Conference Funding

While conference funding is not considered an emergency need, students can use a number of short-term loans to cover the cost of travel or participation in conferences (see “General Purpose Funding”), in addition to the following:

Academic Department Funding
Many academic departments offer funding for registration or travel related to academic conferences or other major- and degree-related purposes. Consult with your department advisor or administrative office for more information.

Academic Senate Doctoral Student Travel Grants
These grants are available to doctoral students who have advanced to candidacy, or M.F.A. students in their second year and in candidacy, who have been invited to present a research paper at a scholarly meeting, to give a performance, or to present the results of research before a distinguished audience. Students are eligible to receive support for one trip during their scholarly career. Applicants must be registered or on an approved leave of absence. Students in joint degree programs are eligible for up to one half of the regular allocation. Applications for travel funds must be accompanied by an abstract of the paper to be presented, a copy of the formal invitation, and a letter of support from your advisor indicating the importance of the forum. The conference must be important to the discipline and preference is given to travel associated with potential academic employment. Funds are limited and applications are accepted year-round until funds are exhausted or until May 15, whichever comes first. For information and an application form, visit https://senate.ucsb.edu/grants/doctoral-student-travel/.

GSA Pre-Doctoral Student Travel Grant
The Graduate Students Association (GSA) has a small amount of funding available for graduate students to use towards the cost of registration and travel for professional conferences or meetings. You may apply if you have a presentation accepted for a conference or meeting and do not qualify for the Academic Senate’s Doctoral Student Travel Grant (see above). Up to $75 may be awarded for travel costs and/or registration or conference fees. The money is granted on a first-come, first-served basis each quarter until funds are exhausted. See www.ucsbgsa.org/documents/funding.