Graduate School

Graduate School Travel Funds

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Graduate School Travel Funds

The Graduate School provides support for doctoral and MFA students traveling for research, to present at conferences, and for other scholarly activities.

Four travel funding awards are provided by the Graduate School: the Conference Travel Fund, the International Travel Fund, the Doctoral Research Travel Grant, and the Joukowsky Summer Research Award. An overview is available in the Graduate School Travel Funding Summary Table and below. Please visit the individual fund webpages for more details about the eligibility requirements for each.

All applications and associated documentation must be submitted online through UFunds. Students can apply for funding for their upcoming travel at any time using the application currently available in UFunds (travel dates do not need to fall into the semester listed in the application title). Please email graduate_travel@brown.edu with any questions.

All travel must follow Brown University travel policies. International travel, in particular, may require prior approval, following the University’s International Travel Policies. Transactions with comprehensively embargoed countries, including certain academic collaborations and the exchange of research materials, may require authorization from the government. If you are considering collaborating with or traveling to an embargoed country, you must contact Brown's Export Control Team well in advance.

Graduate School Travel Awards

Conference Travel Fund

Apply for up to $700 per academic year for travel to present at conferences. Doctoral students in years 1-6 or on a COVID Appointment Extension and Master's students are eligible to apply. Students enrolled in programs in the Division of Biology and Medicine are not eligible for this award.

International Travel Fund

Apply for one award of $600-$1,000 per academic year for travel outside of the U.S. to present at a conference, conduct scholarly research, or attend a summer school or course. MFA students may apply for travel to perform in a festival, retreat, workshop, production, or other training event not sponsored by Brown. Doctoral students in years 1-6 or on a COVID Appointment Extension and Master’s students are eligible.

Doctoral Research Travel Grant

Apply for one award of up to $1,000 per academic year for travel to conduct scholarly research. Doctoral students in years 1-6 or on a COVID Appointment Extension are eligible to apply. Students enrolled in programs in the Division of Biology and Medicine are not eligible for this award.

Joukowsky Summer Research Award

Apply for one award of $500-$1,500 per summer for travel May-August for academic purposes (scholarly research, language programs, or workshops). Doctoral students in years 1-6 or on a COVID Appointment Extension and MFA students in Literary Arts or Playwriting are eligible. Master’s students in programs other than Literary Arts and Playwriting and students in the Division of Biology and Medicine are not eligible.

The Conference Travel Fund, International Travel Fund, and Doctoral Research Travel Fund all follow a funding cycle based on the academic year (June 1 through May 31). Students have a maximum amount of funding available to them each academic year. For eligible students, this includes one International Travel Fund award, one Doctoral Research Travel Grant award, and up to $700 in Conference Travel Funds (which could consist of multiple applications and awards). 

The academic year that awarded funding counts towards is always determined by the end date of the travel associated with the award. The date a student applies, is awarded funding, or requests reimbursement does not affect the academic year the award counts toward.

Graduate School travel awards are processed as reimbursements by a student’s home department. Prepaid expenses such as airfare and prepaid hotel rooms can be submitted for reimbursement prior to travel. Expenses that are not paid for in advance, as well as per diem meals, can be submitted once the student returns from travel. All documentation should be submitted to a student’s home department for processing within 30 days of the completion of travel.

Please refer to the Graduate Travel Fund Reimbursement Guidelines for details about the reimbursement process and what documentation to submit.

We encourage students to check with their Director of Graduate Study (DGS), advisor, or program administrator about program funding that might be available.