Submit Your Work

UWJPS Submissions 

The UWJPS accepts written works exclusively by undergraduate students in order to showcase work that is done by emerging scholars and students which may otherwise not get the opportunity to be published. The journal seeks submissions that are well-written, original, well-argued, thoroughly researched, and relevant to the field of political science. Possible contributions include, but are not limited to, research papers, literature reviews, critical essays, interviews, and articles written independently or for a particular course. Submissions are evaluated entirely on their academic merit. The UWJPS aims to showcase outstanding undergraduate scholarship and foster academic engagement within the discipline of political science. It is also our hope that the authors receive recognition for their efforts and achievements in the discipline. 

We are now accepting submissions for Volume I, Issue 3 of the UWJPS which will be released the first week of Spring Quarter. Submissions will accepted at the start of winter quarter until week 4. 

UWJPS Submission Guidelines

The UWJPS accepts sumbissions ranging from 5-40 double-spaced, 12 point font pages. 5-15 pages artuicles are consieted short-form pieces and anything over 15 is considered long-form. These page counts do not include reference pages.

Standards For Submission:

TOPIC

Submissions must engage with a topic in the field of political science, including but not limited to political theory, international relations, political economy, and public policy, though submissions from other disciplines such as economics, sociology, philosophy, and history may be accepted if they pertain to the study of political science. Submissions must be high-quality research and analytical papers with unique perspectives. Creative or opinion writing will not be accepted.

GRAMMAR AND FORMATTING

Submissions should be coherent and comprehensible, with few to no grammatical mistakes. Accepted pieces will be properly formatted, with citations for any information drawn from outside sources. All cited works, including class lectures and non-traditional materials, must be cited in a standard citation style in Chicago (Author Date) Style. Submissions that are improperly cited or for which sourcing cannot be found cannot be considered for publication.

QUALITY

We expect pieces submitted to the journal to be well-written and professional, suitable for publication in a sophisticated journal. Submissions should express their points efficiently but clearly, and should be consistently organized. Submissions should display original thought and thinking, clearly distinguishable from ideas and claims developed by others. In short, submissions should be work you can honestly feel proud of.

CITATIONS

All submissions must include in-text or footnote citations and a full works cited section preferably in the Chicago style. While we will not reject submissions based on their citation style, the Journal officially uses the Chicago style with author/date in-text citations. Failure to properly cite material will result in rejection.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

The UWJPS Editorial Team will also evaluate submissions based on their originality, creativity, and the involvement of research as part of their decision-making process. Submissions that have been previously published or are under consideration by another journal are not eligible for review. However, authors of previously rejected works are welcome to revise and resubmit their pieces for future editions.

By submitting to the journal, authors certify that:

• Their work reflects original thought and clearly distinguishes their ideas from those of others.

• Their submission is not substantially similar to any work that has been previously published or is under review elsewhere.

• Their work meets the highest standards of academic rigor.

• They have fulfilled all legal requirements, including those related to copyright and sourcing.

If any of these certifications are found to be false or incomplete, the Editorial Team reserves the right to reject the submission without further explanation. The journal assumes no legal responsibility for an author’s failure to meet these obligations.

Finally, the UWJPS is committed to evaluating submissions solely on their academic relevance, clarity, scholarly contribution, and originality, without bias toward the author’s institutional affiliation, nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, or political views. Each submission undergoes a thorough review process, ensuring impartiality and academic integrity. Accepted works are ones that demonstrate dedicated thought and research, creativity, originality and aulity prose.

Note On Copyright

Authors retain full copyright ownership of their work published in the journal. By submitting, authors grant the journal a perpetual, non-exclusive license to publish the official version of their article. After publication, authors are free to distribute or republish their work elsewhere, provided that the original publication in the UWJPS is properly credited.

Note on Editorial Submissions

It is standard practice that if any editor wishes to submit their piece for review and possible publishing, they will recuse themselves from the submission selection process. 

Outline of Review and Publishing Process

1. Submissions reviewed by Editorial Board (name blind): Broadly, is this something worth considering? If yes, the piece is distributed to the most relevant section(s). If no, the piece is rejected outright.

2. Submission reviewed (name blind) by multiple student section editors of different sections. Reviewing editor provides a comprehensive referee report.

3. Editorial Board reviews reports and makes final decision.

4. In case of acceptance:

   • Editors make clarification and coherence edits, and conduct missing info and fact checks. Editors also make final stylistic edits.

5. Editor in Chief and Editorial Board collectively organizes accepted pieces into a cohesive edition of the journal.

   • If there are pieces that are accepted but cannot fit in the current edition, they should be postponed to the next available spot in a future edition.

6. Faculty review the entire issue and approve it before publishing.

Final decisions of acceptance, rejection, or request for revision are made by the Editorial Board.