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• How to Apply

  Students can complete the Undergraduate Research Travel Fellowship application online. In addition to supplying details about their presentation and travel plans, applicants are also required to provide:

  • The project abstract submitted to the conference
  • An acceptance letter from the conference confirming you have been selected to present
  • Estimated travel expense amounts and documentation supporting the estimated amounts provided
    • When providing travel estimates, students should use economical prices for airfare and ground transportation and consult the state-approved per diem rate for lodging and meals
  • A letter of recommendation sent directly from their UH faculty mentor

  Applications must be received at least 30 days before travel. Applications received less than 30 days before travel will not be reviewed.

• Applicant Eligibility

  To be eligible for an Undergraduate Research Travel Fellowship, the applicant must:

  • Be an undergraduate student enrolled at the University of Houston main campus
  • Have been accepted to present their research or creative work at a regional, national, or international academic conference
  • Either be the sole presenter or, in the case of collaborative projects, deliver a significant portion of the presentation
  • Have not previously received an Undergraduate Research Travel Fellowship in the same academic year

  Individual applicants may apply for up to $750 based on estimated travel costs. The maximum award an applicant is eligible to receive may be reduced in the following cases:

  • Multiple applicants from the same group presentation
  • Multiple individual applicants attending the same conference

• Qualifying Venues

  To be eligible for funding, applicants must be presenting their research or creative work at a regularly occurring regional, national, or international academic conference.

  Ad hoc or special interest group meetings are not considered qualifying venues and will not be considered for travel funding.

• Decision Process

  A selection committee appointed by the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Research reviews applications on a rolling basis during the academic year. Only completed applications with a letter of recommendation on file will be reviewed. Applications are reviewed based on eligibility criteria and available funding.

• Funding Disbursement

  Undergraduate Research Travel Fellowships are processed as a scholarship refund to the recipient's UH account. Applicants should set up or update their refund preferences as needed to receive their travel funds.

  If a travel fellowship is disbursed and the recipient has an outstanding balance on their UH account, the fellowship will be automatically applied to the outstanding balance first. This may result in a smaller refund or no refund at all. To receive the full amount of your fellowship, recipients must not have an outstanding balance on their UH account.

  Please keep in mind that the disbursement process can take some time. Occasionally, funds might not be disbursed until after the recipient's travel, and the recipient may be responsible for covering fees upfront while waiting for reimbursement. To ensure funds can be disbursed as soon as possible, applicants are highly encouraged to submit their application well in advance of the 30-day deadline.

• Recipient Expectations

  Students who receive an Undergraduate Research Travel Fellowship are required to submit one of the following after completing their travel:

  • One or more photos and a short summary of their experience to be posted on the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Award's social media accounts
  • A two-page, double-spaced reflective report detailing their experience and what they gained from presenting their research

  Once an application has been approved, the recipient is only allowed to use the provided funds for the presentation and conference specified in their application. If the recipient wishes to use funding for a different presentation or conference, they must submit a new application. Additionally, the recipient cannot transfer their fellowship to a different student/presenter.

  If the recipient is no longer able to present or does not attend the conference, they must return any disbursed funding to the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards immediately.