Graduate Student Conference Funding

The goal of the funding is to enable more Carnegie Mellon graduate students to make presentations at key conferences/exhibitions in their fields or attend conferences and learn about the broader field of study to which they belong. This funding opportunity is available to individual graduate students, a group of graduate students attending the same conference and/or a group of members from a registered club/organization attending the same conference.

If you are planning to present at a conference and have submitted an abstract to present at a conference, you do NOT have to wait until it is accepted to apply for funding.

Graduate students who apply for conference funding MUST be enrolled students at the time they attend the conference.

Beginning in February 2024, Conference Funding is available only for students who are presenting scholarly work related to their degree pursuits. This is inclusive of all scholarship areas. “Presenting” generally refers to presenting scholarly work such as a paper, poster, or talk that has been accepted for presentation at a conference in the student’s field. “Presenting” may also take other forms, such as presenting a piece of art at an exhibition or participating in a performance, depending on the student’s area of study.

If you are not presenting at a conference, you should apply for Professional Engagement Funding, a new source of funding developed by the Provost that is being piloted during the Spring 2024 application cycle. The purpose of Professional Engagement Funding is to offer graduate students some support for attending a conference or other professional engagement opportunity to network, deepen knowledge, or compete within their field of study. Read more about Professional Engagement Funding on the Professional Development page of the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs website. Students can apply for either type of funding, but not both types.

Both your application and your advisor's support form must be completed and submitted by the deadline. For all Heinz College MASTERS students, please list ANNIE JULIAN as the business manager on the application form.

Details

Students are strongly encouraged to simultaneously submit an application to the GSA Graduate Conference Fund or the Professional Engagement Fund as well as the Heinz College Conference Fund. Students are eligible to receive up to $500 per academic year depending on the availability of funds, strength of application, and the role the student will play at the conference. Funding will be announced within one month after the submission deadline. Funds are disbursed through a reimbursement process after the conference.

Eligibility

• Students must be in good academic standing (GPA greater than or equal to 3.0) and have no academic integrity infractions.
• Students are only eligible to receive funding for one conference per academic year from the Heinz Conference Fund.
• Doctoral students are not eligible for this fund.
• Students cannot receive a Heinz award if they have already received a GSA award (for the same conference) - but apply to both to increase your opportunitIes for funding.
• Students are not eligible to receive funding for conferences that occur after they have graduated.
• Approval will not be given retroactively if an application is submitted after the conference has begun.
• Priority will be given to professional conferences where the student is presenting a paper or poster.

Application Form

• Heinz College Conference Fund APPLICATION FORM

If you have any questions about the conference funding application process, please contact Annie Julian.

Scholarly Project Funding is provided to graduate students and teams for research project pilots that cross two or more departments or colleges through the new ProSEED Initiative. These grants are to promote creative interdisciplinary and collaborations among researchers across campus. Unlike standard Scholarly Project Funding, the research projects proposed do not have to meet the requirements of research for a required degree but should be for pursuing pilot projects, creating entrepreneurial opportunities and exploring interdisciplinary domains.
Get details about eligibility, deadlines, evaluation criteria, application forms, etc.

• Scholarly Project Funding will be awarded twice per academic year (fall and spring/summer) to enhance all students’ ability to receive and use this funding before graduating, and in response to the volume of applications received per cycle.
• The Fall application period for Scholarly Project Funding will be September 8 - 19, 2025.
• The Spring application period for Scholarly Project Funding will be February 9-20, 2026.