Students are encouraged to explore professional organizations related to their career interests and, if relevant, present their work at conferences and annual meetings.
Organizations that may be of interest
This is not an exhaustive list. Many hold annual conference meetings.
American Alliance of Museums
American Association for State and Local History
American Historical Association
American Library Association
American Society for Environmental History
Association of Midwest Museums
Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums
Berkshire Conference of Women Historians
Chicago Emerging Museum Professionals
Chicago Museum Exhibitors Group
Coalition of State Museum Associations (for links to individual state museum associations in the U.S.)
Coordinating Council for Women in History
History of Education Society
Illinois Association of Museums
International Council of Museums
International Federation for Public History
International Standing Conference for the History of Education
Midwestern History Association
MuseumNext
National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites
National Council for the Social Studies
National Council on Public History
National Humanities Alliance
New England Museum Association
Oral History Association
Organization of American Historians
Organization of Educational Historians
Society for Classical Studies
Southeastern Museums Conference
Urban History Association
Western Association of Women Historians
Western History Association
Other conferences and meetings
In addition to the meetings hosted by the organizations listed above, the following conferences and seminar meetings may be of interest to history graduate students:
Conference on Illinois History
Newberry Library Scholarly Seminars
Women’s and Gender History Symposium at UIUC
Conference funding
Between travel, lodging, registration costs, and food, attending conferences can be prohibitively expensive. The following resources can help offset some of these costs.
Some professional organizations offer awards and grants to help with the cost of conference travel or attendance for students, new professionals, and others. For example, NCPH offers a select number of student travel awards every year. Check individual professional organizations for information about travel grants and awards.
Loyola’s History Graduate Student Association offers travel grants for students attending professional conferences. Contact the HGSA treasurer for more information.
Loyola’s Graduate School offers travel grants for students who are attending a professional conference to present original work. Visit the Graduate School website for more information.
Conference planning as professional development
Planning a conference offers myriad professional development opportunities. Interested students are encouraged to join the History Graduate Student Association’s conference planning committee. HGSA will announce when volunteers are needed.
Resources
“A Beginner’s Guide to Live-Tweeting Academic Conferences,” by Andrea Eidinger and Krista McKracken: Click here.
“The Psychology of Networking” by Joseph Barber: Click here.
“Conferencing While Introverted” by Hannah Hethmon: Click here.