Travel Funding Opportunities
The Graduate School is pleased to provide research degree students (M.A./M.S., Ph.D., J.S.D., D.M.A., M.F.A.) the opportunity to travel the world to enhance their scholarship. Eligible students are encouraged to apply for grant funding related to professional conferences, research travel, or summer language education.
Conference Grant – Application Form (Online)
The Graduate School offers Conference Grant awards of up to $700 to research degree students to attend a professional conference at which they are presenting. Online conference presentations are eligible for a grant of up to $200. Grant amounts are detailed in the Locations and Awards PDF. See the application form for more information about eligibility requirements and instructions. Conference grants are reviewed by the 9th of the month preceding the month in which the conference occurs, and grants are awarded to eligible students by the 15th of the preceding month. Applications are accepted up to 30 days following the end of the conference date.
Students are eligible for one conference grant awarded per year from July 1 to June 30 and must be registered at the time of the award and be within time to degree limits. Masters students are eligible for conference travel grants starting in their first semester until the end of the eighth semester of enrollment. Ph.D. students are eligible for conference travel grants starting in their first semester until the end of the fourteenth semester of enrollment.
Research Travel Grant – Application Form (Online)
Please note: A link to the online Research Travel Grant application will be made available six weeks prior to each of the three funding round deadlines of October 1, February 1, and April 1.
The Graduate School awards grants of up to $2,500 for Ph.D. degree students and $1,000 for master’s degree students for travel that is directly related to dissertation and thesis research, not conference travel. Recipients must be enrolled (full-time or in absentia) in a graduate research degree program (M.A./M.S., M.F.A., D.M.A., J.S.D., or Ph.D.) through the Graduate School and be registered at the time of the award. Master’s degree students up to their eighth semester of study and Ph.D. students up to their 14th semester of study are eligible to apply. (Note that the post-A exam requirement has been waived beginning with Spring 2022 submissions.)
In a typical year, the Graduate School awards 50-65 grants. Applications are due annually on October 1, February 1, and April 1 with a call for applications circulated a month prior to the deadline. Decisions will be announced by the first of the month following the application deadline. For example, decisions will be announced by November 1 for the October 1 deadline. See the application form for more information about eligibility requirements and instructions.
For students managing mental health while away from campus, please visit the Mental Health While Away from Campus page.
Learn more about graduate students who have received travel grants:
- MacKenzie Pierce, Musicology
- Jiai Zhang, Food Science and Technology
- Mariano Sanchez Talanquer, Government
- Kalia Bistolas, Microbiology
Summer Foreign Language Grant – Application Form (Online)
Please note: A link to the online Summer Foreign Language Grant will be made available prior to the mid-April deadline.
Grants of up to $1,000 are offered to research degree students for summer travel to foreign countries for intensive (non-English) language instruction. See the application form for more information about eligibility requirements and instructions. Applications are due by April 15 with a call for applications occurring a month prior to the deadline.
Important Notification: To ensure the safety of all Cornell students traveling on university-related activities, students traveling internationally must enter their travel itinerary and contact information into Cornell’s International Travel Registry. In addition, those traveling to high-risk countries must get approval for such travel from the International Travel Advisory and Response team (ITART).