Conference Travel Awards

Conference travel awards support Seattle University undergraduate students who have been accepted to present at professional/scholarly meetings or events (e.g., academic conference, film festival, dance convention, etc.).

Students can receive up to $1,500 for conference travel expenses, including registration, airfare, hotel, ground transportation (ride services or mileage), and meals.

Application deadline for summer quarter conferences is June 7, 2024. Applications for next cycle will start beginning fall quarter.

Eligibility requirements:

• General requirements for conference travel awards:
  • Students must be a Seattle University undergraduate in good standing.
  • Students must be enrolled in a degree-granting program while using travel award funding.
  • Students must be an undergraduate while using travel award funding. 
  • Students may not be serving a suspension while using travel award funding.
  • Students may not be on a leave of absence while using travel award funding.
  • There is no GPA requirement, but academic status will be considered. 
• Additional requirements and policies for conference travel awards
  • Conference travel awards support Seattle University undergraduate students who have been accepted to present at professional/scholarly meetings or events (e.g., academic conference, film festival, dance convention, etc.). The presentation can be oral, poster, exhibit, performance, or other type of presentations accepted for the professional/scholarly convening.
  • Research being presented was conducted under the guidance of a Seattle University faculty research mentor or advisor.
  • Students are eligible to receive only one travel award per academic year. Priority will be given to students who have never received one.
  • Graduating seniors can apply for travel award funding to present at a professional/scholarly meeting or event that takes place within one quarter (including summer) of degree conferral.
  • Travel awards cannot be applied to events that have already occurred.
  • Travel awards need to adhere to the University's travel policies. A student will not need a ProCard, but other information regarding business travel and meals apply. In most cases, registration, airfare, and hotel will be made for the student.

Application timeline for travel awards:

• Applications need to be submitted at least a month prior to the first day of the conference.
• Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis with decisions generally being made 4 weeks upon receipt.

Applying for a travel award:

• Preparing your application:
  • Ask your faculty research mentor/advisor for a letter of support. The letter of support should include:
    • Explicit endorsement of the research you are presenting and your attendance.
    • Provide an brief assessment of the scholarly/academic meeting/conference/event/etc. and/or its appropriateness to the research being conducted.
    • Comment on the relevance of the scholarly/academic meeting/conference/etc. on your academic and professional development or formation.
    • Comment on your financial need to attend and present at the scholarly/academic meeting/conference/etc. Please have them disclose if there are other sources of funding available that can support your attendance.
  • Gather:
    • Letter of acceptance to present (a PDF of an email is fine).
    • Information about the professional/scholarly event or meeting (name, date, etc.).
    • The proposal you submitted (title, format, and description).
    • Narrative that includes the following information (review the evaluation rubric below):
      • Purpose of travel and funding needs: Describe the purpose of travel (how you plan on spending your time while at the scholarly event and your presentation) and your need for the funding.
      • Professional formation contributions: Describe how presenting at and attending this scholarly event contributes to your professional formation.
      • Estimated costs up to $1500 for registration, airfare, hotel, ground transportation (ride services or mileage), and meals. Refer to the University's travel policies for specifics.
        • Please provide a grand total of your request.
        • Please indicate (if any) anything that has already been paid for you on your behalf by your faculty member. We cannot reimburse faculty for any grant or external sources of funding that they have incurred on your behalf.
• Submitting your application:
  • Complete the application form at least a month prior to the first day of the conference.
  • Have your faculty mentor submit their letter of support within a week of your application submission.
• Application review and notification:
  • Applications are due April 26, 2024.
  • Applications will be reviewed the following week and students will be notified the week of May 6, 2024.

Award acceptance agreement:

Students who receive the research award agree to:

• Provide a summary of their experiences and how it has contributed to their growth as a scholar or researcher for the Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons blog.

• Present their research (completed or work-in-progress) during the Seattle University Student Research and Creativity Conference scheduled on campus for early May, and have their presentation materials include into ScholarWorks, Seattle University's institutional repository.

Ready to apply?

Conference Travel Award Evaluation Rubric