Conference Travel Award Application

Basic Information

Each Fall and Spring semester, graduate students who pay the semi-annual graduate student activities fee are eligible to apply for Conference Funding in the amount of up to $300. Applications in the Fall can be for conferences that take place any time in the same Fall semester, the upcoming Spring semester, or for conferences that have already taken place in the Summer before that Fall semester. Applications in the Spring can be for conferences that take place in the Spring, the following Summer, or for conferences that took place in the previous Fall semester.

To apply, students must complete the application form, include a copy of their CV and accepted conference abstract with the form, and submit these documents to the GOG Academic Programming Officer by email. The Academic Programming Officer will notify applicants of the receipt of their materials and later inform them whether or not they were chosen for an award.

Each applicant’s materials will be read by at least 5 reviewers before award decisions are made. GOG assigns reviewers according to the categories of Science and Humanities (listed below), such that applications from the Science disciplines will only be reviewed by graduate students in that category, and Humanities applications will only be reviewed by other Humanities graduate students. Importantly, the review process is blind. Reviewers do not see the names on the conference funding applications.

Science and Engineering

Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Clinical and Social Psychology, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Geological Sciences, Materials Science, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Optics, Physics & Astronomy

Humanities

Comparative Literature, Economics, English, History, Linguistics, Philosophy, Political Science, Visual and Cultural Studies

Despite this division, please be advised that your specific area of research most likely will be unfamiliar to reviewers and it is your responsibility to explain your topic in basic terms in the “description of research” section.

Only one application per student will be accepted each semester, and each student may receive funding only once in two consecutive semesters. A limit of two awards will be given out to graduate students from the same department each semester.

Applications can receive a maximum of 25 points total by reviewers, whose individual scores are averaged. Any application that receives an average of less than 5 points will not be considered for funding.

Application

Applicant's Name:

Program of Study & Department:

Year in Program of Study:

Address of the Applicant:

E-mail Address:

Telephone:

Title of Your Accepted Abstract:

Conference Name:

Session or Panel name:

Conference Organizer:

Organizer Contact Information:

Location of Conference:

Date of Conference:

Conference Website (if applicable):

How much funding are you requesting? (Please complete a full and detailed estimate of costs in the appropriate areas below. A maximum of $300 is available for this award.)

Funding from the Applicant’s Home Department:

Other Funding Sources (please specify):

Total Provided by Department and Other Sources:

Estimated Conference Expenses

Transportation costs:

Accommodation cost:

Required membership dues:

Required registration fee:

Miscellaneous (photocopying, etc.):

Totals

Total provided:

Total needed:

Total Requested from GOG:

Short Answer Section

1. Description of Research (500 words or less):
Please describe the research you will be presenting at the conference in general terms that can be understood by someone outside your field (including definitions of terms, theories, and discipline-specific interests) and comment on the contribution and importance of your research in the field. (10 points)

2. Professional Development (500 words or less):
Please describe how your specific presentation at the conference will benefit your graduate work (i.e. is it part of your dissertation, something you hope will be published, etc.) and promote your professional career more generally (i.e. how will it improve your academic standing, job prospects, etc). Please list the number of conferences you have presented at already while a graduate student at the University of Rochester, whether or not you have given this particular presentation before, and, if you have, how many times you have presented this work so far. (10 points)

3. Impact of the Conference (250 words or less):
How influential is the conference and the body organizing the conference to your field and your research? (Describe the focus of the conference, the organizing body sponsoring the conference, how often the conference is held, how many and what kinds of people typically attend this conference (students, professors, etc.), what disciplines the attendees come from, and provide any other information that you feel is pertinent.) How does your research tie into the conference’s focus? Why is this conference important for you? (5 points)

File Upload

Only Word (.doc and .docx) and PDF (.pdf) documents will be accepted. Please be certain that these files have been anonymized. No names. No phone numbers. No websites. No email addresses. This ensures a blind review.

CV:

Conference Abstract:

Verify

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