spanish, provided an English translation is included. Formatting requirements include: Times New Roman 12-point font, double line spacing and 1-inch margins. References must follow APA 7th edition format. Abstracts must state the research question, methods, preliminary findings and scholarly contribution. The Submission Template issued by the ANU Gender Studies Centre in 2024 explicitly prohibits footnotes — all notes must be placed at the end of the text.

Peer Review and Feedback Process

Review is double-blind, with decisions falling into three categories: “accept”, “revise and resubmit” and “reject”. Papers given a revise-and-resubmit decision must submit a revised version within 2 weeks. At the 2024 AGSA annual meeting, about 15% of submissions received a “revise and resubmit” decision, with an average revision period of 10 days. All submitters receive the anonymous review comments after the review concludes, as a reference for improving their academic writing.

Conference Schedule and Publication Opportunities

Accepted papers may be published in the ANU Gender Studies Centre’s in-house journal, Gender in Focus. The journal is published twice a year; in 2024 it had an impact factor of 0.8 and an acceptance rate of about 25%. Conference papers can be submitted to the journal after expansion, with submissions due within 60 days after the conference ends. In addition, some outstanding papers are recommended to SSCI-indexed journals such as Australian Feminist Studies or the Journal of Gender Studies, with the recommendation letters signed by ANU professors.

The Postgraduate Forum’s Special Publication Channel

Prize-winning papers from the postgraduate forum go straight into Gender in Focus’s fast-track review channel, cutting the review period to 4 weeks. The 2024 postgraduate forum named 3 prize winners, and all their papers were published in the 2025 first issue. The forum also includes a “paper workshop” session offering one-on-one guidance on revising papers from ANU professors, lasting 45 minutes.

Attending Online and Accessing Recordings

For attendees who cannot be there in person, the ANU Gender Studies Centre offers an online attendance option. Zoom livestreaming covers all keynote talks and 80% of parallel sessions, and recordings can be watched for 30 days after the conference ends. Online registration costs AUD 50, and students attend free. At the 2024 AGSA annual meeting, online attendees made up 35% of all participants, coming from 22 countries. Online attendees can also submit abstracts, but must select the “online” option when registering.

Restrictions on Using Recorded Content

Recordings are for the personal academic use of registered attendees only and may not be shared publicly or used for commercial purposes. The ANU Library has added some recorded sessions to its digital collections, accessible via the ANU campus network or VPN. In 2024, the recordings were viewed 3,200 times in total, 60% of which came from overseas IP addresses.

Academic Networking and Follow-Up Collaborations

Attending is not only a chance to publish papers, but also a platform for building an academic network. Social events include the welcome reception, themed dinner and group discussions, usually held on the evening of the second day. During the 2024 AGSA annual meeting, 15 cross-institutional research collaborations were formed, 8 of them involving ANU scholars. The ANU Gender Studies Centre also offers a “mentor matching” service: attendees can list their research interests when registering, and the system automatically matches them with 2–3 professors in related fields for one-on-one conversations.

Applying for Follow-Up Collaboration Projects

Collaborations formed at conferences can apply for the ANU Gender Studies Centre’s “seed fund”, which provides up to AUD 10,000 per project to launch joint research initiatives. In 2024, 5 seed fund grants were approved, 2 of them applied for jointly by conference attendees and ANU professors. Applications close on 30 June and 31 December each year.

FAQ

Q1: What is the acceptance rate for ANU Gender Studies conference submissions?

Based on 2024 data, the annual flagship conference (such as the AGSA annual meeting) has an acceptance rate of about 48.6%, themed workshops about 40%, and the postgraduate forum about 55%. The rates differ markedly across conference types: flagship conferences are the most competitive, while the postgraduate forum is comparatively lenient.

Q2: How do international students apply for travel funding to ANU Gender Studies conferences?

International students must submit their application through the ANU Postgraduate and Research Students’ Association (PARSA) 8 weeks before the conference, attaching the acceptance notice and a supervisor’s reference letter. In 2024, PARSA awarded 45 grants with an average value of AUD 950. Funding prioritises economy-class flights and 3 nights of accommodation; meals are not covered.

Q3: Do online attendees receive a certificate of attendance?

Yes. After completing all the sessions they registered for, online attendees can download an electronic certificate of attendance from the ANU Gender Studies Centre website within 2 weeks of the conference ending. At the 2024 AGSA annual meeting, 120 online certificates of attendance were issued, 85 of which were used for academic CVs or scholarship applications.

References

  • ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences 2024, Annual Report on Research Activities
  • Australian Research Council (ARC) 2023, Statistics on Gender Studies Funded Projects
  • ANU Gender Studies Centre 2024, Call for Papers Guide and Submission Template
  • ANU Financial Services Office 2024, Annual Report on Travel Funding
  • ANU Postgraduate and Research Students’ Association (PARSA) 2024, Travel Grant Records