OUR Conference Presentation Awards

Paulina Frutos presenting at the Emerging Researchers National Conference in STEM.
Paulina Frutos '19 (CAHNR, CLAS)

Program Overview

The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) will provide up to $500 to undergraduate students to cover expenses associated with presenting their research or creative projects at conferences or professional meetings. The student MUST be presenting their research at the meeting, meaning that they will have the opportunity for dialogue about their project with other event participants. OUR Conference Presentation Awards cannot cover attendance at a conference where the student is not presenting.

Students may use these awards to pay for conference registration and for travel expenses (meals, travel, parking, and lodging), where permitted by University policy. The most updated travel guidance is available at travel.uconn.edu. International, university-sponsored travel by students to destinations with a Level 3 or 4 travel advisory requires an approved waiver from Global Affairs. Information on international travel and access to the travel waiver application is available here. OUR will not fund a student to travel internationally unless the student has secured all necessary travel registrations, waivers, and approvals.

Travel costs incurred as part of UConn coursework are not eligible for this award.

It can take up to 6 weeks for a Conference Presentation Award to be approved and for funds to be disbursed, so early application is encouraged. If traveling, you must apply a minimum of 4 weeks before you travel.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and awards are made until funds are exhausted. (In other words, apply early!) Conference Presentation Awards will not normally be made in support of presenting research over the summer, but applications related to summer conferences and professional meetings will be considered if funding remains after the application deadline. Please note that funding for this program, which is intended to support students across the university, is limited. Multiple students applying for support for the same presentation may receive smaller awards.chevron-up-thick

Eligibility

To apply for these awards, students must meet the following requirements:

  • Must be an undergraduate enrolled full-time at any campus of the University of Connecticut. Eligibility for funding through Office of Undergraduate Research award programs is restricted to students currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at UConn. This includes students pursuing Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of General Studies, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science in Engineering, and Bachelor of Social Work degrees.
    Note: Part-time undergraduate students enrolled at any campus of the University of Connecticut may apply for these awards if they have completed at least 60 academic credits (including at least 12 credits at UConn).
  • Must complete the presentation and any travel associated with this award before graduating from their bachelor's degree program.
  • Must be in good academic standing.
  • Must have their faculty advisor on the project submit a recommendation form on their behalf as part of their online application.
  • May receive no more than one OUR Conference Presentation Award during any given award program cycle (July to April).

Award Conditions

Application Deadline

The online application for 2024-2025 Conference Presentation Awards is now open. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The deadline to apply for OUR Conference Presentation Award funding for the 2024-2025 academic year is Tuesday, April 1, 2025.

How to Apply

The OUR Conference Presentation Award application is now open. Apply here. The OUR Conference Presentation Award Application Outline provides a list of all the questions you will need to answer in the online application.

For guidance on how to use the application management system, please review the Quest Portal User Tips. A complete application consists of the online application, uploaded confirmation that your project has been accepted for presentation at the conference, an uploaded Budget Worksheet, and a recommendation form to be completed by the faculty advisor of your project.

Please use the Conference Presentation Budget Worksheet to generate an itemized budget for your expenses; you will be asked to upload this in PDF format as part of the online application. You will request that your faculty advisor complete a recommendation via the Quest online application system by entering his/her name and email address in the application. The system will send your faculty advisor an individual link to complete the recommendation form.

We encourage you to share your application - including your project description and budget - with your faculty advisor so s/he can refer to them when completing the recommendation.

It is advisable to review the OUR Conference Presentation Award Application Outline prior to completing the online application. The outline lists all the questions you will need to answer and the types of information you will need to provide in the online application.

Please note that the final question on the application will ask you to certify that you have prepared your application materials in accordance with University standards for academic integrity. Learn more about academic integrity.

Information for Recommenders

Faculty advisors are asked to complete an online recommendation form; you will not be asked to upload a recommendation letter. Your assessment of the quality of the student's work to date and the necessity of this funding for the achievement of the student's goals are critically important to the review process. Students will request recommendations via the online application system (quest.uconn.edu). Once the recommendation has been requested, UConn faculty should go to the main Quest Portal page, click “Log In” in the top right corner, select “UConn Single Sign-on” and log in with your netID and password; you should then see the recommendation task to complete. Non-UConn faculty should follow the link emailed to them in order to complete the recommendation form (message from UConn Quest Portal [noreply@mail.smapply.net], subject line "Request for recommendation").

Please note that award funds are typically disbursed directly to the student. Under limited circumstances, they may be transferred to a ledger 2 account associated with the faculty supervisor or his/her department to expenses in the student's award budget for which the faculty or department has cover OR intends to cover.

Criteria for Review and Selection

OUR Conference Presentation Award applications are reviewed by the Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research based on the following criteria:

  • The project description is well written and clearly explains the project and the value of the presentation opportunity.
  • The student and his/her project meet the eligibility criteria.
  • The budget is itemized, appropriate to the project described, and reports the total cost of the proposed conference presentation experience (even if it exceeds the funding requested).
  • Any proposed travel conforms to University policy.
  • The advisor is familiar with the student's project and rates the student's work to date highly.
  • The student could not accomplish their presentation goals associated with the research project without this funding and the advisor recommends funding.

Please note that funding for this program, which is intended to support students across the university, is limited. Multiple students applying for support for the same project or related projects may receive smaller awards. Students who have previously received support from OUR for their projects may receive smaller awards or lower priority for funding.

FAQ


How are OUR Conference Presentation Awards disbursed?

If you will be traveling, OUR staff will be in contact with you to gather all the information needed for UConn's travel pre-approval process. Once all approvals are in place, the award funds will be posted to your fee bill. Once posted to your fee bill, you will be able to request a refund from the Bursar's Office. Learn more about requesting a refund. Under limited circumstances, funds may be transferred to a ledger 2 account associated with the faculty supervisor or his/her department to cover expenses in the student's award budget for which the faculty or department intends to cover OR has already covered.


I will be driving my own vehicle as part of my travel to present my research. Is that an allowable expense?

If you will be driving, you can request that the expense be covered using the prevailing mileage rate multiplied by the round-trip mileage. See the UConn Travel Services website and select "Mileage Rates" from listing of Resources on the right-hand side of the page.


I will be presenting research I conducted at another university through an REU (or other, similar) research program. Can I apply for a Conference Presentation Award?

Yes, you may apply for a Conference Presentation Award to help defray your travel expenses. In cases like this, in which the research was conducted at an institution other than UConn, we ask that you have two faculty recommendation forms submitted on your behalf - one by your research supervisor at the other educational institution, and one by a UConn faculty member. The online application will ask whether your project work was based here at UConn or an an external institution; once you indicate that it was at an external institution and mark that form as complete, a second recommendation request form will be displayed. Use the second form to request a recommendation from a UConn faculty member.


I am planning international travel. Are there any restrictions on international locations to which I can travel?

International, university-sponsored travel by students requires additional approvals by Global Affairs and remains subject to COVID restrictions. Information on international travel and access to the travel waiver application is available here. OUR will not fund a student to travel internationally unless the student has secured all necessary travel registrations, waivers, and approvals.

Under normal circumstances, the University will not permit or support travel to any country with a U.S. Department of State Travel Warning or Travel Alert except pursuant to a Waiver approved by the Vice President for Global Affairs under the Policy for Education Abroad and Related Activities in Sites with a U.S. Department of State Travel Warning/Travel Alert.


Is my OUR Conference Presentation Award subject to taxation?

For questions related to taxation, please refer to the UConn Tax & Compliance Office's Student Taxation page and Student Tax FAQs.


I have questions about OUR Conference Presentation Awards. Is there someone I can speak with?

If you have questions about OUR Conference Presentation Awards or the application process, contact the Office of Undergraduate Research at our@uconn.edu or schedule an appointment with an OUR Advisor.