The CBS Undergraduate Research Travel Award is meant to support travel costs for individual students who are participating in a research conference as part of their University of Minnesota research lab experience.
Award overview
CBS Undergraduate Research Travel Awards are available to faculty mentors to help cover travel expenses of a student in their lab or research group to present at a scientific conference. To qualify for a travel award, the student must be a current CBS student who is working under the direction of a University of Minnesota faculty member in a research group. The student must be presenting their research at the conference as a poster, an oral presentation, or other appropriate format for the specific conference.
The maximum award depends on the scope of the conference, whether regional (no air travel needed), national, or international. Faculty will be awarded funds on behalf of the student. The reimbursement process will be coordinated with the Undergraduate Programs Coordinator and the research group.
Maximum award amounts:
- Regional (no air travel required): Up to $500
- National: Up to $1,500
- International: Up to $2,500
Guidelines for award eligibility
- College of Biological Sciences undergraduate students who are participating in an independent research project at the University of Minnesota with a research group supervised by a University of Minnesota faculty member as the Principal Investigator, PI.
- CBS undergraduate students must have a minimum cumulative 2.5 GPA to be eligible for the award. Applicants must be degree-seeking students and registered for at least 13 undergraduate credits in the semester that they will attend the research conference. If the student is presenting in the summer, they need to be registered for 13 credits in the fall term.
- The student must be presenting their research at the conference as a poster, an oral presentation, or other appropriate format for the specific conference.
- Students who have previously received the CBS Undergraduate Research Travel Award are not eligible to apply.
- The student must apply before attending the conference. Applications submitted after the completion of the conference will not be considered.
Deadline for application
Students in collaboration with the faculty mentor are strongly encouraged to apply as early as possible before the scheduled conference date, so travel planning costs can be covered directly rather than by reimbursement.
Priority deadlines are as follow:
- Fall: October 15
- Spring: March 1
- Summer: May 15
Application requirements
- Applicants must upload a copy of the presentation abstract
- Applicants must provide a budget and any funding sources
- The faculty mentor must provide a letter that addresses the scientific merit of the undergraduate's work, how the meeting attendance will benefit the undergraduate, and justification for what the faculty mentor is covering for expenses and what they are unable to cover.
To apply
Students and Principal Investigators will be notified of the application status via email within four weeks of the application deadline. Questions should be directed to [email protected].