Funding for Students Participating in Academic Conferences

The Marjorie Pay Hinckley Endowed Chair in Social Work and the Social Sciences and the Mary Lou Fulton Chair in the College of Family, Home and Social Sciences provide funds to support student participation in professional academic conferences.  These awards can be used to pay for the student’s conference registration, travel, meals and lodging.  It is understood that the department will share a portion of the costs. 

CRITERIA

Requests will be evaluated on the following criteria:

1.     Level of student involvement in the research effort.

2.     Quality of the conference. Participation at national conference is given greater weight than at a regional conference.

3.     Department commitment to participate in some of the student costs.

4.     Mary Lou Fulton Chair funds are available solely for undergraduates and are only available for travel within the United States.

5.     Marjorie Pay Hinckley Chair funds are available for both undergraduate and graduate students and are available for international travel and travel within the United                  States.
6.     Students who have graduated may be considered for funding, if the research was conducted prior to graduation and the conference takes place within the same                                 academic year in which the student graduated.
7.     Grants are available for professional academic conferences only. Participation in undergraduate, non-professional meetings will not be funded.

Requests will be considered as long as there is available funding.  Early application is strongly encouraged.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Students do not apply directly for the grant. Funding requests are made by the faculty mentor with whom the student collaborated in doing the research. The faculty mentor writes a proposal to the department chair that includes the information below. The department chair then submits an endorsement, along with the proposal to Scott Dunaway at scott_dunaway@byu.edu. All requests should be made by email. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.  Departments are encouraged to submit an application for funding as early as possible.

 

FUNDING REQUESTS SHOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

1.    Student’s name, major, year in school, name of conference including its location and dates.

2.    Indicate if this is a national or regional conference for your discipline.

3.    Name of the faculty mentor who worked with the student on the project.

4.    Cost of conference registration, travel, meals and lodging. Provide itemized budget in each area and total cost.  If more than one student is participating, aggregate         total and costs in each area.

5.    Amount of funding from the department that will be provided to support the student’s participation.

6.    Endorsement of the student’s participation, potential benefit of the conference to the student 

        and department.

7.    Attach a letter from the faculty mentor describing the project, the student’s role in the project and the

        nature of the student’s conference participation. This letter should also assess how the student’s work

        with this project has enhanced his or her education and will increase future career or educational 

        opportunities for him or her.

 

REQUIREMENT FOR ALL RECIPIENTS: Each recipient and their faculty mentor is required to fill a report of their experiences and benefits derived within one month following the conference.   Please turn in reports to Kim Reid at kim_reid@byu.edu.