Travel Grant

There is money in the GWIP budget to cover travel for womxn MIT graduate students in physics to go to conferences (at which the student is presenting their research) or schools. This is not to take the place of standard forms of support, but rather is meant to support a student who otherwise would be expected to cover expenses out of their own pocket. GWIP conference funding will only be awarded in cases where the student has exhausted all other funding resources (i.e. advisor or research group, division support, conference grant, GSC funding, etc.). The GWIP conference funding can also be supplementary, in cases where the student can get some but not all funding from other sources. The funding can cover conference fees, lodging at the conference, and transportation to the conference. We will not award food or per diem money. The maximum limits are $1,150 for an international conference and $800 for a US or Canadian conference. Reimbursement can only be awarded with valid receipts. In all but extreme cases only one travel grant award will be made per student per year, regardless of amount awarded. Students are limited to up to three travel grants total during their time in grad school.


Cycles for GSC conference grants

Conference period Application deadline Notification
July 1 - September 30 May 15 June 1
October 1 - December 31 August 15 September 1
January 1 - March 31 November 15 December 1
April 1 - June 30 February 15 March 1


Procedure for GWIP funding


  1. Contact the budget/travel grant committee by emailing gwip-org [at] mit [dot] edu with the subject line "Attention Travel Committee." Briefly explain the situation, and the amount of money requested. Include an explanation of why money is not available from other sources (e.g., this might be something like: "The CTP's policy is to cover only $500 and the conference I am going to will cost a total of $800. My advisor does not have any money to help cover this, and there isn't any student support from the conference itself."). Also, tell us what you will be presenting (if attending a conference) and explain how the conference/school will benefit your research goals. Apply well in advance of the proposed travel, preferably at least a month, to receive full consideration. As long as two committee members agree, the application will be considered approved.
  2. If approved, the GWIP Travel Committee will forward the application to Sydney Miller and Karma Yangzom along with their comments and instructions for reimbursement.
  3. Every effort must be made by the student to minimize the cost of the trip (i.e. booking travel well in advance to ensure the lowest rate, sharing a hotel room with another student if possible, etc.).
Travel grant applications will also be considered for non-conference physics travel (i.e. to work with a collaborator or to give a talk). In nearly all cases we expect this sort of travel would be covered by the MIT research group or the host institution, but in rare cases with sufficient justification, GWIP support may be made available. This sort of funding application will require a more detailed explanation of the situation.