Conference Travel Grant Program

Support for College of Education graduate students to travel for presentations at conferences, professional meetings, and exhibitions.

Conference Travel Grants

To assist graduate students in their efforts to establish themselves and acquire valuable experiences in their respective fields, the College of Education strives to support graduate student travel and related expenses for attendance to present (remotely or in person) at conferences, professional meetings, and exhibitions.

Enrolled, matriculated graduate students (including those on Program Fee/Continuous Enrollment) are eligible for conference funding. Applicants must be accepted or invited to present their work at a conference, professional meeting, or exhibition and must provide verification. These funds are not designed to cover research related expenses.

The review and selection process are managed by the individual departments within the College of Education. Funds are awarded to cover travel and conference expenses taking place during the current academic year. Students who anticipate conference travel or expenses in summer may apply for reimbursement in the following academic year during the fall application period. Funds may not be carried over from one academic year to the next.

For additional information please contact your departmental administrator: 

  • Educational Policy, Research and Administration Bjorn Nordtveit (bjorn [at] umass [dot] edu)
  • Student Development – Emily Walker (pichette [at] educ [dot] umass [dot] edu (pichette[at]educ[dot]umass[dot]edu))
  • Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies –  Sovann-Malis Loeung  (tecs [at] umass [dot] edu (tecs[at]umass[dot]edu))

Students currently enrolled as a Master’s or Doctoral student in the College of Education are eligible to apply for conference grants to subsidize their attendance as a presenter at a regional, national, international or virtual conference. These funds are not designed to cover research related expenses.

Grant Amounts

Grants for conference expenses will be awarded for up to $800 per award, with the normative grant of approximately $400.

Grant Application Deadlines

Funds will be awarded on a rolling basis. We will do our best to review applications several times each semester and contact applicants as soon as possible about awards.

Preference for awards for conference travel grants:

  1. Doctoral students
  2. Accepted paper presentations
  3. Primary presenters
  4. Students further along in their academic career
  5. Students making satisfactory academic progress
  6. Students that have not received prior conference travel grants from their academic department or college.

Typically only one conference travel grant will be awarded per student, per year. Grants can be awarded for conference travel that has already been completed as long as the conference was attended during the current academic year.

Application Requirements:

  1. Application form specifying the details of the conference (name, date, venue), the details of your participation (title of paper, title of panel), and the anticipated budget for attendance (eligible categories are travel, registration fees, and hotel costs).
  2. Letter/email from conference organizers confirming your participation as a presenter in the conference.

Awarded funds will be released after the conclusion of the conference, unless advance payment of expenses is arranged through the college.  All receipts for reimbursement must be submitted within 90 days of attending the conference.