For FAQs and current status of services and policies see UW Libraries Operations Updates
When you write a term paper or report on a study you devised, you're creating a piece of academic research. You join the conversation of academics through the frame of your work, which is a frame no other researcher can bring to the table. As you know, most undergraduate work is created in answer to a specific course.
Undergraduate work can have a life beyond evaluation, and the effort invested in a project like an undergraduate thesis doesn't need to only serve one institution. Many universities in the U.S. have undergraduate journals that accept submissions on a national scale.
If you're interested in submitting your work to a journal and bringing your research out into the world, check out the links below to see if the journals are right for you! If you need some guidance on how to polish a paper for submission, there are a few tips and tricks below the resource list.
Critique: a worldwide student journal of politics
A peer-reviewed journal that's published biannually and welcomes year-round submissions. Submission guidelines are given on the site. Manuscripts must not exceed 10,000 words. The material must be related to political science.
YRIS: the Yale Review of International Studies
An undergraduate journal with three annual issues; Winter and Spring issues open to undergraduates in the U.S. Submission guidelines are given on the site, along with the upcoming submission deadlines. Manuscripts must not exceed 40 pages. The material must be related to international affairs.
Gettysburg Social Sciences Review
An open-access, peer-reviewed journal that's published biannually and welcomes year-round submissions. Authors must make an account to submit their work. Submission guidelines are given on the site. The material must fall under the social sciences umbrella.
World Outlook: the Dartmouth Journal of International Affairs
A student-run, peer-reviewed journal that's published biannually and welcomes year-round submissions. Students can submit up to a year after graduating with an undergraduate degree. Submission guidelines are given on the site. Manuscripts must not exceed 25 pages. The material must be related to international affairs.
Hemispheres: the Tufts University Journal of International Affairs
The oldest undergraduate journal of its kind. One issue is published each year; submission deadlines are announced on the site alongside submission guidelines. Manuscripts must not exceed 8,000 words. The material must be related to international affairs and each issue has a theme, though broad interpretations of the theme are encouraged.
Many journals will have guidelines for submission provided on their website. Following these guidelines will insure that your submission will be reviewed and considered by the editorial team, so it's important to understand what they are asking from the authors they want to work with. Some common guidelines include:
Before you submit, make sure that you double-check all the required guidelines! If you can, ask a friend, a writing tutor, or an academic mentor to review your submission.
The journals we recommend all fit certain criteria. Since undergraduate academic publishing is a field focused on scholarly development, you should look at the way a journal works and decide if your work fits into its scope. Some things to pay attention to might be:
Avoid journals that require a submission fee or ask you to relinquish your rights to your work. Most appropriate undergraduate journals will not ask for these steps. For further help in evaluating journals, check out this guide for an in-depth look at journal fit and copyright basics!
Credit: this guide was created by Conrad Schaffer Vignati, an MLIS student at the University of Washington.