Want to Publish Your Research? Submit to The Compass
You’re proud of that paper after all the hard work you put into it, and you think others might find it interesting, too. You could set yourself apart and share your work by submitting it to Arcadia’s scholarly journal, The Compass. The journal allows undergraduate students and alumni to submit their work for publication, which is the perfect opportunity to be recognized for meaningful academic work.
As one of the editors of The Compass this year, I have learned about the significance of publishing work and the accessibility that Arcadia’s journal offers. The Compass has been downloaded over 11,000 times just in the past year and it reaches an audience all over the world. This was a much farther reach than I anticipated for a small school like Arcadia so I was excited to see this monumental achievement.
You may be wondering what kind of papers The Compass publishes. First, anyone can submit undergraduate work to be considered for publication. You can be a current undergraduate student at Arcadia or any other school, or you can be an alumnus with work from your time as an undergraduate.
The journal also solicits papers from any discipline and they can be any kind of written project, so the range of material is broad, which makes it a unique and comprehensive scholarly journal. Your paper can be your senior thesis, or a smaller paper that you completed while an undergraduate student. Issue 9 featured an article exploring Cottagecore and Rural Gentrification, as well as an analysis of a significant Mexican artwork, Mujer Ángel.
Papers are reviewed by an External Review Board composed of professors at Arcadia who decide if they are scholarly. The Compass staff, composed of students in the Honors program, then read them and decide which papers will ultimately be published.
Publishing your academic work may seem like something out of reach. Maybe you don’t think of yourself as a particularly apt writer, or sharing your writing with others feels daunting. However, you do not have to be a perfect writer to be published.
The Compass wants to represent a variety of interests and you never know how many people may enjoy your work. This is why I want to continue to encourage students to submit their work. If you worked hard on a compelling paper already, why not try and get it published so that it can get the recognition that it deserves?
One of the real benefits of the academic journal is that we have a well-rounded and dedicated team of editors. They work with authors to revise and format their pieces and make sure they have been sufficiently structured for a professional and academic setting. We have eight editors, including our Editor-in-Chief, Madeline Lynch, along with a business board that deals with layout and logistics management.
We are accepting submissions for our 10th issue until October 16. If you are not sure yet, you can also wait until next year’s issue, even if you will have graduated by then. The link to the Issue 10 submission form can be found here.
