Undergraduate Conference Travel Awards

Overview and Justification

The Scripps undergraduate conference travel grant are available to encourage undergraduate researchers at Scripps to present their results at scientific and professional conferences. Attending a meeting will increase student confidence and interest in pursuing a career in the field. Meetings are also a great opportunity for students to increase confidence and interest in pursuing a career in the field and network with potential employers and discover graduate programs. Students might also present at national conferences, such as SACNAS, that focus on students with the goal of fostering student success and community in the sciences. Scripps will benefit from increased participation from our undergraduate majors at conferences for the opportunity to display our outstanding undergraduate research opportunities to a broader audience.

To qualify for an undergraduate conference travel grant:

1. You must be a current UC San Diego undergraduate student. (Graduate students should apply to the Scripps Oceanography graduate student travel funds.) Very recent graduates can also apply IF the work you are presenting was done while you were an UC San Diego undergraduate.
2. Your research must have been conducted with a faculty advisor from Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
3. You must be enrolled in a Scripps major (Earth Sciences, Marine Biology, Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences) or have a concentration or minor in curricula at Scripps (e.g. Marine Science minor, a specialization in Earth Sciences, etc.).
4. You must be a presenting author in a research presentation at the meeting, OR you must be an author on an abstract that has been accepted at the meeting and also be involved in preparing the presentation.
5. You must be attending a conference that relates broadly to science and research themes at Scripps.

Guidelines for Undergraduate Conference Travel Awards

1. Scripps undergraduate conference travel awards are in the range of $500-$1,000 and can be applied to cover the following expenses:
   1. Abstract fees and student meeting registration fees
   2. Transportation costs, (i.e. airfare, mileage)
   3. Lodging and conference meals
2. Scripps undergraduate conference travel awards can be combined with other travel funding support (e.g. conference provided student travel scholarships, PI-funding, etc.).
3. Applications should be submitted to Maureen McGreevy at mpmcgreevy@ucsd.edu.
4. Applications may be submitted at any time, there is no formal deadline. However, suitable requests will be awarded as long as funding is available, so students are encouraged to submit applications early in the process of their planning to attend a meeting.