Carnegie Mellon University

Conference Funding

Presentations at conferences are a critical aspect of graduate students’ academic and professional development. Conference funding is available for students who are presenting scholarly work related to their degree pursuits and is inclusive to all scholarship areas. Conference funding is available for individual graduate students, a group of graduate students attending the same conference and/or a group of members from a registered club or organization attending the same conference. The award amount is up to $750.00 per individual student with a maximum amount of up to $1,500.00 per group.

The goal of the funding is to enable more CMU graduate students to make presentations at key conferences and exhibitions in their fields. Graduate student conference funding is provided by the Graduate Student Assembly and the Office of the Provost, and is managed by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs. 

If you are attending a conference but not presenting, you may apply for Professional Engagement Funding. Students can apply for either type of funding, but not both types. If a student does not receive funding, they are free to apply again for either type of funding in the next cycle(s). Students who have applied for funding in past cycles but have not been selected in the lottery will be prioritized.

  • Applicants must be enrolled students at the time they attend the conference.
  • Both the student and advisor portions of the application must be submitted within the application period dates otherwise funding is not available. 
  • Students are limited to one conference funding award or professional development funding award per fiscal year (July 1–June 30) based on the award date of funding (not the conference date).
  • Students who have submitted an abstract to present at a conference do not have to wait until it is accepted to apply for funding. However, if you are selected for conference funding, the transfer of funds will be contingent upon your chosen conference's official acceptance of your submission
  • “Presenting” generally refers to presenting scholarly work such as a paper, poster, or talk that has been accepted for presentation at a conference in the student’s field. “Presenting” may also take other forms, such as presenting a piece of art at an exhibition or participating in a performance, depending on the student’s area of study.
  • Awardees must include the following acknowledgement on their paper or poster: “Funding to attend this conference was provided by the CMU Graduate Student Assembly (GSA)/Office of the Provost Conference Funding.” 
  • Awardees must complete all post-event requirements outlined in the After the Event section
  • Awardees are selected through a lottery process as there is limited funding available. All applications will be closely reviewed to ensure that they are complete and align with the eligibility requirements before being entered into the lottery.
  • This is considered a partial source of support, and applicants should seek funds from other sources, such as funds from the conference, as well as from their advisor, department, and/or college and identify in their application where they are seeking additional funding.
  • Eligible expenses include: 
    • conference registration costs
    • travel to the conference
    • travel in the conference city
    • lodging
    • food
  • Ineligible expenses include: 
    • society membership costs
    • wardrobe for the conference
    • alcohol
  1. Applicants should complete the Conference Funding Application by the deadline outlined in the Application Periods section. For groups, only one member of the group should submit an application.
  2. Completed applications are automatically routed to the applicant's advisor. Applicants must alert their advisor and provide them with the details of their conference, so they can complete their portion of the application by the deadline outlined in the Application Periods section
  3. Awardees will receive an award notification email with a letter detailing the process to access the funding, which is transferred to an account in the awardee’s department. Department business managers are copied on this email to allow for financial transfers to take place in a timely manner. Applicants should be aware of their department business manager’s Andrew ID, which will be required in the application process for this reason. 
  4. Awardees can access the funds following departmental requirements through their business manager.

All graduate students who accept conference funding support from the Graduate Student Assembly and the Office of the Provost commit to the following:

  • Awardees must write a report describing their experience, specifying both concrete and abstract benefits from attending the conference. The report must also indicate where all the funding for the conference derived from, if applicable. Please submit the report to graded@andrew.cmu.edu no later than three weeks after the conference. 
  • Awardees must work with their department business manager to follow all requirements for submitting receipts for reimbursement of expenses. Please see the Eligibility section for more information on eligible expenses.

You should apply for conference funding if:

  • You are planning to present a paper or poster at a conference in your field of study
  • You have either a) documentation of having applied to present at the conference, or b) documentation of the paper, poster, or presentation’s acceptance (an email, confirmation form, or letter)
  • You have not already received conference funding or professional engagement funding in this academic year (July 1 - June 30)
  • You will be enrolled as a graduate student at CMU when the conference takes place
  • You have have exhausted the available funding from your college, department, and/or advisor

Application Periods (2023 - 2024)

Cycle

If your conference occurs between:

You may apply between:

Notes

Fall 2023

Oct. 1 - Dec. 31, 2023

Sept. 5 - 16, 2023

This application period has closed, and all funds have been distributed. 

Winter 2024

Jan. 1 - March 31, 2024

Nov. 6 - 27, 2023

This application period has closed, and all funds have been distributed. 

Spring 2024

April 1 - June 30, 2024

Feb. 19 - March 1, 2024

This application period has closed, and all funds have been distributed. 

Summer 2024

July 1 - Sept. 30, 2024

May 13 - 24, 2024

All students planning to attend April, May, and June conferences have been funded through our spring application process. Beginning May 13, we'll be accepting applications for conferences happening from July 1 up to and including September 30.

You will be notified of the lottery results approximately three weeks after the deadline.