SPSSI Conferences

Call for Conference Submissions is Now Open!

We are thrilled SPSSI’s Summer Conference is taking place June 26 - 29, 2025 in Portland, OR! Join us as we share great presentations, participate in networking opportunities, and learn together! The submission deadline is February 9, 2025. There will be no extension of this deadline. If you have questions about the SPSSI Conference or the submission process, please email spssicon@spssi.org. This year's theme is Research as Seed, Teaching as Root, Action as Bloom: Foundations for a Just Future.

Submission Types:

• 15-MINUTE PRESENTATIONS: Individual proposals may be submitted as 15-Minute Presentations. If accepted, SPSSI co-chairs will group these short presentations with 2-3 other submissions of similar topic based on the keywords you select. Proposals must include a title (10-word max), a summary (200-word max), and contact information for all authors.
   
• POSTER PRESENTATIONS: Individual proposals may be submitted as Posters. Proposals must include a title (10-word max), a summary (200-word max), and contact information for all authors.
   
• INTERACTIVE DISCUSSIONS (1 hour): In this format, presenters and attendees sit at roundtables for an informal, interactive discussion. Presenters will give brief remarks to introduce the topic and facilitate an interactive discussion.  Audio-visual equipment will not be available for these sessions. Proposals must include a title (10-word max), a summary (200-word max), and contact information for all authors.
   
• SYMPOSIUM (90 minutes): Symposium presentations include 3 to 4 talks on a common topic. Proposals must include a symposium title (10-word max), a summary of the symposium theme (200-word max), talk titles (10-word max) and talk summaries (200-word max), and contact information for all authors.

Research as Seed, Teaching as Root, Action as Bloom: Foundations for a Just Future

As communities worldwide navigate an era of unprecedented challenges, SPSSI invites submissions from scholars, educators, activists, and practitioners whose work addresses pressing social justice issues for its annual conference, “Research as Seed, Teaching as Root, Action as Bloom: Foundations for a Just Future.” This year’s conference will be held in Portland, Oregon–the City of Roses–a symbol of the potential, beauty, and challenges that accompany progress and change. As Portland and communities across the globe work to address social, economic, and environmental challenges, we must ask ourselves how to create and maintain healthy, just futures: What must be replanted? What needs to take deeper root? What strong roots need better conditions to fully bloom? What protections must we cultivate to defend our growth?

This year’s theme centers on growing vibrant, healthy, and flourishing communities, highlighting essential stages of transformative work: planting seeds through research, cultivating strong, deep roots in classrooms and communities, and fostering actions that bloom into lasting impact. Yet, for growth and blooms to truly flourish, hard-won progress toward justice must also be protected. Just as a rose’s thorns defend its growth, we need strategies that nurture and safeguard against threats. Collectively, through policy, education, grassroots activism, and scholarship, our work can cultivate a thriving future for all.

In this spirit, we invite submissions that address a wide range of crucial topics, including, but not limited to, racial and economic justice, health and well-being, political polarization, educational equity, healthcare access, gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, climate change and environmental justice, immigration, and human rights. As we navigate long-standing issues with fresh relevance, and confront new challenges, we welcome submissions that not only seek to inform but also to transform. Join us as we envision and develop strategies for a flourishing future amidst and beyond the uncertainties of today.

Past SPSSI Conferences:

• 2024: Frontiers of Justice: Using Psychological Science to Reinvigorate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• 2023:Transforming Our World: Using Research and Action to Address (In)Visible Wounds
• 2022: Reenergizing Ourselves and Our Communities: Connections Across Borders and Barriers (Revitalizándonos y Nuestras Comunidades: Conexiones a través de Fronteras y Barreras)
• 2021: Changing the System: Social Research and Action to Reshape the World We Live In
• 2020: "Making the Invisible Visible: Transformative Research and Social Action"
• 2019: "Fighting injustice: The power of research, policy, and activism in challenging times"
• 2018: "Bridges to Justice: Building Coalitions and Collaborations Within and Beyond Psychology"
• 2017: “Entre los individuos, como entre las naciones, el respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz” (Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace)
• 2016: Giving psychology away: Sharing research through teaching, interdisciplinary collaboration, and public engagement
• 2015: A Road Less Traveled: Forging Links Between Psychological Science and Social Policy
• 2014: Social Action and Change: Opportunities, Resistance, Inertia, and Mobilization
• 2012: Changing Societies: Learning From & For Research, Social Action & Policy
• 2010: From Individuals to Nation States: What Motivates, Sustains...
• 2008: Disparities Across the Globe: Place, Race, Class, Ethnicity & Gender
• 2006: Social Justice: Research, Action, and Policy
• 2004: From Desegregation to Diversity
• 2002: Understanding and Addressing Disparities: International Approaches
• 2000: Social issues for the 21st Century: Setting the Agenda

SPSSI presents special programming each year at the APA Convention as well. Find more information here.