Please note that the process for requesting conference travel funding is being updated as of October 1, 2025:

The Division of Biology & Medicine (BioMed) is committed to fostering PhD student academic and professional growth.    As such, pre-doctoral students who have been invited to present their work at academic conferences can apply for up to $750 per year to cover related travel expenses from BioMed.  You may also apply for the $750 funding to attend workshops IF the training you will receive aligns with your dissertation research and comparable training is not available at Brown.  This funding is not available through your graduate program.    Additional funding outside of BioMed may be available through the Graduate Student Council (GSC) Fund and/or the Graduate School’s International Travel Fund; to which you are encouraged to apply. 

All students must apply for funding in advance of their travel.   Our approval process will occur quarterly::

·        Nov 1, 2025  (will be October 1 in 2026)

·        January 1, 2026

·        April 1, 2026

·        July 1, 2026

Applications must be submitted in advance by the deadlines above.  All applications will be reviewed by the Office of Biology Doctoral Education (OBDE) and submitted for Senior Officer Approval (SOA). We anticipate that students will be notified with a decision within a month of the application deadlines:  (Ex: Application deadline Nov 1; decision by Nov 30.) 

Applications from PhD students should be submitted via our Google form (sign in with your Brown e-mail).  When applying, you should be prepared to provide:

• Invitation to present your work
• Conference Information (web site, location, dates)
• Confirmation of Funding approval (along with associated worktags/acct #’s) from other offices such as the International Travel fund, GSC, Faculty resources, etc.
• An estimate of all travel expenses associated with your trip.
• If this is a request to attend unique training or a workshop, you must submit a statement regarding the importance for your research as well as an explanation that comparable training is not available at Brown.
• Funding for virtual participation is available (registration costs) and encouraged if this is an option for participation and presentation of your work.

See application for all necessary documentation required

Purchases made prior to conference travel approval will be the responsibility of the purchaser.  Reimbursement of allowable expenses will not be processed without the approval from OBDE. 

For those who are traveling internationally: advance registration in Brown’s TravelSafe system will be required in order for Brown funds to be paid or reimbursed for Brown-related international travel. 

Thank you for your attention to this.  We know that presenting your work at conferences can be an important part of training so we encourage you to look for these opportunities and plan as far ahead as possible.  During these challenging times, we will make every effort to support conference travel that qualifies but the fund is limited so early application will allow you to plan appropriately.

Please note that Masters students should contact their Graduate Programs and the School of Professional Studies about conference travel funding.  

View TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT GUIDELINES

Please remember that you must submit expense report information within 60 days of return from travel!

Please note:  If some portion of your travel is being charged to a grant, AirBnB (and other similar organizations) may not be a reimbursable expense.   Airbnb is considered nonconventional lodging and is only reimbursable when there are no conventional lodging facilities in the area (e.g., in remote areas) or when conventional facilities are in short supply because of an influx of attendees at a special event (e.g., World’s Fair or international sporting event). Such lodging includes college dormitories or similar facilities or rooms not offered commercially but made available to the public by area residents in their homes.   

Brown does not encourage the use of AirBnB but it may be an allowable expense on institutional funding. Please check with your program admin before booking lodging through AirBnB.

International Conference Travel

Doctoral students in years 1-5 of their studies who are presenting their research at international conferences are eligible to apply for the international travel fund award. This fund is administered by the Graduate School. The BioMed Conference Travel Award may be combined with the International Conference Travel funding for students presenting at international conferences. 

Occasionally, The Office of Graduate Studies will provide funding for graduate students to attend conferences for the purpose of recruiting Graduate Students on Brown's behalf.   Students interested in attending these conferences are encouraged to apply for available travel funding from the conferences.   Please email at us at OGS@Brown.edu for additional information.