Conference Travel Support

Any graduate student request for departmental travel support or nomination for Graduate College conference travel support begins by completing the department’s conference travel support form before travel occurs. The department will then consider which of the below funding sources are appropriate. For travel during the fall semester, students must submit their requests by September 15th. For travel during the spring semester, students must submit their travel requests by February 15th.

Both Graduate College and Department travel support come in the form of reimbursements for expenses after travel has been completed. After receiving notification of an award for student travel support and after the travel has occurred, the awardee will submit a travel reimbursement request with appropriate documentation of expenses to the TBH Business Services Center for processing.

Graduate College Travel Support – Each semester, the Graduate College provides Conference Travel Awards not to exceed $350 for students who will present papers at conferences. The Department submits its top two applicants to the Graduate College, which then makes the final decision. To be considered for Graduate College Travel Support funds, students must submit their conference travel request form to the department by the stated departmental deadlines (September 15th for the fall competition and February 15th for the spring competition).

Department Travel Support – The Department will provide limited travel support for students not selected for funding through the Graduate College competition. In order to be eligible for funding, students must have a formal place as a presenter on the conference program, and requests should be endorsed by their academic advisor. The Department encourages the student’s advisor to match or exceed the Department’s contribution. Graduate students requesting partial reimbursement for conference travel should submit their conference travel request form to the department by the stated departmental deadlines (September 15th for the fall competition and February 15th for the spring competition).

The Department prioritizes support for full-time doctoral students within the first four years of their program enrolment. The Department will also consider funding requests from MUP students, part-time doctoral students, and students beyond the fourth year, based on merit and on funding availability.

To be eligible for a conference travel grant, the student must be registered and in good academic standing during the term the award is received. For fall term awards, travel must take place anytime from the beginning of the previous summer to the end of the following summer. For spring term awards, the conference must take place anytime form the beginning of the spring term to the end of the following fall term.

Dissertation Travel Grants

The Graduate College has a Dissertation Travel Grants program to subsidize travel and costs associated with dissertation research (approximately 12 awards of up to $5,000 College-wide per year, depending on funding availability). These awards are not to be used for conference travel. The Department provides limited matching support, resources permitting. The Department is limited to three nominations each semester. Students interested in applying should follow the Grad College application guidelines and submit all materials to the departments Director of Graduate Studies. Applications for Spring awards are due by March 1 (the Department will submit nominations by the mid-March deadline). Travel funded through Spring of each year by this competition must begin no later than May 31 and conclude by August 31 of that year.

Dissertation Completion Fellowships

The Graduate College offers a Dissertation Completion Fellowship competition that helps outstanding Illinois  graduate students complete the doctoral degree by providing a stipend along with a tuition and partial fee waiver. Complete details about this Fellowship along with application requirements can be found here. The Department may nominate up to two students. Ph.D. students that are interested in applying for this Fellowship will need to notify the department of their intention to apply by March 1 and then submit their application materials at least 10 days prior to the Graduate College deadline. Notification and application materials should be submitted to the department’s Director of Graduate Studies.