University Conference Travel Grant Program Guidelines

University Conference Travel Grant听

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IMPORTANT UPDATES TO UCTG听

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Applicants are no longer required to exhaust department and college travel funding sources before applying for UCTG.
Faculty are eligible for a UCTG award once every 24 months, based on the date of last funded conference travel.
Dean鈥檚 approval is no longer required; department chairs will still be asked to provide input on the significance of the conference.
The maximum award is $2,500. Please do not submit requests that exceed this amount.
Applicants are welcome to combine UCTG awards with funding from other sources, if permitted by those sources.
We are unable to consider off-cycle applications.听

Purpose and Scope

The University Conference Travel Grant (UCTG) Program offers limited funding of up to $2,500 to subsidize the cost of qualified conference travel.

Eligibility

The UCTG program is open to tenure-track, tenured, or full-time continuing non-tenure-track faculty to present work at national or international meetings, exhibitions, festivals, or other venues appropriate for a given discipline.
Eligibility is limited to travel and/or allowable expenses for one conference every 24 months, based on the date of your last UCTG. E.g., if you use UCTG funds for a conference in June 2024, your next possible UCTG award is for a conference during or after June 2026.
Faculty must be presenting their own individual or collaborative work at the conference to be eligible for UCTG support (see section 3, below, for more details).
Applicants must certify that the scholarly work to be presented has not been published or previously presented.
Conference participation that is limited to organizational activities (e.g., session chair, panelist, reviewer, judge, workshop attendee, etc.) is not eligible for support.
Faculty may apply if they have submitted to present a conference but have not yet received confirmation of acceptance. However, award funds will not be released without notification of final acceptance (email final acceptance to VIRS Grants).
Proposals for retroactive reimbursement of travel costs that have already occurred will not be considered.
UCTG funds may be used to support either virtual/online or in-person conference attendance.

Types of Conferences Eligible for Support

UCTG funds may be used for faculty travel and/or eligible expenses related to presenting work at a variety of venues of national or international scope. These venues include but are not necessarily limited to in-person or virtual meetings of a national or international professional society; meetings sponsored by a government agency or industrial society if the meetings are academic; juried competitions; conferences on a specified topic at which attendance is by invitation only; invited performances at meetings/exhibitions/festivals; and other meetings as deemed appropriate. For questions about conference appropriateness and UCTG eligibility, please contact鈥�VIRS Grants.

Selection Criteria

Selection criteria, in order of priority, are as follows:

Rank: priority will be given to tenure-track Assistant Professors and to full-time continuing non-tenure-track Assistant Professors.
The nature of the presentation, prioritized as: 1) keynote or plenary speaker/presenter; 2) invited speaker/presenter; 3) contributing speaker/presenter. The UCTG Program will not provide travel support for faculty delivering poster presentations.
The extent to which participation in the meeting will further the career development of the faculty member.
The significance of the presentation with respect to the faculty member鈥檚 academic discipline.
The significance of the meeting itself.
The extent to which participation in the meeting will enhance the University鈥檚 reputation.
The applicant鈥檚 record of scholarly productivity, as evidenced by refereed publications or other discipline-specific scholarly activity, over the past five years.

Application Process

All applications must be submitted through . Please include all the requested information to avoid having the application returned to you for additional information.

The budget is integrated into the application form.

You will be asked to include an abbreviated CV with 5 years of publications and conference presentations (fewer years is acceptable for applicants who are newer to the profession). The CV may be a maximum of 3 pages.

Proposals are automatically routed through InfoReady to the applicant鈥檚 Department Chair for comment on the significance and merit of the proposed conference travel. Please plan to submit your application 2-3 days prior to the deadline to allow time for this step.

Application Timetable

Application deadlines:

Fall 2025: Monday, October 6, by 5pm

Spring 2026: Monday, February 9, by 5 pm

Decisions will be made approximately four to six weeks after the submission deadlines, with award announcements to follow as quickly as possible thereafter.

Review Process

After being routed to the applicant鈥檚 Department Chair for comment on the significance and merit of the proposed conference travel, applications are considered complete.

All completed applications will be evaluated by the UCTG committee of tenured and CNT faculty from across the University, appointed by the Director of VIRS.

Award Terms

Awards are intended to subsidize the conference registration fee, transportation, lodging, and meals, subject to the University鈥檚鈥� (鈥痜or domestic travel and the ). Applicants are NOT REQUIRED to request the full per diem allowance.

The maximum award is $2,500. The committee will evaluate all proposed costs for reasonableness and make budgetary adjustments as deemed appropriate. If costs exceed $2,500, a UCTG award will be provisional and contingent upon identifying and securing the necessary supplemental funds. Confirmation is not necessary if supplementary funds are from personal sources or an individual research account.

Applicants may combine UCTG funds with other funding sources, if permitted by those sources. Applicants are responsible for understanding the terms and restrictions of supplementary funding sources.

Note to CLAS faculty: FRDG does not permit combination with UCTG. Please do not apply for UCTG and FRDG together. 鈥�

Awards will not cover the costs of membership fees, workshops, social events, field trips or related activities held in association with a meeting/event.

Faculty who need to arrange for childcare due to conference attendance may qualify for the鈥�Backup Care Reimbursement Program鈥痶o defray childcare costs.