Symposium Rules and Guidelines

Overview of Symposia

A symposium is a focused session in which individual speakers present their research on a common issue. Symposia should have the dual goals of providing diversity of perspective and integrating those perspectives into a meaningful whole.

A symposium includes a chair, three to four presenters, and a discussant (optional). Symposia are scheduled in 80-minute time slots and should allow for discussion among presenters and the audience. An LCD projector, screen, microphone and speakers will be available in each presentation room for symposia. Presenters must supply their own laptop computer, as well as all other equipment for their presentation. Slides should be prepared in a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Deadlines for Submission

All symposium submissions must be finalized by Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 5:00 PM ET (22:00 UTC). Notifications of acceptance or rejection will be sent in February 2024, after the Program Committee has reviewed all symposium submissions.

Review, Selection, and Notifications

Submissions will be reviewed by members of the Program Committee. Only a limited number of symposia can be accepted for presentation at the 2024 APS Annual Convention, so please include as many relevant details as possible in your submission in order for the Program Committee to effectively evaluate your submission.

With all submissions the Program Committee retains the right to request additional information, ask that changes be made to improve a presentation, or decline a presentation the Committee does not find relevant to the meeting or that does not follow the guidelines for submission. No changes can be made after proposals have been submitted unless the Committee has specifically requested that change. Please re-read your submission before you finalize it to ensure the submission is free of spelling or grammar errors and that all authors have been added to the submission. The deadline to request any edit to the program listing for an accepted symposium is April 3, 2024 at 5:00 pm ET (21:00 UTC).

Occasionally, the Program Committee recommends that a symposium submission be considered for individual poster presentations rather than a symposium. When this happens, the presenters will be notified of this recommendation, and each author will be offered the opportunity to submit individual presentations as posters.

Speaker and Submitter Responsibilities

Submitters do not need to be members to submit proposals or to have proposals reviewed. Please note that you must log in to your APS Member Profile or create a free APS account in order to begin a submission. There is no membership requirement of any author on a submission. (Note: APS members receive discounted convention registration rates.) 

The Chair must accept the speaker agreement on behalf of the presenters if their submission is accepted for presentation. Information on how to do so will be included in the emailed acceptance notification.

All presenters must register for the Convention. An Early-Bird rate is available until Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at 5:00 pm ET (21:00 UTC). APS members receive discounted convention registration rates. 

The name of the proposal submitter will not appear in any program unless the submitter elects to be listed as an author. Submitter information is only used while submitting. After a submission has been finalized, all submission communication will be sent to the Chair of the symposium.

The commitment of all participants and listed co-authors must be secured in advance of proposal submission.

An individual may be a co-author/presenter on multiple poster proposals and may participate in multiple symposia. (Exception: An individual may be the first author on an APS Annual Convention poster proposal, Flash Talk, as well as an APS-STP Teaching Institute poster proposal.)

The Chair is responsible for sharing submission notifications and information with presenters and co-authors.

Program Participant Registration Policy

All program participants must register and pay the appropriate registration fee. APS members receive discounted convention registration rates. Early registrants receive a discounted rate before the Early-Bird deadline of Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at 5:00 pm ET (21:00 UTC). Reminder: All symposium presenters must present on-site in San Francisco, CA at the Convention. Virtual or remote presentations cannot be facilitated.

Submission Guidelines

APS seeks presentations showcasing the latest findings in psychological science. Below are some guidelines that can assist in the preparation of your symposium submission.

To submit a symposium, you’ll need to enter the following information:

• Submitter information: When you begin your symposium submission, you’ll be prompted to log in to your APS Member Profile or create a free APS account. Although membership is not required to submit your research, you must create an APS Profile. Once you log in or create your account, you’ll be automatically redirected to complete your submission.
  • Symposium title: The title should be succinct and descriptive because it will be listed without the abstract in Convention materials. Please use Title Case – e.g., Meaning in Time: We Consider Our Lives Insignificant When Viewed from the Future.
  • Abstract: A brief, high-level overview of the symposium. (50-word maximum).
  • Subject area: Related area of research; used to match the proposal with the best-suited reviewer. Secondary subject area may also be selected.
    • Subject areas: Biological/Neuroscience, Clinical Science, Cognitive, Developmental, General, Industrial/Organizational, Methodology, Personality/Emotion, and Social.
  • Supporting summary: The supporting summary should describe the overall symposium in detail. In this section, you are encouraged to include information about how the symposium meets the dual goals of providing diversity of perspective and integrating those perspectives into a meaningful whole. (500-word maximum, plain-text format).
    • References are optional (words will count towards the 500-word maximum).
  • Presenter Information: The university or business affiliation, individual e-mail address, and highest degree earned must be included for all chairs, presenters/co-authors, and optional discussant. Three to four presenters must be included, in addition to the chair and optional discussant.
    • No APS membership is required of any symposium presenter, author or Chair. APS members receive discounted convention registration rates.