SEFS is committed to providing support for academic travel to all graduate students who have been invited to showcase their research at notable national and international academic conferences, seminars, and professional meetings. There are two sources of travel support: support from the Graduate School (awards limited to one per fiscal year, with SEFS nominating students for funding to the Graduate School and the Graduate School making the award decision) as well as the SEFS Director’s Office funding (awards limited to once every two years, with a limit of 3 awards overall as a SEFS Graduate Student; SEFS makes the award decision).

Graduate Student Conference Travel Awards from the Graduate School

Students can be nominated for Graduate School funding which exists to assist graduate students to present a paper/poster or serve as an invited speaker at conferences or other professional meetings. These funds may be used only for transportation (airfare, mileage, taxis, etc.) and conference registration fees; funds may not be used for hotels, food or other expenses. Individual awards are limited to one per fiscal year, and priority will be given to students who have not received Graduate School travel funding in the past as well as to those who do not have other sources of travel support. Maximum award amounts are $300 domestic and $500 international. The student must have the following criteria:

• Be confirmed as a presenter.
• Currently in good standing in the SEFS graduate program.
• Be presenting work developed at the UW (not a prior institution).
• Be enrolled in UW courses at the time of the conference (or enrolled in the spring and registered for autumn if conference is in the summer).

Director’s Office Funding

The School of Environmental and Forest Sciences Director’s Office is also able to partially support graduate student travel to notable national and international academic conferences, seminars, and professional meetings. Every SEFS graduate student may receive this supplemental award once within a two-year period, and a maximum of three times as a SEFS graduate student, provided they meet the qualifications described below. The following conditions must be met by the graduate student in order to receive this award:

• Presenting a paper or poster, delivering an invited lecture, or receiving an award, at a notable academic conference, meeting or workshop.
• Currently enrolled and in good standing in the SEFS graduate program.
• Have not received a travel funds award from the Director’s Office funding within the last two years.  Your application can be submitted prior to the two-year period being complete if you have travel upcoming that you are trying to fund as you are requesting your next reward. But you can only receive funds once every two years  Please also be sure to indicate on the request form the dates of any previous Director’s Office travel funding awards.

Students receiving director’s travel support agree to submit a short report for the SEFS newsletter about the event, make available event proceedings (if any), make available to the school a copy of posters presented (if any), and represent the school by taking and distributing SEFS program materials, or other activities identified as appropriate.

The amount of Director’s Office Funding is:

• $500 of expenses for domestic conferences, seminars and meetings.
• $700 of expenses for international conferences, seminars and meetings.

Application Deadline and Procedure

For each of these awards, the Graduate Student Travel Award Form must be submitted a minimum of 2 months prior to your first travel date. We encourage students to submit an application as soon as they learn of their involvement in a conference (usually, acceptance of their work for presentation at a conference).

The requests are evaluated for meeting the conditions above by the Advising Office and the Associate Director for Academic Programs. Students will be notified of funding decisions within one month of submitting a request.

Fill out this Graduate Student Travel Award Form.

Submit all paperwork here.

SEFS aims to provide a response within two weeks when possible. If you have not heard back within two weeks, please contact sefsgpa@uw.edu.

Other Travel Support for Graduate Students

College of the Environment Student Travel & Meeting Fund

The College of the Environment supports undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. students in furthering their careers, and in particular in connecting students to networking opportunities afforded by the presentation of their original work in meeting venues. CoEnv supports two types of student attendance at meetings: Individual student travel to meetings and funding for student organized meetings. Funding proposals, whether individual or from a student organization are reviewed on a quarterly basis. Submissions should be planned such that travel can be accomplished within 6 months of the date of the award, otherwise the award may be retracted. Awards will not be granted retroactively for travel that has already been completed – please plan accordingly and apply for funding by the submission deadline prior to your conference or meeting. For deadlines, applications, and procedures, visit the College of the Environment Student Travel & Meeting Fund page.

Graduate & Professional Student Senate Travel Grants

In an effort to help improve graduate and professional student life at the University of Washington, the GPSS Travel Grants Program contributes funds to qualifying individuals’ travel expenses for active conference participation in the US and abroad. This is done in an effort to facilitate and promote the intellectual and professional development of graduate and professional students at the University of Washington, but also to encourage mutually beneficial interaction among students and GPSS senators. GPSS Travel Grants further contribute to the strengthening of the University and its increased prominence in the greater scholarly community through the broadening of students’ personal and academic development through exposure to the work of others elsewhere.

Students whose conference participation might otherwise be unfunded, have strong academic credentials and are making fair progress towards their respective degrees are encouraged to apply. Recipients will receive awards up to $300 for domestic conferences and $500 for international conferences. Active participation (presenting a paper or poster, chairing a session or panel, etc.) at an academic conference is required and proof of acceptance is required with this application. Applicants must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2 to be considered.

Other SEFS Support Funds

SEFS Student Field Experience Support Fund

SEFS provides numerous opportunities to participate in field experiences through course field trips, internships, volunteering, and other activities, and wants to ensure that students are able to participate without limitation due to lack of financial resources. Learn more.

SEFS Student Research Support Funds

SEFS has a limited amount of endowment funding to support unfunded undergraduate and graduate student research expenses. These funds are meant to supplement, not replace, existing research funding available from PIs in the school. Learn more.