The GSC Conference Grant is designed to support conference-related expenses of MIT graduate students in all Schools throughout the Institute. Specifically, this fund is allocated to conference expenses (including registration, travel and lodging) that are not currently funded by the student’s advisor or other MIT-related funding. To be eligible for the GSC Conference Grant, the student must present original research or serve as a panelist at a conference. For other purposes, students may apply for the GSC Professional Development Exploration Grant.
The Conference Grant is provided for virtual, domestic or international conference-related expenses for the following purposes:
A recommendation letter is mandatory for the application. It should be submitted by a staff member (and ideally a faculty) from MIT or other universities/institutes. By submitting the Conference Grant application, you are waiving your right to view the recommendation letter.
If you are a recipient of a Conference Grant, you will receive an email asking you to sign the conference grant contract, together with reimbursement instructions. Conference Grants can only be used to reimburse conference registration, travel, and lodging. We do not reimburse meal expenses. Advances will not be granted. Original receipts and a copy of the conference proceeding must be submitted. If you are unsure if certain expenses can be reimbursed, please contact the conference grant team at gsc-conference@mit.edu in advance.
Conference grant proposals are evaluated in four cycles each year. Application will begin when announced in GSC Anno. Please apply to the correct cycle according to the dates of intended conference attendance.
|
Grant Period |
Application Deadline |
Notification |
Conference Period Covered |
|
Summer |
May 15 |
May 31 |
July 1 – September 30 |
|
Fall |
August 15 |
August 31 |
October 1 – December 31 |
|
Winter |
November 15 |
November 30 |
January 1 – March 31 |
|
Spring |
February 15 |
February 28/29 |
April 1 – June 30 |
The deadline for the recommendation letter is the same as the application deadline. The deadline for submitting a reimbursement request is 7 days (5 business days) after the end of your conference or June 15th, whichever comes first, unless a prior arrangement has been made with the Conference Grant Committee. The only noted exception: a life crisis or dire emergency, in which case it needs to be verified by the OGE Grad Support.
We do not accept out-of-cycle applications, thus if the application deadline for the conference you intended to attend has passed, you can no longer receive a Conference Grant for that conference.
Proposals are evaluated by several graders, who were themselves previous conference grant recipients, on the basis of the following criteria:
The allocation is based on funding availability in the priority of high-to-low score. Many applications are partially funded, or not funded.
Bonus points are also awarded in the following areas:
You will receive a confirmation email informing you when your reference letter writer has submitted their recommendation. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure their recommender submits their letter by the application deadline.
Yes, you should apply before the applicable cycle deadline even if you do not know if you have been accepted to a conference as we do not accept out-of-cycle applications.
Yes, you may cancel your allocation and forfeit your Conference Grant allocation at any time by emailing gsc-conference@mit.edu, including after you have signed the acceptance contract.
The conference grant award depends on the number and score of each application during each cycle. Many applications receive only partial or no support.
The conference grant receives many more applications than can be awarded, and due to the size and volume of applications, we are unable to comment on individual applications.
No, We do not accept out-of-cycle applications. The only noted exception: a life crisis or dire emergency which prevents you from being able to submit an application by the deadline, in which case it needs to be verified by the OGE Grad Support.
Graduate students may apply for a conference grant during multiple application cycles but can only receive one conference grant per fiscal year (July 1st – June 30th).
No, Conference grant funds one conference per student per fiscal year. The grant is awarded for a specific conference and cannot be rolled over.
Yes, MIT graduate students may apply for a conference grant to present work done with external collaborators. Preference is given to work done while the student is enrolled at MIT.
No, all application materials must be received by the application deadline or your application will not be considered. The only noted exception: a life crisis or dire emergency, in which case it needs to be verified by the OGE Grad Support.
No, the recommendation letter can come from an external collaborator. However, it should come from a staff member (or ideally a faculty).
If you receive an external conference allowance after receiving a conference grant, you must inform the Conference Grant Committee (gsc-conference@mit.edu). If the total amount of support does not exceed conference-related costs, you may still use the GSC Conference Grant.
No, you must be a student enrolled at MIT in order to receive reimbursement.
You will be asked to sign a Conference Grant acceptance contract within 7 days (5 business days) of being notified of your award, which stipulates that awardees will grade future conference grant applications, report additional sources of funding acquired since the GSC conference grant application was submitted, report any changes to the conference (especially date changes), submit a brief post-conference report, and submit receipts pertaining to conference attendance by the reimbursement deadline. If you do not sign the acceptance contract within 7 days (5 business days) of being notified of your award, you will forfeit the Conference Grant.
No, you will need to submit a new application.
Email the Conference Grant Committee, gsc-conference@mit.edu.
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