Student Travel Grant

Application Timeline:

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with funds awarded on a first come first serve basis. PhD students who have submitted abstracts for consideration for conferences in 2026 are strongly encouraged to contact the Associate Dean for Research (sargentresearch@bu.edu) about their pending submissions.

Purpose

Student travel awards at Sargent College provide support for graduate students to travel to scientific conferences. Priority for funding is given to Sargent College PhD students who are first or presenting authors on a platform or poster presentation.  Budget permitting, funds may be available for professional doctoral students at Sargent who are presenting at an academic conference.  Funding for undergraduate and master’s students travel is extremely limited. Funding is only available for conferences within the United States.

Funding

For students who are presenting their research, the Student Travel Grant awards up to $1,500 per conference annually. Students who are not presenting may receive partial funding equivalent to the cost of conference registration fees.

Eligibility

Graduate students enrolled in an in-person training program at Sargent College are eligible to apply for funding, except for those students who are already eligible for travel support through other mechanisms (i.e., recipients of F31 or T32 fellowships, student organization support, and/or foundation travel scholarships are not eligible for this grant).  Students enrolled in online training programs are unfortunately not eligible to receive travel funds.  Funding for undergraduate students at Sargent College is extremely limited and are only available under exceptional circumstances when the budget permits.

Application Requirements

  • A signed memo of support from the applicant’s faculty mentor
  • One paragraph describing the value of the travel to the student’s training and professional development
  • Notification of accepted presentation confirming student’s authorship
  • Budget, which may include:
    • Student registration (include conference website)
    • Economy-class travel estimated from airline’s website
    • Lodging
    • Ground transportation

Download the Application Template.

Completed application materials should be emailed directly to Sargent College’s Associate Dean for Research at sargentresearch@bu.edu

Evaluation Criteria

The panel will evaluate proposals based on the following criteria:

  • Reputation of the conference
  • Scope of participation (presenting talk or poster)
  • Independence of the work
  • Potential to advance the Sargent College disciplines

Expected Product/Outcomes

Following the conference, awardees must submit a brief 100-word summary of the conference presentation and citation which will be submitted as part of the college annual report.