The College of Sciences (CoS) and Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) Travel Support Funding program is generously funded by COS and managed by OUR. With an annual budget of $6,000, the program provides undergraduate students with 3-5 awards in the spring and 3-5 awards in the fall. Travel-based monetary awards may be up to $1,000 for research-related conference/events travels where the applicant will give a presentation (poster or talk).
Currently enrolled UNLV undergraduate students with a declared major who are working with a full-time NSHE faculty research mentor associated with the UNLV CoS are eligible for consideration.
We encourage the members of underrepresented groups (e.g., Alaska Natives, Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanics, Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, International Students, LGBTQIA+ students, Persons with Disabilities, Students from Low-income Families, Students who are First-generation College-going, and Non-traditional Students) to apply.
Students are required to submit the following as part of their application package:
- One-page personal statement detailing the applicant’s research, justification for travel, and any other relevant information. For instructions, please peruse OUR’s one-page personal statement sample.
- Curriculum Vitae (CV). For instructions, please view the following samples:
- Acceptance and/or invitation letter/email
- Itemized budget. For instructions, please peruse OUR's travel funding application guide and sample.
- Institutional Review Board (IRB) / Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) (if applicable)
- UNLV faculty research mentors are required to submit a letter of support to our@unlv.edu.
Applications are reviewed on a monthly basis by the Committee, and applicants can expect to receive a funding decision within 4 to 6 weeks after their application is submitted. Project funding expires 12 months from the date of the award letter. Reimbursement requests must be submitted within this time frame or the award amount will be forfeited.
Applications must be submitted at least one month prior to scheduled travel.
For the Spring semester, we will accept applications up until May 31. For the Summer and Fall semesters, we will accept applications throughout the summer up until December 1.
Awardees are expected to meet the requirements listed below:
- Present at one of OUR’s triannual research symposia and/or submit a manuscript for publication in Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal
- Acknowledge OUR’s funding support in any subsequent presentation and/or performance
Frequently Asked Questions
At the end of each month, the CoS and OUR Travel Support Funding review committee evaluates all applications for completeness, research relevance, frugality, and other criteria. If the committee decides to fund the research travel, the student will receive an award letter. Awardees are typically notified within one month of the application submission. Once the student completes the research travel, they must submit all related expense receipts and credit card statements for the requested items. Once received, OUR will award the travel funds in the form of reimbursement through UNLV’s Financial Aid office.
CoS and OUR Travel Support Funding is applicable to any research-related travel, including presentation or performances at professional conferences or events, field work, data collection, and/or professional training.
Unfortunately, the CoS and OUR Travel Support Funding can only reimburse prospective travel.