WSE Undergraduate Conference Travel Fund 

About

With the generous help of the WSE alumni and the WSE departments, the Whiting School of Engineering has established the WSE Undergraduate Conference Travel Fund to provide financial assistance for current, full-time undergraduate students traveling for approved conferences. Applicants who will be presenting at their conference are given priority funding.

Financial assistance can be used for the conference registration fee, airfare, and lodging. All travel arrangements and purchases for approved funding recipients must be made by the WSE Undergraduate Academic Affairs Office. If you choose to cover any costs prior to receiving funding, reimbursement requests are not guaranteed and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Eligibility

Frequency

A student may only receive this funding once in a twelve-month period. Priority will be given to those who have not applied previously.

Student Status

Graduate students are not eligible for this funding. If you are in a 3+1 program and enrolled in graduate level courses, but officially have undergraduate status, you are eligible.

Student Groups

Members of registered student organizations and departmental student groups traveling to conferences are eligible for the WSE Undergraduate Conference Travel Fund. Please reach out to Christi Owiye at [email protected] with the LEED office for questions around student group travel and to confirm if your RSO is attending the conference before completing the application. If you have any questions about the application, please feel free to contact the WSE Advising Office.

Apply

To be considered for funding, you will need to provide the following in your application form:

1. Name and dates of the conference
2. An itemized cost estimate of travel/conference costs
3. A letter of recommendation from a faculty sponsor; you will need to meet with a faculty sponsor to discuss the conference

Deadlines

The deadline to submit your application is 60 days (or earlier) prior to the conference date. Applications submitted less than 60 days prior to the conference date will be considered late and not eligible. If you have applied to present at a conference and are waiting to hear if you are accepted, please submit your application before the application due date and indicate when you may find out about presenting. It is the applicant’s responsibility to update the Undergraduate Academic Affairs Office of any changes or updates to their application.

Applications are reviewed six times a year. Decisions are typically made within a two-week period of each deadline.

Recipient Information

Travel Arrangements

If you are awarded funding, you will meet with a staff member to coordinate your travel and purchase registration. All purchases for approved funding recipients must be made by the WSE Undergraduate Academic Affairs Office. If you choose to cover any costs prior to receiving funding, reimbursement requests are not guaranteed and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The fund prioritizes paying for students’ costs so that students do not have to seek reimbursement.

Post-Conference Reflection

After your return, you will need to provide a 300-500 word reflection and 3-10 pictures or a 60-second video of your experience at the conference. These are due within 15 days of the end of your conference.

Frequently Asked Questions