Graduate Student Travel/virtual conference Grant
Purpose
The Graduate Student Travel Grants are established to support graduate students engaged in independent scholarly research, scientific inquiry, inventive technology, and artistic/creative activity. The grants support graduate students to travel in-person to meetings or events sponsored by professional organizations (or where the professional meeting is to be held virtually, assist with their participation in virtual conferences) for the purpose of sharing the results of their research, exhibiting or performing creative works, or otherwise disseminating the results of their scholarly activity. These grants do not cover conference attendance for other purposes (e.g. as a non-presenting attendee or workshop participant). The level of financial support varies from the in-person to the virtual conferences.
Spring 2023 Travel Grants/Virtual Conference deadline: Closed March 1
The online application is closed. Note: you must be a currently enrolled student in the semester you apply.
WMU graduate students may receive a maximum of two Research Grants, or two Travel Grants, or one of each grant type at these degree levels: master’s, specialist. Doctoral students may receive a maximum of three Research Grants or Travel Grants, or a combination of both, up to three total. Note: the typing go theses, dissertations, and project paper, as well as the purchase of computers or supplies and equipment commonly provided by departments or by other existing grants or funds do not qualify as legitimate budget expenses under a Graduate Student Travel Grant.
Award Amount
Grants range up to $1000 for the in-person travel grants; or for virtual conferences, grants range up to $250
Eligibility
WMU graduate students MUST be:
- Admitted to a graduate degree program
- In good academic standing (3.0 GPA)
- Enrolled in the semester that the application is made (one credit hour only if at dissertation/thesis hours)
- The invited presenter via a letter/email of invitation from the conference/exhibit officials
- The sole or principal investigator of the research project (PI) but for the purposes of research compliance, listed as student investigator, author or performer of the artistic/creative activity and the individual invited or selected to make the presentation
Guidelines for the Application Process
- Access the online application for the Graduate Student Travel/Virtual Conference Grants (Check the deadline information above for the active link to the application or for details on when the link opens for the next award cycle)
- In addition to this online application, applicants are REQUIRED to have an advisor or another faculty member familiar with your project write a Letter of Support for your project and upload it in InfoReady (instructions will be emailed to the individual you identify as writing the Letter of Support). The letter must clearly address the following elements:
- Student's name
- Please ensure the student is currently enrolled
- The purpose that the letter of support is for an application for a Graduate Student Travel/Virtual Conference Grant
- The significance of the project
- The student’s role in the project
- The significance of the conference or event where the project will be presented
- Selectivity level of the conference or event (e.g., the main national conference in our field, highly competitive with less than half of submissions accepted, etc.)