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Requesting Travel and Research Funds

Travel funding

Language Science Fellows are encouraged to attend and present at relevant academic conferences and conduct off-campus research activities. Fellows and Apprentices are eligible to request funding to cover travel, lodging, conference registration, and other related expenses at any time before they graduate. Approval of funding requests depends on the availability of funds and whether the proposed activities align with the goals of the LSF program and the student's training plan. Availability of funds does not guarantee support unless the other criteria in this policy are met.

Funding criteria

  • Participation at the conference/research activity must serve to enhance the student’s interdisciplinary professional and academic development. Priority for support will be given to presentations at competitive and prestigious meetings, and to participation in meetings outside a student's home area.
  • The work presented or the research conducted should be new. The LSC will not support presentation of the same material in different venues (even if one presentation was funded by other sources), except in special circumstances, which must be justified. Examples include presenting interdisciplinary work to audiences from different fields (e.g., linguists vs. computer scientists), or when the presentation is clearly critical to a graduating student's job search.
  • In cases of presentations with multiple student authors, additional justification should be given when requesting travel support for multiple authors.
  • Students should make an effort to secure funding from a variety of sources over the course of their graduate training: the LSC cannot necessarily cover all of a student's travel needs. In addition to support from faculty grants, students may be eligible to apply for support from ARHU or the Graduate School

Requesting travel funds

If LSC funding will be essential for your travel, it would be a good idea to contact us before you even apply to the conference, especially for cases of international travel or other unusual expense. Once you have informal approval and are ready to make your travel plans (at least one month before travel), submit your request through the Language Science Student Portal. (If you don't yet have an account for the portal, email shevaun@umd.edu.)

Research funding

Language Science Fellows and Apprentices are eligible to request funding to cover small purchases of equipment or supplies for research, as well as cash for subject payments. Approval of funding requests depends on the availability of funds and whether the proposed research aligns with the goals of the LSF program and the student's training plan. Availability of funds does not guarantee support unless the other criteria in this policy are met.

Funding criteria

The research project must serve to enhance the student’s interdisciplinary professional and academic development. Priority for support will be given to projects completed during lab rotations outside the student's home department, or involving student collaborators from multiple departments. 

Requesting research funds

Please consult with LSC staff as early as possible in your planning process so that we can ensure that funds will be available. Then submit your request through the Language Science Student Portal. (If you don't yet have an account for the portal, email shevaun@umd.edu.)