Virginia Tech Postdoctoral Associate Travel Award program

The Postdoctoral Travel Award program helps Virginia Tech postdoctoral associates increase their impact and professional development by presenting their scholarly work at high-impact conferences. The award provides funds to offset the cost of travel and registration for a conference or scientific meeting where they are presenting.   

Program Details

• Proposals with substantial faculty supervisor or department cost share will be given priority. 
• Awards are capped at $500 for domestic travel.
• Applications are reviewed on a quarterly basis and decisions are made within six weeks of application due-dates.
• Postdocs may receive more than one award each year, up to a total award amount of $1,000 per individual per fiscal year.
• Postdocs receiving a travel award must submit a one-page summary of the experience, the value obtained from attending, and two to three photos from the conference (i.e., the postdoc presenting, engaging with attendees/colleagues/mentors, etc.) within 30 days of the event.

Applications should include:

• Short description of the research and how the conference supports the postdoc's career goals, including an outline of how the postdoc plans to engage in specific professional development events and networking opportunities at the conference
• Faculty supervisor recommendation letter indicating how attending the conference will benefit the postdoc's career and professional development
• Itemized budget with sources and uses of funds
• Updated CV
• Evidence of presentation/talk acceptance:
  • Invitation
  • Paper/poster/talk acceptance form
  • Or other correspondence from the conference

2025 Due Dates

• Jan. 27
  
• Apr. 28
• July 28
  
• Oct. 27
  

Interested applicants may want to download a word document of the Travel Award Application to craft responses and gather the necessary details prior to applying. 

All applications must be submitted via the application portal at the link below.