Graduate Student Travel Grants

The graduate student travel grants support graduate students engaged in research, scholarship and artistic/creative activity. The grants support graduate students to travel to meetings or conferences sponsored by professional organizations for the purpose of sharing results of their original research, scholarly activity or artistic and creative activity in the form of a presentation, performance/exhibition, or poster session. These grants do not cover conference attendance for other purposes, such as for non-presenting attendance.

Travel grants provide matching funds for support received from either the student's department or the college, up to a maximum of $500 of support from the Graduate School, toward the cost of registration, lodging, meals and/or transportation.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply, graduate student applicants must

• Have completed at least one academic year of graduate study at NIU.
• Be in good academic standing.
• Be presenting results of their own original research, scholarly or artistic endeavors conducted while enrolled at NIU.
• Be an invited presenter via a letter/email of invitation from the conference/meeting officials.
• Be the sole or primary researcher, author, or performer of the artistic/creative activity.
• Be enrolled in the semester that the travel/attendance occurs (one credit hour only if at dissertation/thesis hours). If traveling between semesters, the applicant must be registered for the current semester/term and the semester/term following the event.

Preference may be given to:

• Doctoral students or students pursuing a terminal degree in their discipline
• Dissertation and thesis writers presenting results of their project, and
• Presentations at national and international conferences.

Only one travel grant request per student may be funded in a fiscal year. Travel grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis and will be awarded as long as funding permits. Applicants must not be employed at NIU as an instructor or regular member of the faculty.

How To Apply

1. Graduate students submit the online application.
2. Applications require the following components:
   • Title of the presentation, performance/exhibit, or poster.
   • Synopsis or abstract of the presentation, performance/exhibit, or poster (500 words maximum).
   • Justification or explanation of how the opportunity will enhance academic or professional experience and why the conference or meeting is the most appropriate forum (e.g., the conference is of national or international significance).
   • Confirmation of acceptance or participation as a presenter, such as a letter/email of invitation from the conference/exhibit officials.

Applications must be received 21 days prior to travel/conference attendance in order to be eligible for consideration.

For questions, please contact Sarah Lindell at slindell@niu.edu.