President's Travel Fund for the Humanities

We are pleased to announce that President Martha Pollack has designated a one-time fund of $100,000, which has been provided by a donor, for conference travel for graduate students in the humanities.

The funding is available to graduate students who have already received the $675 provided each academic year by the Graduate School for conference travel and who have been accepted to present at an additional conference within the same academic year (application and details for the Graduate School grant provided under “Conference Grant”). Students may apply on a rolling basis for up to $1,000 to support travel to a second conference with the President’s travel fund. Graduate students must seek endorsement from their field’s Director of Graduate Study, who then forwards the application to the , where members of the Humanities Council will review and approve requested funding.

Application Guidelines

  • Applicants should submit the following materials as one .pdf file to their Director of Graduate Studies for endorsement:
  1. Cover page with the following information: 
    • Name
    • NetID
    • Student ID number
    • Academic Program and field
    • Name of conference for which you are requesting funds
    • Location of conference
    • Start and end date of the conference
  2. 1-2 page proposal for conference travel, including an abstract of the paper to be presented.
  3. Proof of the acceptance of the paper to the conference
  4. Budget outline of anticipated costs, with requested amount highlighted, up to $1,000 (please note: funds intended to cover transportation and lodging, not meals)
  5. Proof of Conference Grant from the Graduate School in the same academic year
  • Once the Director of Graduate Studies endorses the above proposal, the .pdf file of the materials and an endorsement by the DGS should be sent to Julie McLean, jzm6@cornell.edu, at .
  • Endorsement by DGS should be in the form of a brief email stating that they have read the proposal and support the proposed travel.
  • Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the academic year and up to 30 days after the start of the conference. Please allow three weeks for notification of approval. Funds will be disbursed through the Bursar system.
  • When travel is complete, students must submit a 1-2 page report to the Society within 30 days of completion of travel and no later than July 30th following their travel. If student does not attend the conference, the award must be returned to the Society.

Eligibility

  • Recipients must be enrolled (full-time or In Absentia) in a Humanities Ph.D. or MFA degree program through the Graduate School and be a registered student during the term in which the conference takes place.
  • Students must be presenting a paper at the conference for which funds are requested. In the event of dual authorship of a paper accepted for presentation, only the presenting author may receive an award.
  • Students must not have received a previous President's Travel Fund award. 
  • Students must have already applied for and received the graduate school Conference Grant in the same academic year, (application and details provided under “Conference Grant”). Applications must be for a second conference within the same academic year.
  • This award is taxable. International students from non-tax treaty countries will automatically have 14% deducted from the award.

Travel and Covid-19

  • Availability of awards is subject to change based on Cornell's Covid-19 travel restrictions.
  • If awarded and traveling internationally, students must register travel in Cornell’s international travel registry. Elevated risk travel requires a petition, as detailed here. Applicants do not need to gain approval before submitting an application, but funds for travel will not be released until approved.
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