Faculty and Student Research-in-Progress

Deadline: December 15, 2025

BEA’s Research Division invites faculty and students to submit research in progress to be considered for presentation and discussion at BEA’s annual convention April 17-21, 2026 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.  Research projects may focus on a wide range of topics as generally represented within BEA but should be at a stage in which feedback and suggestions are appropriate. A variety of perspectives as well as methodological approaches are welcome.  

FOR STUDENT SUBMISSIONS: Both graduate and undergraduate students are encouraged to submit research.  Projects with faculty co-author(s) are eligible, but the first author must be a student.  

Submission Requirements: 

– To submit your proposal online, visit the BEA2026 submission site by 12/15/25 and select either Faculty OR Student Research-in-Progress.  

– Only the title of the paper should appear on the uploaded information and running heads of the abstract to allow for BLIND REVIEW. Your name and contact information will be provided via your online paper submission registration in the system. No cover page with this information is needed. 

• Upload an extended abstract of no more than 3,000 words. Abstracts should include: 

• Introduction 
• Literature Review 
• Research questions and/or hypotheses 
• Proposed methodology 
• Brief summary of expected results 
• References 

Authors of top selected projects will be invited to present at the convention during a poster session and the lead author will be expected to present at BEA’s convention.  

About BEA’s annual convention: BEA2026, co-located with NAB Show, is a hybrid academic media convention with over 250 virtual and on-site sessions on media pedagogy, collaborative networking events, hands-on technology workshops, research and creative scholarship and the Festival of Media Arts.  BEA2026 will be an in-person convention with limited virtual participation opportunities for presenters and attendees.  

The BEA2026 Convention Spotlight is….. An AI Society
This year’s convention spotlight begins a three-year exploration of artificial intelligence, including An AI Society (2026), The AI Effect (2027), and AI Futures (2028). The themes in these spotlight topics can engage recursively with each other. They can both broadly and specifically consider the unfolding of artificial intelligence in our industry, whether part of or about media content, production, consumption, regulation, individual and societal effects, technology, education, or research. An AI Society in BEA2026 encourages scholars to think about AI in the media industry (and how that connects to society/culture writ large) from any number of vantage points. Let’s consider the full range of opportunities and challenges that AI might bring. 

The convention spotlight serves as a spotlight for the convention, but program proposals are not limited to this area of research and presentation.  All sessions must adhere to the goals and objectives of the interest division(s) to which they are submitted (descriptions are listed on the submission site).    

Contact help@BEAweb.org with questions.