Graduate Student Senate

Graduate College Conference Grant Program

Masoumeh Khodaverdi holding her certificate with her advisor, Dr. Jill Preston, on the right. Presentation on 'Climatic and genetic determinants of biomass production and yield in the model grass for temperate cereals, Brachypodium distachyon' at the International Brachypodium Conference Annual Meeting on July 11, 2023, in Hammamet, Tunisia.
Kevin Fischer. “Dynamic nature of the particle phase for select green leaf volatile derived secondary organic aerosol” American Chemical Society, August 27, 2019. San Diego, CA.
Berke Tinaz. "Evolution of the LATD/NIP meristem function in roots and nodules" American Society of Plant Biology Annual Meeting. August 4, 2019. San Jose, CA.

The Graduate College fosters and supports the academic and professional development of graduate students. Conference Grants are awarded by the Graduate College to students presenting their scholarly work at conferences or professional meetings. Graduate students can receive up to $600 in reimbursements for eligible conference-related expenses. Conference Grant applications may be submitted in the appropriate cycle as outlined below.

The Graduate Student Senate Finance Committee reviews applications one week after the application deadline. The Graduate College seeks to inform applicants of funding awards promptly after receiving and reviewing GSS recommendations.

Efforts will be made to utilize the available funds to support as many requests as possible. There is no guarantee that the full amount of funds requested by an applicant will be awarded.

For 2024-25, both physical travel and virtual events will be considered. Physical travel will be subject to all University guidelines listed in the UVM Travel Policy, including submission of a Travel Authorization request at least two weeks in advance of travel. Consult with a UVM business manager before making any travel arrangements if you will be applying for funding for the travel, regardless of its being formally awarded yet.

Speakers at virtual conferences can request up to $200 toward registration fees; no matching requirement applies.
For in-person conferences, applicants can request up to $600 toward eligible expenditures; any Graduate College award requires a 50% matching contribution from a source in the applicant’s department or program.

2023-2024 application deadlines are as follows:

Conference Date	Application Deadline
September 2024 to December 2025	9/25/2024

*All applications are due at 4:00pm EST on the due date.

Pre-application and provisional funding decisions: in cases where a student has applied to present their scholarly work at a conference scheduled for a date that requires application for a Graduate College Grant in a particular cycle, but where the deadline for that cycle predates receipt of confirmation that the student has been accepted as a speaker, they may submit a pre-application; a provisional decision on any funding awarded will be contingent on receipt of confirmation that the student’s presentation has been accepted.

Guidelines

Applications must include, in addition to Signature and Expense page, an abstract of the paper/poster, a copy of the conference or meeting announcement (or similar), and a copy of the applicant's updated curriculum vitae (preferably maximum 2 pp). Additional materials may be attached as appropriate. Requests that do not include all required materials will not be considered.

• Applicants MUST have presented a poster or given an oral presentation as a first author at one of the previously sanctioned Student Research Conferences in order to be eligible for a Conference Grant. To clarify, this means that anyone who wants to apply for the 2023-2024 grant cycle will need to have presented at any previous conference up to the most recent conference (April 2023). Note: The April 2024 conference will count toward the May 19th, 2024, deadline. Please see the webpage of the Office of Fellowships, Opportunities, and Undergraduate Research for more information about the Student Research Conference.

• Conference Grant applicants must be presenting a poster or an oral presentation as a first author at the conference for which they are applying for funding. Workshops will not be funded.
• Applicants may receive up to one award per fiscal year (July 1-June 30).
• Priority will be given to first-time applicants.
• All materials must be included with the application as outlined in the guidelines. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
More instructions and additional guidelines can be found via the application link below.

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