• Nominate a Student: ACTC Undergrad Conference (Nov 6-7, 2026)

    Please provide details of the student you wish to nominate and their contact information. We will then email the student with an invitation.
  • Is your institution an ACTC member? (For students at member institutions, the $150 registration fee is waived.)

  • Due Date for Nominations: The sooner the better! 

    Due Date for Student Applications and Paper Submissions: August 1, 2026

    Notifaction of Acceptances: August 15, 2026

  • Some Specifics: 

    Papers must address a text of enduring importance and be no longer that 5 pp./fifteen minutes reading time.

    The goal of the ACTC Undergraduate Conference is to bring together students from a variety of disciplines and institutions to experience new friendships and to engage in serious conversation about texts of enduring importance.

    The theme for paper submissions--"Citizens and Friends: Core Texts for the American Experiment at 250 Years"--is optional and broad, intended to be inclusive of any core text that is productive of discussion about citizenship, friendship, or liberal democracy. Other topics are also welcome.

    If the student's paper is accepted, the registration fee of $150 includes room and board from Friday night until Sunday morning, November 6-8, on the campus of Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts. Note: We will waive the fee for students enrolled at ACTC member institutions. (If you don't know whether your institution is an ACTC member, please ask.)

    Students will be responsible for their own travel arrangements. Students should inquire with his or her home institution whether the institution has funds available to support student conference registration and travel. Limited funds may be available from ACTC, on a first-come basis, for students who may need to request additional support to pay for travel.

    After the conference, students will be invited to submit papers to be considered for publication in AGORA: The Undergraduate Journal of the Association for Core Texts and Courses. (Publication in AGORA is limited to undergraduate attendees of ACTC conferences.)

     

  • Our host, The Center for Civic Friendship at Assumption University, is dedicated to liberal education and fostering civic friendship, across differences, through reflection on the common good and open discussion of its challenges. 

    Our sponsor, The Association for Core Texts and Courses, is an international professional organization dedicated to supporting liberal education involving core texts--world classics and works of major cultural signifiance.

    This conference has been supported by a generous grant from the Institute for Humane Studies.  

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