Attending conferences and publicly sharing your research, innovations, and ideas are important parts of engaging in academic research. These awards aim to support undergraduates as they disseminate their unique contributions to the UW community and beyond.

Eligibility

In order to apply for and be able to receive the award, the following must be true:

• Applicants must be currently enrolled UW undergraduate students with a faculty mentor (not a postdoc or graduate student).
  • Faculty mentors do not need to be University of Washington faculty, but must hold a faculty role at their respective institution.
  • Faculty mentors must provide a statement of support (brief sentences endorsing you to present at this conference) in order for your application to be considered complete and reviewable by the committee.
  • For applicants applying as Mary Gates Leadership Scholars: Your mentor does not need to be a faculty.
• Applicants must be accepted to present and presenting at the conference they are applying for by time of submitting the application.
• Group presentations: Each co-presenter must meet all eligibility requirements and apply separately/individually of their co-presenting group.
• Applications must be submitted before the first day of the conference. Applications received after the first day of the conference or upon your return will not be considered. We encourage applicants to complete their application up to 3 months before traveling.
• Applicants may apply for and receive the Undergraduate Research Conference Travel Award once during their time as an undergraduate.
• We occasionally make exceptions for students to use travel award funds to attend conferences up to three months post-graduation. However, students need to apply while enrolled as an undergraduate.

Requirements of the Award

General Requirements

Applicants must accept the award within 14 days of receiving the notification of award. After 14 days, the award is no longer available. You are eligible to apply for a new award.

• Awardees are expected to present at the following year’s UW Undergraduate Research Symposium.
• Awardees are asked to fill out a brief, reflective, survey on their travel experiences and receiving the award.

International Travel

If your conference is outside of the U.S., we strongly encourage you to register your trip with UW Global. Register using the Non-Curricular Travel (Student) form provided on the UW Global website. Registering your travel allows you to proactively receive UW’s global travel insurance for students [with a $25 fee charged to your student account], and access to resources like International SOS to be more prepared for emergencies.

Guidance on U.S. Border Procedures

Please review requirements and resources from UW Global and International Student Services when traveling across U.S. borders. Plan your travel, carry necessary documents, know your rights, and use other considerations when traveling. The Office of Undergraduate Research is unable to provide direct support for undergraduate researchers traveling across borders

Payment of the Award

After accepting the award, awardees will be asked to confirm ability to receive the award as a student database payment. Do know that the method of receiving the award may impact the actual total dollar amount of the award received due to UW Travel Policy.

Student database payment

Awardees may receive up to the total award paid via their student account. Funds received this way are not taxable unless the student is already receiving financial aid, scholarships, or other academic awards where the total exceeds their qualified student expenses for the academic year. If the student is unsure what qualified expenses are, or if they are concerned that they are already receiving other funds through their account, it will be helpful for them to check with the Office of Student Financial Aid to see what portion of the award they are able to receive via your student account (this can be done via email or phone). Once the student can confirm their eligibility to receive any portion of the award via student account, we may proceed. We encourage students to set up direct deposit for payments, otherwise they will receive a check mailed to their local address (and if that is not available, then mailed to their permanent address) on file.

The Office of Undergraduate Research will work with awardees who may not be able to receive the full award through student database payment.

Apply

Timeline/Deadlines

We highly encourage you to submit your application as soon as you receive conference acceptance, and highly encourage applying at least 3 months in advance of your conference.

Applications are due (complete with faculty mentor statement of support) by the 7th of each month*. Applications will be reviewed for two weeks, with final decisions being released by the last week of the month, but no later than the first full week of the following month. *Exceptions may be made for the start of the academic year to accommodate for delayed funds.

Review month	Deadline date	Notification date
October 2026	October 11, 2026, 11:59PM PST	By November 6, 2026
November 2026	November 7, 2026, 11:59PM PST	By December 7, 2026
December 2026	December 7, 2026, 11:59PM PST	By January 7, 2027
January 2027	January 7, 2027, 11:59PM PST	By February 5, 2027
February 2027	February 7, 2027, 11:59PM PST	By March 5, 2027
March 2027	March 7, 2027, 11:59PM PST	By April 7, 2027
April 2027	April 7, 2027, 11:59PM PST	By May 7, 2027
May 2027	May 7, 2027, 11:59PM PST	By June 7, 2027
June 2027	June 7, 2027, 11:59PM PST	By July 7, 2027
July 2027	July 7, 2027, 11:59PM PST	By August 6, 2027
August 2027	August 7, 2027, 11:59PM PST	By September 7, 2027
September 2027	September 7, 2027, 11:59PM PST	By October 7, 2027

Application

Access the application using the button below. Login with your UW netID and password.

Other Funding Opportunities

Whether you receive an undergraduate research conference travel award or are simply seeking out funds to cover more of your conference travel, there may be options for you! Below we’ve included some considerations for you as you navigate other funding opportunities.

• We encourage UW Bothell undergraduates to consider seeking conference travel support through the UW Bothell Student Academic Enhancement Fund (SAEF).
• We encourage UW Tacoma undergraduates to consider seeking conference travel support through the UW Tacoma Center for Student Involvement fund.
• The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) divisions (spanning all academic disciplines) offer conference and travel awards to undergraduate researchers presenting at various types of conferences. Visit each division webpage to access information on deadlines and applications. Note: To be eligible to apply for these awards, you must have a membership through CUR; know that the UW does not have an institutional membership.
•  As you consider funding, make sure to consult your research mentor, group, or lab and explore departmental funding opportunities.Whether your research team can support conference travel or your academic department offers scholarships or travel grants for undergraduates, start by reaching out and asking.
• Some conferences offer travel awards and student fee waivers. When applying for conferences make sure to explore conference-specific funding available through awards, scholarships, and fee waivers.

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