Your Paper's Afterlife

1. Write a Senior Thesis
   Use your paper as a springboard for a senior thesis in the spring semester of your senior year. For information on theses, see the sociology program's Guide to Senior Theses. (You may want to apply for an Academic Council Scholarship to fund your senior thesis research. Information about and applications for this support are available from the Office of Student Affairs.)
   
   
2. Present Your Paper at Skidmore's Academic Festival
   At the end of each school year, Skidmore holds an Academic Festival celebrating excellent work. Present your paper at the Festival.
   
   
3. Present Your Paper at Student Symposia like the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR)
   The NCUR conference is held each spring. Under certain conditions, the college may cover some of your costs of attending NCUR.
   
   
4. Present Your Paper at Professional Meetings
   Present your work at professional meetings such as the annual meetings of the New York Sociological Society or the Eastern Sociological Society. Sociology faculty can offer suggestions on upcoming meetings. Every spring many students in the Senior Seminar in Sociology present papers at the Eastern Sociological Society meetings, but you do not have to be in the Senior Seminar to do so.
   
   To give a paper at professional meetings, you first need to submit a proposal and have it accepted. Typically, proposals (and sometimes the papers themselves) must be submitted to the association sponsoring the meetings six months or so before the meetings. Acceptance rates for meetings vary considerably from easy-to-get-accepted to very-difficult-to-get-accepted. (Under certain conditions, Skidmore College may cover some of your costs of attending professional meetings. Click here for a Web site or see the Office of Student Affairs for information on support.)
   
   Not so incidentally, some Skidmore sociology majors have received student paper awards at professional meetings.

   
   
5. Publish Your Paper in a National Student Publication
   Several national publications are exclusively for student work. For example, the Wittenberg Review: An Undergraduate Journal of the Liberal Arts, published by Wittenberg University, presents good work by students across the country. See a recent issue for editorial policies and an editorial address.
   
   
6. Publish Your Paper in a Professional Journal
   Talk with sociology faculty about journals that would be most appropriate. For information about journals' editorial policies, style requirements, etc., see the American Sociological Association's Publishing Options: An Author's Guide to Journals (available in the department office -- 218 Tisch Learning Center). Also review recent issues of journals at the Skidmore library. Journals' acceptance rates vary considerably.
   
   
7. Show Your Paper To Prospective Employers
   Depending on the job, you might show your paper to a prospective employer. Use your project to demonstrate your research skills, quality of thought, writing abilities, etc. If you write a senior thesis, you will probably want to list the thesis on your resume.
   
   
8. Show Your Paper To Prospective Graduate Schools
   Many graduate or professional schools ask for examples of applicants work, so you may want to send a copy of your paper when you apply.
   
   
9. Submit Your Paper for a Periclean Award
   This possibility is up to your instructor. Each May Skidmore's Periclean Society recognizes outstanding work by four graduating seniors. If your instructor thinks your paper is outstanding (not just good or excellent, but outstanding), he or she may nominate it for a Periclean Award. The deadline for nominations is early April. Periclean Awards usually recognize senior theses or comparable projects rather than papers for "regular" courses, but the latter are eligible and sometimes receive awards. (Note that only seniors are eligible for Periclean Awards and nomination is up to faculty. You cannot submit your work yourself.)
   
   
10. Submit Your Paper for a General Social Survey Award
    Papers based on data from the General Social Survey are eligible for the National Opinion Research Center's annual Student Paper Competition. Winners receive cash and other prizes as well as national recognition. Click here for more information.