Conference Presentation Grant

View sample applications: Arts & Letters (Sample AL-1, Sample AL-2) | Science & Engineering (Sample STEM-1, Sample STEM-2).

Step By Step Guide to applying to the Conference Presentation Grant

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Purpose

The purpose of the Conference Presentation Grant (CPG) Program is to partially reimburse (average award $250-$260) the expenses incurred by graduate students during travel to conferences and meetings to present original work conducted in the student’s major field of study. The CPG is not intended to fund those presenting original research at an event other than a conference of scholars that is open to the public. Funding is only available for the duration of the Conference. Additional sources of funding may be offered by the Graduate School or other outside sources to fully fund expenses. The Graduate School will not provide funding unless students have proof that they at least applied to other sources, typically the CPG fulfills that requirement.

Eligibility

At the time of the application, conference travel, and reimbursement, the applicant must be a graduate student enrolled at the University that has paid the $70 activity fee for the academic year (or $35 per semester).  This fee is charged directly though Student Accounts in the Fall. The CPG is open to all graduate students and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, disability, veteran status, or age.  Note:  Must be a student at time of travel and reimbursement.

If for any reason the applicant is not able to attend the conference after being awarded funding, it is the responsibility of the applicant to inform the GSG (gsu@nd.edu) prior to the beginning of the conference start date.  CPG awards are not transferable.  Likewise, if an application needs to be amended, the changes requested should be emailed to the GSG.

We encourage students to apply even if their paper has not yet been accepted for presentation.  Otherwise students may miss the application deadline.  Students can always decline funds if their paper doesn't end up getting accepted.

Only one CPG award can be claimed per academic year (August through July). Awards are determined on a monthly basis. Applicants are encouraged to submit their application three months prior to their conference start date and can resubmit each month if denied.

After returning from the conference, the applicant has 60 days to complete an expense report. This 60-day rule is set by the IRS and cannot be given any flexibility. Any expense reports received after the 60-day mark will be subjected to taxes. Expense reports submitted for reimbursement 6 months beyond conference will be declined. The inclusion of itemized receipts (such as lodging, transportation, meals, etc.) is necessary for reimbursement. The GSG is funded through student funds and is therefore restricted from providing funds towards alcohol, cash withdrawals, personal car mileage, visa application expenses and undocumented purchases.  Additionally, the CPG does not fund costs associated with poster printing, baggage fees or membership dues.  Note that any expense report received without properly attached documentation will be denied.

When providing proof of your talk title or attendance, please do not upload the entire conference program, rather supply the program cover and/or program hyperlink while highlighting your section.

Funds for any aspect of travel must be disclosed. Applicants who fail to disclose other sources of funding will be barred from the participation in the CPG program for the remainder of their tenure as a student at the University of Notre Dame.

Deadlines

Applications are reviewed up to 3 months before the conference, but must be submitted by the 1st of the month preceding the conference month. Here are some examples:

• For a conference on June 15th, the application is due to the CPG by May 1st at the latest. Applications for this conference could be submitted for review as early as March 1st.
• For a conference on April 1st, the application will be due by March 1st, but could be submitted as early as January 1st.
• August conference? Application due between May 1st and July 1st.

Conference date	Earliest deadline for review	Latest deadline for review
July	April 1st	June 1st
August	May 1st	July 1st
September	June 1st	August 1st
October	July 1st	September 1st
November	August 1st	October 1st
December	September 1st	November 1st
January	October 1st	December 1st
February	November 1st	January 1st
March	December 1st	February 1st
April	January 1st	March 1st
May	February 1st	April 1st
June	March 1st	May 1st

Review Committee

The GSG has created a CPG funding committee that will review applications once a month. This committee consists of the GSG Co-Vice President, and a representative graduate student from each of the four main divisions of the graduate school: Engineering, Physical Science, Social Science, and Humanities.

Along with the table below, please view the CPG Rubric.

The CPG Review committee will use the priority table below as a guide; though it is no guarantee that funding will be provided as other factors are considered. The committee will usually provide notice whether or not funding is awarded to applicants within two weeks of the application deadline.

Criteria	High Priority	Medium Priority	Low Priority
Student Role	Paper presentation (speaking / discussant)	Co-presenting with Professor	Poster presentation without a paper
Size and Significance	International or National meeting	Specialty meeting	Regional meeting
Student Needs	No other travel funding	Limited campus funding (Department, Graduate School, ISLA, etc.)	Limited Advisor Funds