Travel Grants

Travel grants

Travel Grants are awarded to help students attend conferences, present posters and papers, collect data for experiments, and more. Students must review and be aware of the submission guidelines before submitting. Travel Grant awards are also offered through other associations and departments. 

Both your application and your advisor recommendation letter must be submitted online before the deadline or you will not be considered for travel funding.

For international students who have received a grant, please fill out the “foreign student travel tax questionnaire.”

A complete list of the application rules are uploaded on our website

 

GSA Travel Grant Forms:

Travel grant applications are processed through Google Forms, click on the link to fill out the application.

Travel Grant Application Form

Advisor recommendation letter notifications should automatically be sent to your advisor. If not, please contact the GSA at gsa@npe.nmt.edu. A direct link for the recommendation form is also available: 

Advisor Recommendation Form

Note: The application for Travel Grant for conference that will be held on Fall 24 is closed now. You are welcome apply if your conference is in Spring 25 semester or later.

Current GSA Grant Due Dates:

Funding Section Funding Period Proposal Deadline
Summer 2022 June 1 - September 30 May 15
Fall 2022 October  1 - January 31 September 15
Spring 2023 February 1 - May 30 January 15
Summer 2023 June 1 - September 30 May 15
Fall 2023 October 1 - January 31 Septermber 15
Spring 2024 February 1 - May 30 January 15

*Note: These are priority deadlines. Applications may be submitted for consideration up to 1 month before the proposed conference. Please be advised that proposals submitted before the funding period's deadline will be given first priority. 

 * NMT Graduate Students are also eligible to apply for the travel grants from SGA (Student Gov't Association)

Other Travel Grant Opportunities for Graduate Students:

  1. Office of Research - Contact VP of Research Dr. Nelia Dunbar (Nelia.Dunbar@nmt.edu)
  2. Office of Student Life - Contact Dr. Peter Phaiah (peter.phaiah@nmt.edu)
  3. Presidents' Office
  4. Student Government Association - Contact SGA for more information
  5. If you are traveling for conference presentation, most of the time they have student travel support.
  6. Contact your department head about additional student travel support opportunities.

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: What do I do after I have been awarded a GSA travel grant?

A:  You will receive an email from our Travel Grants Officer with instructions to fill out a travel form before you travel. You can find a list of rules for filling out the travel form here, and a visual guide here.

Q: I’ve submitted my abstract to a conference, but won’t know whether it has been accepted until after the grant proposal deadline. Can I still apply for a travel grant?

A: You may still apply for GSA funding even if you are not sure that you will be able to travel. Indicate in your Project Summary that your travel is contingent upon approval from the other organization. If a decision is made after you submit the proposal, notify the GSA of the decision as soon as possible at gsa@npe.nmt.edu. If no decision has been made by the time of the GSA Grants Committee meeting, the committee will still evaluate your proposal.

 

Q: I would like to attend a conference, but will not be presenting a poster or giving a talk. Can I still receive travel funding from the GSA?

A: Yes. While preference is given to those students who are formally presenting their research, it is possible to receive some funding to attend a conference if the budget allows.

 

Q: My advisor wants me to attend a conference in less than a month. I hadn't planned on attending this conference and the deadline for travel grant proposals for this funding period has already passed. Can I still apply for funding?

A: No. The GSA normally receives more proposals than it can fund each semester. Any unused travel funds will be rolled over to the next travel period.

 

Q: What kind of proposals receive higher priority for funding?

A: Proposals submitted early and before the deadline will receive first consideration. In general, proposals that require only domestic travel and proposals for oral talks will receive the highest priorities. The full priority list is listed below (highest to lowest): 

Have more Questions? email us at gsa@npe.nmt.edu 

 

General Proposal Suggestions:

Here we provide a list of suggestions to help improve your proposal preparation. These suggestions are based on comments from previous grant recipients and on comments from proposal reviewers.

  1. Plan your travel early. The proposal deadline may be more than four months before your travel date. Late proposals are not accepted, so determine what travel you might want to do well ahead of time.
  2. Start writing the proposal early. Pro­posals written at the last minute are usually poor in comparison to other proposals.
  3. Give your advisor plenty of time to write a letter of recommendation. Do not assume that your advisor will have time to write something up on the afternoon of the proposal deadline.
  4. Communicate with your advisor. Discuss potential travel for the next grant period with your advisor. Learn about important meetings before the grand deadlines, not after.
  5. Communicate with your audience. If the reviewers cannot understand your proposal, it will probably not get funding.
  6. Have someone else read over your proposal. Often, a different reader can catch errors that you miss. The Writing Center is also available to help students be successful in their writing; for more information, refer to: https://www.nmt.edu/academics/class/center.php. If your English is poor, get assistance from a friend with better English skills. Again, the Writing Center is available to help students.
  7. Use a spell-checker.
  8. Check your budget carefully. Do not request funding for items not allowed by the GSA. Make sure your cost estimates are reasonable.
  9. Double check your math.
  10. Attempt to share a room with another person to reduce room costs. Rooms at conference hotels are often substantially higher than rooms in other hotels nearby. Check the prices of nearby hotels. If you need to stay at a location with a substantially higher price, include a justification in your Project Summary.
  11. Check for student prices for conference fees and hotel room prices.
  12. Look for alternate sources of funding. The GSA Travel Grant is partially need based, so you need to demonstrate that alternate sources of funding are not available. Check other sources in addition to your advisor. Does someone else on your thesis committee have funding that you can use? Does your department have funding? Does the conference you are attending offer funding for students?
  13. Do you belong to a professional organization? Many conferences have reduced registration fees for organization members. Many organizations also have grant programs for student research and travel which you can apply for.
  14. Follow the instructions. Failure to provide requested information can be cause your proposal to not be considered.

 

Example travel grants are available to help you with the application: Example Travel Grants  

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 Last Updated on July 19th, 2022