President's Research Travel Assistance Program

At the University of Illinois, we strive to foster learning environments where all students can achieve their full potential.

Assistance Description

The Vice President for Academic Affairs is pleased to announce the President's Research Travel Assistance Program. Open to all, this competitive award program has been established for the purpose of stimulating and supporting interest in the study of representation. Recipients are provided funding, not to exceed $1,000, to travel to a professional conference. Awards will be presented to up to ten (10) University of Illinois students in each biannual awards cycle. The reimbursement of travel expenses through these conference travel awards is intended to support student candidates who will be presenting papers, posters, or creative work that examine issues of representation and participation in social, cultural, political, educational, or institutional contexts in support of the University’s educational mission and commitment to scholarly inquiry. Research on representation may focus on how different identities and experiences are expressed, perceived, mediated, portrayed, represented and given voice across social, cultural, political, and institutional contexts. Identity could include, but is not limited to, scholarly and/or creative work on socioeconomic status, rural vs. urban, race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, and national origin. Additionally, issues such as barriers to participation and success, disparities in access to opportunities and resources, the inclusion of diverse perspectives and lived experiences, and historical or contemporary patterns of representation may be considered.

Award monies are limited to use for reimbursement of meeting registration, travel and lodging expenses that are directly related to the conference. The department/college will be responsible for travel expense processing after which award funds will be transferred to the department/college by the Office of the Executive Vice President and the Vice President for Academic Affairs' office.

Eligibility Requirements

Following are the requirements for consideration of an application:

1. The award is open to all graduate/professional students regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or other protected status, in accordance with the University's non-discrimination policy.
2. The student must be enrolled at the University and in good academic standing when conference travel occurs.
3. The student must comply with all University travel policies and procedures as well as applicable state regulations.
4. The department/college in which the student is enrolled or a unit sponsoring the student (such as the Graduate College) must endorse and approve the student's participation in the conference and provide some financial support ($200 minimum) for the student's participation in the conference.
5. Students in Self-Supporting Programs who are assessed tuition and fees that cover conference travel like this award should not apply as their department will be ineligible for reimbursement. Lists of Self-Supporting Programs (also known as Cost Recovery Programs) are available for UIC, UIS, and UIUC.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Connection of the presentation topic to issues of representation (50%)
• Potential impact on the student (25%)
• Potential impact on the field of study (15%)
• Financial need (10%)
• Quality of responses will be evaluated within the above criteria

Program Timeline

There are two award cycles per year. Applications are accepted near the beginning of each fall and spring semester. See the table below for dates related to the two most recent award cycles.

*Exceptions made on a case-by-case basis for the conference date range only (not the applications accepted dates). Contact uspscholarships@uillinois.edu with any questions.

Application Procedure

Students must apply for this award through an online application process. As part of the application form submission, the applicant will be asked to include the following items:

• The abstract or presentation description submitted to the conference, as applicable (300-word maximum).
• A summary describing the work to be presented in layman’s terms such that committee members from a variety of backgrounds can understand it. (300-word maximum; to be typed or copied into the application form).
• A brief explanation of how the scholarly or creative work to be presented at the conference relates to issues of representation (300-word maximum; to be typed or copied into the application form).
• A brief description of the potential impact of the conference travel on the student’s personal and career development (300-word maximum; to be typed or copied into the application form).
• Support from the student’s faculty advisor or a professor with knowledge of the applicable field of study in the form of a brief statement on the significance of the student’s work in this field and how this conference will advance their work (150-word maximum; Web link provided for submission; responses must be received no later than one week after the application deadline).
• A list of anticipated conference expenses and any funding secured from other sources (to be typed or copied into the application form).
• Evidence (i.e., proposal acceptance letter from conference planning committee) that they will be presenting (or have applied to present, if the decision is unknown) papers, posters, or creative work at the conference (to be uploaded, e.g., a Word document or scanned PDF document).
• Applicants must provide a department head or advisor’s name and email address. This person will receive a message [view text of this message] asking for confirmation that the department/college or sponsoring unit is willing to provide a minimum of $200 financial support for the student’s participation in the conference. Their confirmation is required and should be received no later than one week after the application deadline.

The Fall 2026 application will open August 18.

Notification of Award Recipients

Applications will be reviewed by faculty and administrators from each campus and University Administration.

Students selected for the President's Research Travel Assistance Program and their sponsoring departments, as well as all applicants, will be notified according to the timeline noted in the table above.

A letter with these instructions will be sent at the time of the award to be shared with the department business manager for each student who receives a President's Research Travel Assistance Program grant.

Recipients

Current and Past Award Recipients

Questions

Please see this list of Frequently Asked Questions.

Please direct all questions to the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, University-Wide Student Programs at USPScholarships@uillinois.edu or at (217) 333-2030.