How to Get Conference Scholarships and Travel Grants
Conferences are excellent opportunities for students, researchers, and professionals to present their work, gain knowledge, and connect with global experts. Unfortunately, the high cost of participation, often including registration fees, travel, accommodation, and meals, prevents many people from attending. The good news is that many organizations, universities, and conference committees offer scholarships and travel grants specifically to make these events more accessible, and the funding is often genuinely available. Most applicants simply never apply, which means the real odds are usually better than the competitive-sounding process suggests.
Why these scholarships exist
Scholarships and travel grants are designed to encourage diversity, inclusion, and participation from underrepresented groups. They help cover registration fees, support travel and accommodation costs, offer students and researchers a chance to share their work internationally, and provide access to networking and career opportunities that would not otherwise be affordable. Applying for one isn’t only about the funding, it’s also a recognition of your potential and contribution to your field, worth pursuing even if you have some funding already.
Check the conference’s own funding first
Most established conferences list scholarship or travel grant information directly on their website, sometimes under an easy-to-miss “registration” or “diversity” page rather than a prominent link. If it’s not listed clearly, emailing the organizing committee directly to ask is a normal and expected question, not an imposition.
Professional associations often fund separately from the conference itself
Field-specific societies frequently offer their own travel grants for members attending conferences in the field, independent of what the conference organizers themselves offer. Worth checking both sources rather than assuming they’re the same pool of funding, applying to both meaningfully improves your odds.
Your own institution is a source too, not just external bodies
Departmental travel funds, graduate school professional development grants, and university-wide conference funds are frequently underused simply because students don’t know they exist. See our guide on getting institutional funding approved for how to make that specific case internally, in addition to pursuing external scholarships.
What a strong application actually needs
A clear, specific statement of why this particular conference matters to your current work, evidence of genuine engagement with the field (whether that’s a paper submission, a poster, or prior related work), and a realistic budget if travel costs are included in the request. Vague, generic applications are the most common reason for rejection, not lack of qualification, reviewers can tell when an application was written for this specific opportunity versus copy-pasted across five different applications.
Apply earlier than the deadline suggests you need to
Scholarship committees often review applications on a rolling basis or allocate a fixed pool that can run out before the stated deadline. Submitting as soon as the application opens, rather than close to the cutoff, meaningfully improves your odds, even if the application itself takes a bit longer to prepare well.
An application checklist
- A specific, non-generic statement of why this conference matters to your current work
- Evidence of genuine engagement: a submission, poster, or clearly related prior work
- A realistic, itemized budget if travel costs are part of the request
- Submitted well before the stated deadline, not at the last moment
- Checked both the conference’s own funding and your professional association’s separately
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to already have a paper accepted to apply for a scholarship?
Not always, some scholarships are open to general attendees, but having a submission or acceptance generally strengthens an application considerably.
Can I apply to multiple scholarship sources for the same trip?
Generally yes, though some require disclosure of other funding you’re seeking or have received, check each program’s specific policy.
What if I don’t get a scholarship, what’s next?
Consider the other strategies in our guide on participating in conferences for free, volunteering and virtual attendance remain solid backup options.