Travel Scholarships

Professional Presentations Travel Scholarships

The Graduate School’s Professional Presentation Travel Scholarship is offered to students to help defray transportation expenses* associated with travel to professional conferences.

Students may apply for funding up to $500 to provide financial assistance for their presentation travel. A graduate student may receive only one travel scholarship for either the Dissertation Research Travel or Professional Presentation Travel during their time at MU.

Students must be enrolled in order to apply, and travel must be completed while they are graduate students at MU. All university-related travel that is supported fully or in part by a Graduate School travel scholarship must be registered in advance of the travel (domestic and international).

Awardees will be reimbursed once the Graduate School receives documentation and receipts after the conference.

All application materials must be submitted via the MU Graduate School InfoReady Platform. Application materials include the following:

• Conference name and sponsoring organization (official name, no abbreviations)
• Location of conference (city, state, country)
• Proposed travel dates (depart and return)
• Title and author(s) of presentation or poster
• Abstract of presentation or poster
• Proof of presentation showing the applicant’s name, such as a confirmation/acceptance email or a copy of the conference program section showing the panel or session of which the presentation is part. Do NOT submit entire conference program.
• Description of the significance of the conference to your professional development and career goals. This should explain the importance of this conference in field and how presenting at this conference will impact your career. (150 word limit)
• Budget information (including type of expense and approximate amount, and other requested or awarded funding sources and amounts)
• CV or résumé (two-page limit) uploaded as a PDF

* = The only allowable expenses for this scholarship are air and/or ground transportation.

John D. Bies International Travel Scholarships

University of Missouri doctoral candidates are eligible for the John D. Bies International Travel Award.

The John D. Bies International Travel Scholarship endowment was established by Dr. John Bies, who earned a doctorate from Mizzou in 1972. Bies believes students who travel frequently and have an opportunity to interact with diverse people are better equipped to become members of a global society. Although Bies attended Buffalo State College in New York for his undergraduate and master’s degrees, he chose to establish the travel endowment at the University of Missouri because of the impact he says Mizzou had on his life. During his time here, he says, he was instilled with a work ethic and strong values.

The John D. Bies International Travel award provides opportunities to PhD students to build knowledge of culture and language from regions of the world students would otherwise not have the opportunity to experience. Thus, a goal of the Bies award is to facilitate international travel outside a student’s country of origin. This award can be used to defray expenses associated with travel to international professional meetings or training programs, to libraries, archives or manuscript repositories, art museums, archaeological or geological sites, or special interviews. It can also fund travel expenses related to international internships with governments, non-governmental organizations, businesses, or institutions of higher education. Awards of up to $4,000 will be granted.

Current University of Missouri (MU) PhD students in good standing are eligible for the John D. Bies International Travel Award. A student may receive only one Bies International Travel Award during their time at MU. Funds are limited, and individual proposals will be evaluated for their potential to contribute to scholarship and the future development of the student’s graduate program and career opportunities.

All university-related travel that is supported fully or in part by a Graduate School travel scholarship must be registered in advance of the travel.

Awards are dispensed as reimbursements after winners have submitted required documents and receipts to the Graduate School.

All application materials must be submitted via the MU Graduate School InfoReady Platform. Application materials include the following:

• Location of destination (city, state, country)
• Proposed travel dates (depart and return)
• Significance of travel (describe the purpose — e.g., archives to be visited, specific conference to attend, internship or research related activity — and significance of the travel and this specific location to your own personal & professional development. 250 word limit)
• Dissertation abstract (an abstract of the dissertation topic or topic related to focus of travel, should be written to be interpreted by individuals from multiple fields or disciplines, 250 word limit)
• Written evidence that the applicant’s proposed plan has been approved/accepted and/or contacts are willing to receive the applicant for the stated purpose. (e.g., letter from archive, letter from lab accepting scholar, signed letter from dissertation chair outlining planned research.) You may upload multiple letters from different sources. Upload as single PDF.
• Appropriate research approvals (IRB and/or IACUC) if indicated
• Budget information (including type of expense and approximate amount, and other requested or awarded funding sources and amounts)
• CV or résumé (two-page limit) uploaded as a PDF