ACR/Sheth Foundation

8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Coffee and Pastries

9:00 – 9:45 a.m.Opening Remarks and Peer-to-Peer Connection

A welcome to the day, followed by a guided opportunity for students to meet and connect with peers from other programs.

PART I: POSITIONING AND PUBLISHING YOUR RESEARCH IDEAS

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9:45 – 10:45 a.m.Editor’s Roundtable: Everything You Wanted to Know About Publishing

Current and former editors of top marketing journals come together for an inside look at what it takes to publish in their outlets. Each editor will open with a brief pitch for their journal: what makes it distinctive, what kinds of work it is looking for, and why it should be on your radar. The conversation will then open up to the questions doctoral students most want answered: how to frame a contribution, what reviewers and editors are really looking for, and the most common mistakes authors make. This will be followed by questions that students will have the opportunity to submit in advance.

10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.Faculty Friendly Feedback Session

Small groups of doctoral students meet with experienced faculty coaches to workshop their own research ideas. The session is designed to be genuinely collaborative: students learn not just from their faculty coaches but from each other, exchanging perspectives and feedback across different programs, methods, and research areas. Students will come prepared with a one-page handout summarizing their research idea to share with the group.

12:15 – 1:30 p.m.Lunch

PART II: NAVIGATING THE PHD JOURNEY

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1:30 – 2:45 p.m.Track 1 – Finding Your Footing: Navigating Your Early PhD Years (Years 1–3)

A panel tailored to students in the early stages of their PhD, covering the questions and challenges that are most pressing in the first few years: how to generate and develop research ideas, how to build a productive relationship with your advisor, and how to start establishing yourself as a scholar.

1:30 – 2:45 p.m.Track 2 – Ready for Launch: Positioning Yourself for the Job Market and Beyond (Years 3 onward)

A panel for students approaching the job market and the final stretch of the dissertation, addressing what it takes to successfully transition from PhD student to faculty member: how to position your research agenda, navigate the job market, and hit the ground running as they leave the PhD program.

2:45 – 3:00 p.m. Coffee Break

3:00 – 4:15 p.m.Track 1 – Writing for Impact

Strong research ideas deserve strong writing. This panel brings together scholars known for their ability to communicate research compellingly across methods and genres to discuss what separates good writing from writing that truly lands. Topics will include crafting a contribution, writing for a broad audience, developing a writing practice, and developing your own voice as a scholar.

3:00 – 4:15 p.m.Track 2 – Research Methods and Analysis

A fast-paced, energizing session in which each panelist delivers a short pitch about a method, tool, or analytical approach they have developed and believe more consumer researchers should be using or know about. From text analysis to new experimental designs to computational tools, this session is designed to expand students’ methodological horizons and spark new ideas. Panelists will share resources (papers, guides, apps) so students can explore further.

CLOSING

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4:15 – 4:45 p.m.Closing Session: Lessons from the Journey

A warm, inspiring, and at times humorous close to the day. A group of faculty reflect on the lessons they have learned through their own journeys and offer advice and thoughts to the students. The goal is to end a dense day on a lighter note, and to leave the audience feeling hopeful and inspired.