Important Dates:Please take note of the CIES 2027 submission guidelines and timeline.

• Deadline for all submissions: September 3, 2026 (no extensions will be made)
• Notification of submission acceptance/rejection: October 15, 2026
• Early Bird Registration for conference presenters, chairs, organizers and discussants: October 15-November 4, 2026
• Regular Registration for conference participants: November 5-November 30, 2026
  *Please note that all presenting authors, chairs, organizers, discussants, and any other attendees whose names should be scheduled and included in the conference program must become a member of CIES and register for the Conference between October 15 and November 30, 2026. Conference registration is not mandatory for non-presenting authors if they are not attending the conference. After November 30, 2026 all non-registered presenters’, chairs’, organizers’ or discussants’ submissions will be removed from the conference program.
• Registration for conference attendees who will not be presenting, chairing, acting as a discussant or organizing a session is available October 15, 2026 – April 7, 2027
• Deadline to request a conference registration refund: December 11, 2026. Membership fees are non- refundable.
• CIES 2027 conference program released: January 25, 2027
• Deadline for reserving a CIES special-rate-room at the Concourse Hotel in Madison: March 12, 2027
• Opening of the Online Meeting Hub: March 12, 2027

1. Adherence to the standards of academic integrity, such as originality and/or giving proper acknowledgements within the abstract submission
2. Compliance with the standards of professional conduct, as detailed in the CIES 2027 Policy Guidance on Inclusive and Welcoming Meeting and Event Environments.
3. Adherence to the latest measures of health and safety, guided by the United States Centers for Disease Control. The City of Madison has lifted its indoor mask mandate, its proof of vaccination requirement, and has no COVID related capacity restrictions; however, we highly encourage you to take appropriate health and safety measures during the duration of the Conference.
4. Supporting the professional obligations as a CIES member, such as serving as a volunteer peer reviewer for other submissions and or as a Chair or Discussant.
5. Should your submission be accepted, you will commit t0:
   1. Present the accepted submission at CIES Annual Meeting at either an on-site or virtual session on the date and time that the Program committee schedules it.
   2. Sign up or renew as a CIES member and register as a CIES Annual Meeting conference attendee no later than November 30, 2026 to appear on the Conference Program.
      
      *Please note that all presenting authors, chairs, discussants, organizers and any other attendees whose names should be included in the conference program must become a member of CIES and register for the Conference between October 15 and November 30, 2026. Conference registration is not mandatory for non-presenting authors if they will not attend the conference. The two fees must each be fully paid through the CIES online payment systems by November 30, 2026. After November 30, 2026 all non-registered presenters’, chairs’, organizers´ or discussants’ submissions will be removed from the conference program.
6. General conference registration opens on October 15, 2026 and will remain open until April 7, 2027, the last day of the CIES 2027 conference. Registration will only be available on the CIES conference webpage.  You are encouraged to become a CIES member or renew your membership at (https://members.cies.us/general/register_member_type.asp) and register for the CIES 2027 conference (conference.cies.us) simultaneously.

7. Follow and adhere to the Submission Information and Guidelines provided here.

Submission Information and Guidelines

1. Submission is open to CIES members and non-members.Any CIES member or non-member may advance a submission to any SIG, the General Pool or committee regardless of CIES membership or membership in a specific SIG or committee. Please note that non-members will need to become members to present at the CIES 2027 conference. For your submission to be reviewed and accepted by a SIG or Committee, you are not required to be a member of the SIG or Committee. The only requirement is that the submission align with the thematic focus of the SIG or Committee.
2. Submissions will be made and managed online at conference.cies.us. Click Submit Now on the CIES website and follow the instructions to complete the submission process as detailed in All Academic. A step-by-step tutorial on How to Submit a Proposal is available.
3. Submission limits on first authorship.To promote broader participation in CIES 2027, individuals listed as “Presenting Author” will be limited to one paper presentation, but can appear as “Non-Presenting Authors” on other (co-authored) submissions, as well as participate as a chair, organizer and/or discussant. Submission limits do not include symposia, multi-SIG working groups, workshops/performances, book launches, off-site visits, New Scholar proposals or other special sessions (e.g. invited presentations).
4. Submission limits to a single SIG, General Pool or committee.Should an individual or group submit a proposal to multiple SIGs, General Pool or committees, all submissions will be removed from consideration. It is crucial to determine which SIG or Committee is suitable for the submission.
5. Submission languages.A proposal may be submitted in a non-English language but must also include an English language version to facilitate the review process (the non-English language texts do not count towards the word limits). To foster a climate of inclusion, diversity, and interdisciplinarity, presenters are encouraged, when possible, feasible, practical, and/or pertinent to present bilingually or multilingually, with English being one of the languages included. For example, a presenter may speak in one language facilitated by a PowerPoint presentation in English, or vice versa (bilingual/multilingual presentations have the same time as those that use only English). Language interpreters will not be provided by CIES 2027.
6. Originality of submissions.Submissions must represent original work.
7. Anonymized submissions: Submissions in the formal paper, roundtable (individual and group), poster, formal panel, will be blind peer-reviewed. For this reason, no identifiable information about the author(s) can be included in the submitted abstract or proposal. Failure to exclude author identification from the abstract or proposal will automatically disqualify the submission(s) from consideration. References may include citations from the author(s) if applicable, but must be kept in line with the anonymization format in the APA style (7th ed.), e.g., replacing actual author names with (Author, 2025). The anonymization policy does not apply to workshops, book launches, symposia, off-site visit, multi-SIG working groups or special sessions such as an invited keynote speech.
8. Confirmation from all listed participants: All individuals listed as a presenter, non-presenter, chair, organizer or discussant in a submitted proposal must be informed and have given their consent prior to submission. Additionally, all inquired or requests regarding a submission must include all listed participants.
9. The Online Submission System opens June 1, 2026 and will close on September 3, 2026. No late submissions will be accepted.
10. Types of research contributions: While there are not strict distinctions between different types of research, authors are asked to indicate which type of research best describes their submission, guided by the following questions:
    1. Applied research: A report on a project or program intervention;
       • What is the need, topic, interest or issue that the program or intervention tries to address?
       • What methods and guiding frameworks were used, and how can they address similar challenges elsewhere?
       • What was identified as successful; and/or what could have been done differently, knowing what is now known
       • What was the project’s impact on the need, topic, interest, or issue it targeted? How was its impact assessed?
    2. Conceptual/theoretical research: A critique of literature, a program, or an institution;
       • In reviewing literature or alternative perspectives, how does the contribution build on existing work?
       • How is the theoretical contribution situated in terms of linguistic, national, or geo-political contexts?
       • What are the implications of the critique for future practice, policy, or theory?
       • How original is the contribution? What do we learn that we did not know, and why is it important?
    3. Empirical research: an evidence-based qualitative, quantitative, and/or historical analysis.
       • What framework guided the research questions?
       • How are sources of information used to inform choices about data collection and analysis?
       • How do the research methods and results support the conclusions drawn from the data?
       • How original is the contribution? What do we learn that we did not know, and why is it important?

Category 1: Blind Peer-reviewed submissions

All Category 1 submission types will be blind peer-reviewed using the following criteria:

1. Relevance: Relevance of topic as related to the field of comparative and international education, CIES 2027 Conference Theme, and/or SIG/Committee;
2. Theory/Context: Strength of theoretical framework or contextualization;
3. Mode of Inquiry: Strength of critical analysis or research methods (including research question, design, data, collection, analysis, etc.);
4. Findings: Clarity and coherence in the presentation of findings or argumentation; and
5. Contribution (note A or B):
   1. Scholarly originality or contribution to existing knowledge; or
   2. If this submission is a project report or a practice-oriented presentation, evaluate its application of existing scholarly knowledge.

Category 2: Peer Reviewed Submissions

All Category 2 submission types offer opportunities for alternative formats, distinct from the conventional individual or group paper presentations. These are designed to generate discussion on a specific theme or set of questions, demonstrate a new technique, educational model or practice, or illustrate a creative approach to addressing an issue in the field. Additionally, there are opportunities to organize off-site visits that complement the CIES 2027 conference theme. Submissions in this category must include an abstract of no more than 1000 words describing the proposed session.

All Category 2 submission types will be reviewed by the CIES 2027 Conference Planning Committee using the following criteria:

• Meeting the requirements of the submission
• Relevance to the CIES 2027 theme and related topics
• Representative of current debates and issues in the field
• Advancing creativity and innovation in the field

Additional information

Contact

• Inquiries about SIG or committee-specific themes and calls for submission, please contact the related chair(s). Information is available here: for SIG chairs and for Committee chairs.
• For inquiries about your submission and/or the CIES Annual Meeting Program, please write to the Organizing Committee at conference@cies.us with the subject line “Submission” or “Program.”
• For other general inquiries, please contact the CIES Office of the Executive Director at oed@cies.us.