Mellon College of Science - Graduate Programs

Graduate Student Travel Award Supplement

The selection of a recipient of an MCS Graduate Student Travel Award Supplement has been suspended for this year.

For the coming year, students should pursue travel funding through professional organizations, their advisors, their departments, and possibly the Graduate Programs Office.

Overview and Purpose

The Mellon College of Science has developed a small fund for supporting graduate student conference travel through alumni support. The purpose of this award is to increase opportunities for MCS graduate students to present excellent work at important professional meetings and have the opportunity to advance their work and careers, particularly those students who have not yet had many such opportunities. This award will provide $500 per student as a supplemental source of support, and applicants are expected to seek funds from the advisor, department, and/or professional associations. Graduate students may also wish to consider applying for GSA Graduate Conference Funding.

Due dates

The number of awards per academic year may vary depending on fund-raising efforts. For the coming two years, the due dates for applications are October 8, 2008, March 1, 2009, June 15, 2009 and January 15, 2010. Applications are generally expected to be submitted at least one month before the conference or workshop. In general, this travel award supplement is intended to help cover costs for conference travel that has not occurred before the application due date and will not occur before the selection committee can meet to review applications.

Selection Process and Criteria

Applications will be judged by a group of faculty and graduate student readers representing all of the departments in the college. Among the criteria to be considered are:

the student’s seniority in his/her program,
his/her previous opportunities to present at conferences or participate in summer/winter schools,
potential impact of the student’s presentation on the scientific community and his/her own career,
his/her ability and opportunity to interact with key colleagues at the meeting, and
evidence that a presentation (talk or poster) has been accepted.

Eligibility

All MCS graduate students are eligible to apply; students in interdisciplinary programs whose advisors are MCS faculty will also be considered.

Application Materials Required

From the student applicant:

Completed application form. Download form here (44K Microsoft Word file) which you should complete and attach as a Word or pdf file with the materials below. The form also includes complete instructions.

Letter of intent describing why it is important for you to present at this conference. Be specific about the potential impact of your presentation on the scientific community and on your career/professional development. Describe any other sources of support that you have requested and the status of your request (including a request to a professional association, GSA, your advisor and, if applicable, your department). Please attach separate file.

Copy of abstract submitted. If available, include a copy of the documentation that establishes that the presentation has been accepted at the conference. Please attach separate file.

Current curriculum vita. Be sure that you (1) include all of your previous presentations at conferences, workshops or summer/winter schools and (2) list all refereed publications with complete authorship information. Please attach separate file.

From the applicant's research advisor, a letter of reference addressing:

the quality, prestige and approximate size of the conference
the quality and importance of the applicant's work to be presented
the relevance of the conference to the student's career
other funds available to the student for travel
what, if any, part of the balance of the costs will be provided by the advisor if the supplement is awarded to the student.

Submission Details

Please see the downloadable application form for further details. Please send hardcopies to Rea Freeland, Associate Dean for Special Projects, MI 440-B or submit by email to rf51@andrew.cmu.edu. All requested materials must be received from both the applicant and the research advisor before the application will be reviewed.

Disbursement

Upon receipt of the award, the grant will be transferred to the student’s department for disbursement.

Contact:

Rea Freeland
Associate Dean for Special Projects, Mellon College of Science
Associate Head, Department of Chemistry

Mailing address

Department of Chemistry
Carnegie Mellon University
4400 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

(412) 268-7981 office
(412) 268-1061 fax
rf51@andrew.cmu.edu
Office: MI 440-B