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Travel Scholarships for Graduate Students

Professional Presentation Travel Scholarship

Administered by the
Graduate School

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John D. Bies International Travel Scholarships for Doctoral Candidates

Provides Funding Support to
Doctoral Students Traveling Internationally

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Dissertation Research
Travel Scholarship

Administered by the
Graduate School

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Other Travel Scholarships

Note: Most graduate degree programs, and Graduate Professional Council offer competitive-based travel awards.

GPC Presentation Travel and Professional Development Awards Info

Professional Presentations Travel Scholarships

The Graduate School’s Professional Presentation Travel Scholarship is offered to students to help defray transportation expenses* associated with travel to professional conferences.

Students may apply for funding up to $500 to provide financial assistance for their presentation travel. A graduate student may receive only one travel scholarship for either the Dissertation Research Travel or Professional Presentation Travel during their time at MU.

Students must be enrolled in order to apply, and travel must be completed while they are graduate students at MU. All university-related travel that is supported fully or in part by a Graduate School travel scholarship must be registered in advance of the travel (domestic and international).

Application Due DateAwards are Announced
2nd Monday in SeptemberEarly October
2nd Monday in MarchEarly April

Awardees will be reimbursed once the Graduate School receives documentation and receipts after the conference.

All application materials must be submitted via the MU Graduate School InfoReady Platform.

Dissertation Research Travel Scholarships

University of Missouri doctoral students who have successfully completed doctoral comprehensive examinations are eligible for Dissertation Research Travel Scholarships to support their dissertation research.

Students from any graduate program are eligible to apply for the Dissertation Research Travel Scholarship.

Students may apply for funding up to $500 to provide financial assistance for travel associated with their dissertation research. A graduate student may receive only one travel scholarship for either the Dissertation Research Travel or Professional Presentation Travel during their time at MU.

Students must be enrolled in order to apply and travel must be completed while they are graduate students at MU. All university-related travel that is supported fully or in part by a Graduate School travel scholarship must be registered in advance of the travel. Please consult your department or program about the process they will follow for supervisor approval.

Application Due DateAwards are Announced
2nd Monday in SeptemberEarly October
2nd Monday in MarchEarly April

Awardees will be reimbursed once the Graduate School receives documentation and receipts after the conference has been completed.

All application materials must be submitted via the MU Graduate School InfoReady Platform.

John D. Bies International Travel Scholarships

University of Missouri doctoral candidates are eligible for the John D. Bies International Travel Award.

The John D. Bies International Travel Scholarship endowment was established by Dr. John Bies, who earned a doctorate from Mizzou in 1972. Bies believes students who travel frequently and have an opportunity to interact with diverse people are better equipped to become members of a global society. Although Bies attended Buffalo State College in New York for his undergraduate and master’s degrees, he chose to establish the travel endowment at the University of Missouri because of the impact he says Mizzou had on his life. During his time here, he says, he was instilled with a work ethic and strong values.

The John D. Bies International Travel award provides opportunities to PhD students to build knowledge of culture and language from regions of the world students would otherwise not have the opportunity to experience. Thus, a goal of the Bies award is to facilitate international travel outside a student’s country of origin. This award can be used to defray expenses associated with travel to international professional meetings or training programs, to libraries, archives or manuscript repositories, art museums, archaeological or geological sites, or special interviews. It can also fund travel expenses related to international internships with governments, non-governmental organizations, businesses, or institutions of higher education. Awards of up to $4,000 will be granted.

Current University of Missouri (MU) PhD students in good standing are eligible for the John D. Bies International Travel Award. A student may receive only one Bies International Travel Award during their time at MU. Funds are limited, and individual proposals will be evaluated for their potential to contribute to scholarship and the future development of the student’s graduate program and career opportunities.

All university-related travel that is supported fully or in part by a Graduate School travel scholarship must be registered in advance of the travel.

Application Due DateAwards Announced
2nd Monday in SeptemberEarly October
2nd Monday in MarchEarly April

Awards are dispensed as reimbursements after winners have submitted required documents and receipts to the Graduate School.

All application materials must be submitted via the MU Graduate School InfoReady Platform.

Required Registration in the Student Travel Registry

If you will be traveling abroad using any Graduate School funding (no matter the amount), at least one month prior to your departure, in accordance with the University of Missouri Collected Rules and Regulations, you must register in the Student International Travel Registry and complete all pre-departure requirements. All domestic travel that receives any University funding (including Graduate School Travel Awards) must also be registered in the Travel Registry.

The Student International Travel Registry requires you to provide your itinerary and contact and emergency contact information, enroll in the University-contracted GeoBlue sickness and accident insurance (which includes medical evacuation coverage), and the UHC-Global insurance for non-medical evacuation in case of a political emergency or natural disaster. It also requires you to successfully complete the mandatory pre-departure orientation, which includes important health and safety information, and sign the University of Missouri Assumption of Risk and Release form.

Once you have successfully completed these tasks, the Office of Student International Health, Safety, and Security will provide the Graduate School with confirmation of your completed registration. If you are awarded a Bies International Travel Scholarship, you will receive a reimbursement for any costs incurred as part of the registration process that exceeds the initial award amount.

Please contact Barbara Lindeman, Director of Student International Health, Safety and Security prior to registering if you have any questions.