Conference & Summer Grants: Guidelines & Frequently Asked Questions

The Graduate Student Council offers Conference Grants to GSAS students to facilitate attendance of conferences and symposia in their area of study. Conference Grants are intended to help cover some of the accountable expenses incurred while attending conferences.


Summer Research Grants of up to $1000 are available for students doing research during the summer vacation period. Summer Research Grants are given as a stipend and do not require receipts.


Conference Grants work on a reimbursement basis and require submission of original receipts to the GSC Treasurer. 

Any GSAS student enrolled full-time in a degree-granting program is eligible to apply for GSC Conference and Summer Research Grants. Candidates must be in good standing, and in the case of the GSC Conference Grant, conferences attended must be in the academic or intimately related field of the applicant.


Applicants must have paid the Graduate Student Council Fee.


The applicant's department must be represented by the designated department representative(s) at 50% of the GSC meetings during each semester of the academic year. In other words, for a GSAS student to qualify for a GSC Grant, that student's department must be represented at two or more GSC meetings each semester. It is the applicant's responsibility to ascertain the representation status of his/her department. A list of departmental representation will be available is available here.

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3. Can more than one student from a single department apply for a grant?

Yes. But no more than three students from a single department may receive awards for Conference and Research Grants in a single academic year.

Conference Grants cover up to $750 of accountable expenses, but no more than is requested in the original application.

Summer Research Grants are for up to $1000.

Amounts spent in excess of a Grant allocation, even if documented with original receipts, cannot be reimbursed. Amounts spent in accordance with a Grant allocation, but for which original receipts are not provided, cannot be reimbursed. 

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Transportation (by the most economical means available), lodging (excluding food), registration fees, and expenses related presenting a paper (photocopying, etc.) are all accountable. Restaurant bills, and costs related to personal advancement, such as copying and distribution of resumes, are not accountable expenses.

Any research expense which is related to a degree requirement is an allowable expense for Summer Research Grant applicants. This includes language training which is unavailable at Harvard but which is critical to the student's research. 

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No. A student may apply for a Grant in advance of the date of the conference, and receive a commitment of funding, but no funds will be disbursed until the student has provided the GSC Treasurer with original receipts for expenses incurred.

Funds for Summer Research Grants will be available at the end of the Spring semester.

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Yes. A student may apply retroactively but the application must be received by the GSC no more than six weeks after the date of the beginning of the conference. For conference held over the summer period, students who attend conference after July 1 may apply retroactively for the Fall Conference Grant round.

The GSC strongly encourages applicants to plan in advance and to try to secure funding in advance of their conferences. 

*** Note that the GSC does not accept retroactive Summer Research Grants


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For the 2009-10 academic year, the deadlines to submit Conference and Summer Research Grant Applications are:

Deadlines are all 5pm Eastern Time. For more information, see the Conference and Summer Research Grant Application Procedure page of the GSC Website.

Completed applications must be received at the GSC Office by 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on the deadline date. The GSC accepts no responsibility for lost or delayed applications or supporting material. 


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1. A GSC Conference Grant Application Form or Summer Research Grant Application Form, downloaded from the GSC Website and submitted by uploading here.

Application information includes description of participation in the conference or of the importance of the summer research project, and a detailed budget of expenses anticipated and/or incurred, including other sources of funding and support, if any.

2. For both Conference and Summer Research Grants, the GSC requires one letter of recommendation from a faculty member which refers specifically to the relevance of the conference or research project for the applicant's academic progress and career. There is no specific letter of recommendation form. PDF, Microsoft Word, and Plain Text files are accepted. Faculty can upload letters of recommendation here.

For a complete list of instructions, see the Grant Applications Procedure page

All materials will be kept confidential.


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10. Do I have to submit the application online?

Yes. Given the sheer number of applications, the selection committee needs all application files to be submitted electronically to allow for timely review. Paper submissions will not be considered. There will be office hours during the week of each grant deadline, and students are urged to plan ahead if they anticipate needing technological assistance. In case of unresolvable technological difficulties, the committee will consider attachments sent to harvardgsc@gmail.com, but students are asked not to send duplicate materials unless specifically requested.

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The GSC Conference and Research Grant Selection Committee meets approximately 15 days after the application deadline to determine the merit of each applicant.

The selection committee is co-chaired by the GSC Vice President and Secretary and its membership is generally comprised of two GSAS deans, one faculty member, and one Council member at large. The members of the committee may vary from round to round.

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Some of the guiding questions used to assess GSC grant applications are as follows:

• Has the applicant?s statement been tailored for the grant being requested?
• Tip: Less is usually more. The committee is looking for a concise and compelling argument for why this particular funding opportunity is vital to your scholarship.
• Letter of recommendation: has the letter been tailored to the grant being requested, or does it include a lot of extraneous information? Does the recommender demonstrate a clear investment in the applicant?s work?
• Tip: Always ask your recommender whether s/he can write a strong letter on your behalf. If the answer is no, find someone who can. Do your best to make sure your recommender is clear on the title and details of the grant for which you are applying.
• Budget: is the amount of the funding request reasonable?
• Has the applicant done his or her best to minimize expenses?
• What other funding will the applicant have at his or her disposal?
• Has the applicant previously received significant funding from the GSC?
• Is the funding request limited to expenses covered by the GSC?
• Tip: For research grants, two types of expenses explicitly not covered by the GSC are human subject compensation (e.g., for psychology experiments or ethnographic data collection) and laboratory equipment (e.g., consumables like test tubes).
• For conference grants - is the applicant presenting a paper?
• Tip: With extremely rare exceptions, attending a specialized conference to get feedback on new ideas will trump going to a conference for job networking purposes, etc.
• For summer research grants ? will the applicant make the most of the stipend/opportunity?
• Tip: These grants are intended to support active research that is clearly integral to the applicant?s dissertation work. They are not intended to be used as finishing/writing funding.