The Neuroscience Institute sponsors travel awards of up to $2,500 to support trainees in Neuroscience Research Groups who need financial assistance to participate in courses, conferences, workshops, or other professional meetings.
These awards are intended to:
- Help cover travel-related expenses such as registration, airfare, ground transportation, and lodging (no meals);
- Support professional development and networking opportunities;
- Highlight and promote the outstanding research conducted by our trainees.
Calls for applications are distributed quarterly as follows*:
- Round 1 (Autumn): Applications open in August and close in September. This cycle is for conferences from August through December.
- Round 2 (Winter): Applications open in January and close in February. This cycle is for conferences between January and March.
- Round 3 (Spring): Applications open in March and close around April. This cycle is for conferences that occur between April and August.
*The exact dates will be shared via email when the opening of the round is announced. Applicants are notified of a decision 2-3 weeks after applications are received.
ELIGIBILITY:
- Applicants must be current UChicago undergraduate, graduate, or postdoctoral trainees engaged in research with a Neuroscience Institute faculty member;
- Applicants must attend courses or present their research (talk or poster) at the conference/meeting for which they are applying for support.
PLEASE NOTE
- Applicants may receive the award only once per academic year.
- No more than two students from the same lab will receive the award in any given round.
APPLICATIONS:
Applications must be submitted through the application form by September 30, 2026.
Application materials:
Bind all the documents listed below into a single PDF file to upload in the application form.
- Name, contact information, departmental affiliation, faculty mentor.
- Brief statement of purpose (no more than 500 words) describing the conference/meeting/course (including date, location, and link to event), your role, and how this opportunity will benefit your research and/or professional development.
- Title and abstract of the presentation, if applicable.
- Letter of support from your PI.
- Letter of acceptance/registration from the organizers; if not available at the time of application, it must be submitted before funds will be disbursed.
- Breakdown of estimated budget.
- Other available sources of funding.
*Please note that late or incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF SUPPORT
Awardees must acknowledge the Neuroscience Institute's support in their poster/presentation.
Click here to submit your applicatioN
REIMBURSEMENT INFORMATION
Graduate Students
In accordance with divisional reimbursement rules, BSD-awarded students must obtain pre-approval through the SmartSheet portal before incurring any expenses, including pre-purchases made through a university mechanism. Verbal or written approvals do not satisfy this requirement. Requests must be submitted at least 30 days in advance of the event, travel, or purchase. Expenses incurred without approval may not be reimbursed. Click here to learn more about the new BSD Student Pre-approval, Pre-purchasing, and Reimbursement Policy.
This requirement applies only to BSD graduate students. PSD and SSD graduate students should follow their own divisional requirements. Undergraduate students and postdoctoral scholars are not subject to this rule.
Undergraduate Students
Undergraduate students must fill out the Student Certification for Business-Related Reimbursement form and work with our administrative team to process the reimbursement.
Postdoctoral scholars
Postdoctoral scholars should work with our administrative team to process the reimbursement.
