Graduate Student Conference Funding

The MCS dean's office is pleased to provide supplemental conference travel funding for MCS graduate students. The goal of the funding is to enable MCS graduate students to attend and participate in key conferences and workshops that advance their research. Travel awards up to $600 are available to individual graduate students or a group of graduate students attending the same meeting.

The MCS Graduate Student Conference Funding Award is expected to be a source of partial support; applicants are required to seek funds from other sources first. Priority will be given to applicants who have already secured travel funds from sources (i.e. advisor, department, professional societies, conference or workshop travel funds, etc.), and who require supplemental funds. Priority will be given to students who are giving research talks, presenting posters or attending a conference or workshop. A confirmed presentation or poster is not required at the time of application but is required to receive final funding.

All students enrolled in a MCS graduate program (MS or PhD) are eligible to apply for the MCS Graduate Student Conference Funding Award. To receive funding, the graduate student must be enrolled at Carnegie Mellon at the time of their application. Funding will not be granted to students who have completed their Ph.D. work (i.e. Ph.D. defense complete) and are still in residence. A graduate student is eligible for conference funding one time in each academic year (July 1 to June 30).

There are two required components that must be submitted in order to be considered for a conference travel funding award:

  1. Online Application Form: Students will complete this form in it's entirety. In addition to providing general contact information for you and your advisor, applicants will need to provide conference and expense details including:
    • Conference name, start date, length, location, URL, presentation/paper title, abstract and rationale for attending.
    • Estimated expenses (including conference fee, travel costs, room & board) and any other funding awards for which you applied for and/or received.
  2. Your faculty advisor will receive a link to complete the Faculty Support Form after you submit your online application. Please follow-up with your advisor to ensure they receive this link and complete it in accordance with the posted deadlines.

Conference funding is awarded quarterly with the following deadlines:

  • March 1: for conferences taking place in April through September
  • June 1: for conferences taking place in July through December
  • September 1: for conferences taking place in October through March
  • December 1: for conferences taking place in January through June

Only completed applications received by the deadline, including the supporting information from the student's advisor, will be considered for review.

A committee consisting of the MCS graduate programs’ chairs and the MCS Director of Graduate Programs will be chaired by the MCS Associate Dean for Faculty and Graduate affairs. Awardees will be selected from among the submitted applications. All students will be notified of their application status as soon as possible (typically within two weeks of the application deadline.)

If a student receives an award, they will receive information detailing the process to access the funding. It is expected that awardees will work with the business manager in their department and follow all requirements for submitting receipts for reimbursement of expenses.

Upon returning from the conference, awardees agree to provide a one-page report on their experience and an appropriate thank you note to all funding sources. Awardees might also be asked to present their conference contribution at a future MCS graduate student mini-symposium.