In Spring 2026, The LGBTQ+ Resources Center, Graduate Student Life, and Women and Gender Studies are sponsoring Mason’s third annual LGBTQ+ Student Showcase! This one-day showcase event will spotlight Mason’s graduate and undergraduate students’ outstanding scholarly, research, and creative works through posters, oral presentations, and creative, visual, and performing arts that highlights the work done by LGBTQ+ identifying students at Mason. It will also feature a Keynote Luncheon with a speaker from our local community.
LGBTQ + Student Showcase
Link to submit a proposal (forthcoming) | Link to register (forthcoming)
Friday, 20 February 2026, Fairfax Campus
Call for Abstracts
The call for proposals for the 2026 LGBTQ+ Student Showcase will open in Fall 2025 — more details to come. We invite all Mason graduate, professional, and undergraduate students to submit their abstracts (250 words maximum, including optional personal statement of 1-3 sentences) for consideration. We call for proposals from any discipline or area of study, which may be submitted by graduate, professional, and undergraduate students individually or in collaboration with their faculty. Proposals can be individual/group papers, documentaries, films, and visual presentations and performances. While the call for proposals is open only to current Mason graduate, professional, and undergraduate students, we allow students to submit works in which they collaborate with external researchers.
The final deadline for presenters to submit their abstracts electronically is October 31, 2025, at 5pm.
Why Students Should Participate
The goal of the Showcase is to foster connectivity and initiate conversation among our LGBTQ+ graduate, professional, and undergraduate students by providing an academic community to practice submitting scholarly and creative proposals and presenting as researchers and practitioners. It also creates an avenue for students to connect with their colleagues, learn about emerging research topics, network with specialists in the field, and engage in constructive interdisciplinary conversations on works-in-progress.
If prospective presenters have any questions about this program, please refer them to email the planning team at [email protected], including “LGBTQ+ Showcase” in the subject of their email.