Research Travel Awards

About

The Graduate Student Research Travel Award makes funds available to graduate students presenting their research findings each semester at conferences on a first-come, first-serve basis until the funds are exhausted. If there are additional funds available, the Graduate School will consider funding students who are attending conferences or are traveling to collect original data for their research.  [Please note, as of May 17, 2023, the Graduate School no longer funds requests for professional development.]

All graduate students, including international students, are eligible to receive one research travel award during the time of their graduate training, but members of the Graduate Research Academy and doctoral students are eligible for two awards.

Amount

Awards of up to $500 are made after conference presentations, awarded on a rolling basis for fall, spring, and summer semesters, until funds are exhausted, and are disbursed by Financial Aid. Funds are first applied directly to the student’s tuition; but if the account balance is $0, funds are provided via direct deposit via the Bursar’s Office.

Eligibility

All graduate students in good academic standing, including international students*, are eligible for this award. Students must be active students at the time of application, attending UCCS as full-time, part-time, or nearing completion as candidate-for-degree. Conference-related costs such as registration fees, airfare, hotel or housing costs, etc., are eligible for reimbursement.

*For international students: This award may be taxable because it is not considered to be a tuition and fees scholarship.

Application Deadline

Awards are made on a rolling basis. Apply for the award before the end of the semester in which travel occurs. Students presenting at conferences receive priority, and requests for attending a research conference or traveling to collect original research data may not be granted until the close of the semester in which the request was made.

How to Apply

Students apply using the Graduate Student Research Travel Award form. Please be aware of the following required components of this form:

•             Applicant information (student name, ID, contact information, program, and expected graduation date),

•             Conference information (name, date, location, description of the event, and why the Graduate School should fund your request),

•             Letter from either: the conference confirming your presentation OR from your research faculty advisor stating that you, the student, are the presenter and how the presentation benefits your professional development.

Please submit receipts for which you are requesting reimbursement to gradfund@uccs.edu as a single PDF document with the following filename: StudentLastName_StudentFirstName_Semester_Year_GSResTravelAward.pdf

Selection Criteria

Graduate students must meet the following criteria as designated above:

•             Graduate GPA of 3.0 or higher,

•             Students must be active with either full-time or part-time enrollment OR be considered a candidate for degree, and

•             Graduate Research Academy members are given priority, but all reasonable requests will be considered.

Notification of Award Decision

Students are notified of the award decision, whether selected or declined for funding, as soon as possible by the Graduate School, though requests for attending conferences may only be funded at the end of a funding cycle.

Expectations of the Awardee

There are no expectations of awardees other than to file the requested receipts as described above. If you would like to share a picture of yourself at the conference that we can include on the Graduate School website, we’d love to celebrate your professional win.