Travel Funding

The Council on Undergraduate Research is the national professional association for scholarship of undergraduate research, providing support to students and faculty participating in UR. They host presentation events such as the National Conference on Undergraduate Research or Students Transforming through Research, run professional conferences for faculty and staff on administering research programs, and have discipline-specific divisions for additional resources.

Many of these disciplines have a fund to support student travel to present at professional events. If you have been accepted to present your undergraduate research at such an event, review the division grants available below to see if you might be eligible!

Some applications will require that you be a member of CUR. USU is an institutional member, so you will be eligible as a student here, but you may be required to create a CUR account in order to submit an application. Undergraduate students have the option of creating a free or paid account; the free account will allow you to access these applications. Contact us with any questions or issues.

Psychology

The CUR Psychology Division is offering a limited number of travel awards (up to $200 each) for undergraduate students presenting original psychological research results at a regional or national, discipline-specific meeting.

Eligibility Criteria

  • The student must be an undergraduate at either a two- or four-year institution. If the student is a graduating fourth-year student, travel must be completed within three months of fall graduation or by June 15 for spring graduates.

  • The student’s mentor must be a CUR member, or the student’s home institution must be a CUR institutional member.

  • Only one student per project will be considered for the award.

  • Award recipients are required to acknowledge CUR for support of their travel in their talk or poster (as long as applicants are notified as award recipients before the conference).

  • Award recipients are required to complete short evaluation in either written or video form about their meeting experience. The details of this evaluation will be sent to the recipients of the travel award.

  • Award recipients are required to submit a PDF file of their poster.

  • Award recipients must submit itemized receipts for reimbursement within 10 days after travel has been completed to ensure timely processing.


Application Procedure

An electronic application form must be completed by the student applicant. The named faculty mentor will then be contacted for a letter of support. Both documents must be received by the deadline for full consideration of the submission.
In the letter of support, the faculty mentor will need to address the following:

  • the student’s role in the project;

  • the impact of the research on the student during his/her undergraduate training; and

  • if the research project is completed or will be completed by the time of the conference.


Selection Criteria

Travel award recipients will be chosen based on the responses provided to each question, as well as the scholarly merit of the abstract. The abstract should contain the following information:

  • The study’s OBJECTIVE;

  • A description of the METHODS;

  • A summary of the RESULTS;

  • A statement of CONCLUSIONS (it is not acceptable to state “the results will be discussed”);

  • A statement of SIGNIFICANCE.


For details on the scoring of applications, visit the CUR online rubric.

Application Form
Access the online application form.

Biology

The Biology Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) is offering a limited number of travel grants, up to $250 each, for undergraduate students presenting original biological research results at a regional or national, discipline-specific meeting*. Award recipients are required to acknowledge CUR for support of their travel in their talk or poster, to complete a short online survey about their meeting experience, and to submit a PDF file of their poster. Students from all diverse backgrounds and perspectives are encouraged to apply.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Student must be an undergraduate student at either a two- or four-year institution.  If the student is a graduating fourth-year student, travel must be completed within three months of graduation.
  • Student’s mentor must be a CUR member, or the student’s home institution must be a CUR institutional member.
  • Student must attend a discipline-specific meeting or a meeting focused on underrepresented populations such as SACNAS, ABRCMS, or AISES.

Application Materials

  • The electronic application form must be completed by a nominating faculty mentor.
 Apply here.
  • Travel grants of $250 will be issued to each student and will require confirmation of student’s attendance/presentation at the meeting.

Selection Criteria

Travel award recipients will be chosen based on the scholarly merit of their abstract, which should include:

  • A sentence that clearly states the study’s OBJECTIVE (unless included in the title);
  • A brief statement of METHODS (if pertinent);
  • A summary of the RESULTS;
  • A statement of CONCLUSIONS (it is not acceptable to state “the results will be discussed”);
  • A statement of SIGNIFICANCE.

Physics and Astronomy

The Physics and Astronomy Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) is offering travel grants, up to $500 each, for undergraduate students presenting original research results at professional meetings.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Students must be undergraduates pursuing a physics-related major.
  • Students must be enrolled at an institution that has a CUR membership or have a faculty research adviser who is a CUR member.
  • Students must have submitted an abstract to the professional meeting, and the abstract must have been accepted.

Students from underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.

Application Procedure

* Apply online

Health Sciences

The Health Sciences Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) is offering a limited number of travel grants, up to $400 each, for undergraduate students in the health sciences who are presenting original research results at NCUR 2019 (33nd Annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research, Kennesaw State University, April 11-13, 2019). Award recipients are required to acknowledge CUR for support of their travel in their talk or poster, to complete a short evaluation form about their meeting experience, and to submit a PDF file of their poster. Minority students are encouraged to apply.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Student must be an undergraduate at either a two- or four-year institution. If the student is a graduating senior, travel must be completed within three months of graduation.
  • Student’s mentor must be a CUR member, or the student’s home institution must be a CUR institutional member.
  • Student must be a first-time presenter at NCUR.

Application Procedure

  • Apply online
  • Reimbursement of travel expenses (up to $400) will require copies of receipts and confirmation of student’s attendance/presentation at the meeting.

Selection Criteria


Travel award recipients will be chosen based on the scholarly merit of their abstract, which should include:

  • A sentence that clearly states the study’s OBJECTIVE (unless included in the title)
  • A brief statement of METHODS (if pertinent)
  • A summary of the RESULTS
  • A statement of CONCLUSIONS (it is not acceptable to state “the results will be discussed”)
  • A statement of SIGNIFICANCE

Social Sciences

The Social Sciences Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) is offering a limited number of travel grants, up to $200 each, for undergraduate students presenting the results of research that they have conducted at a regional or national, discipline-specific meeting during the academic year 2019-2020. In addition, two awards will be set aside for students attending an international conference. If they are not used, they will be given to students on the waiting list.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Undergraduate students at any level can apply, but preference will be given to students attending two-year community colleges, and third- and fourth-year undergraduates.

  • Either the student’s mentor must be a CUR member, or the student’s home institution must be a CUR institutional member.

  • Student must be engaged in research in the social sciences, defined by the Economic and Social Research Council as research concerned with the “study of society and the manner in which people behave and influence the world around us” and utilizing empirical, quantitative, and/or qualitative methods.


Additional Information

  • Minority students are encouraged to apply.
  • The student’s home institution is not required but is highly encouraged to match funds.
  • Awards for group projects will be awarded to the primary author and are expected to be shared among all the group members.

Application materials

  • An electronic copy of the meeting abstract, including the title of the abstract, student author, faculty mentor, and institution. If the abstract is written in highly technical terms, the applicant may also submit a brief (maximum 500 words) summary of the work written for an audience consisting of social scientists from a wide range of disciplines.  The abstract should note the study’s objective, methods, results, and importance.

  • Proof of acceptance to the discipline-specific meeting.

  • A list of itemized meeting expenses (travel, housing, and registration).

  • An email from sponsoring faculty acknowledging (1) student’s enrollment as an undergraduate, (2) confirmation of student’s acceptance to conference, (3) confirmation of CUR individual/institutional membership, and (4) confirmation of institution’s matching funds (if applicable).

  • Reimbursement of travel expenses (up to $200) will require copies of receipts and confirmation of student’s attendance/presentation at the meeting.


Submission of Application Materials

Selection Criteria:  Travel award recipients presenting at a conference will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis provided that the above criteria are met.  Only one travel award will be granted per institution per year. Every effort will be made to spread the travel awards over both the fall and spring semesters.
If selected: Award recipients are required to acknowledge CUR for support of their travel in their talk or poster. After the meeting, the student is expected to submit a brief report about the experience (including a photo, if possible), which will be used for media releases.

Arts and Humanities

The Arts and Humanities Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CURAH) offers two travel awards for students who are presenting their research in fields of the arts and humanities at NCUR, Posters on the Hill (POH), the Second World Congress, and elsewhere.

Division Grants Available