Professional Development & Travel Awards

Postdoctoral Affairs, a function of Graduate & Postdoctoral Success, offers travel awards for BU postdocs to pursue opportunities for their professional development. This may include traveling to opportunities external to campus (e.g. presenting at a conference), or registration fees associated with virtual events.

Selection Criteria

Applications are open to any individual with a current postdoc appointment at Boston University. Scholars may only receive one award during the duration of their postdoc.

There are two kinds of travel awards based on the availability of funding.

1. Postdoctoral Affairs Travel Award, which is entirely based on financial need, where the postdoc would be attending the conference solely with their personal funds. There will be 2 awards of $500 each for every cycle in this category.

2. BU Postdoc Travel Award, this award is for those postdocs who have some financial support either from their PI or administrative units or other sources. There will be one award of $1000 for every cycle in this category.

Applications are reviewed by faculty from a broad range of disciplines, so please ensure that you are able to communicate to a broad audience. Both travel grant applications will be evaluated using the following selection criteria:

  • Value of the professional development opportunity as described in application and/or letter of support.
  • Merit of research demonstrated by research abstract, or strength of connection between professional development opportunity and candidate’s research as described in course/workshop description.
  • Merit of the individual’s research background and scholarly activities as described on their CV/resume.

Submission Deadlines and Award Dates

This award has three review cycles per year. The deadlines for each cycle are:

Submission Deadline Award Issue Date
October 24, 2025
(typically Mid-September)		 Early November
(typically Early-October)
January  16, 2026 Early February
May 15, 2026 Early June
September 18, 2026 Early October

Electronic submission is required using the form below. PI letters of support can be sent separately to postdocs@bu.edu, but must be received by the award cycle deadline. Applications without a letter of support will not be considered for funding. 

Postdoc Travel Award Application

  • Who are you?
  • What is your BU email?
  • Where do you work?
  • Where do you work?
  • Name of your research mentor
  • Is this a conference, meeting or a professional development course or training etc?
    There are two kinds of travel awards. 1. PDPA Travel Award, which is entirely based on financial need, where the postdoc would be attending the conference solely with their personal funds. There will be 2 awards of $500 each for every cycle in this category. 2. BU Postdoc Travel Award, this award is for those postdocs who have some financial support either from their PI or administrative units or other sources. There will be one award of $1000 for every cycle in this category.
  • Short summary of your research and findings that can be understood by a broad audience.
  • Describe why you want to take part in this opportunity and how attending will help you meet your professional development goals.
  • Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 100 MB.
    Upload a copy of your CV in PDF format.
  • Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 100 MB.
    Upload letter from your research mentor in PDF format. Letter must describe value of the professional development opportunity, scholar's merit, and whether or not there is a need for financial support. If you are not uploading a letter here, please inform postdocs@bu.edu about it, with the name of the faculty member who would be sending the letter. Support letters should be submitted by the deadline of each travel award cycle.