URS Conference Awards

URS Conference Awards are OPEN

Fall 2026 Applications remain open for as long as we have the funding. When we hit our allocated budget for applications, we will close the portal. 

Apply

Offset Your Conference Presentation Costs!

Enrolled Duke students are eligible to apply for a URS Conference Award. This funding is an award of up to $800 for Trinity students to use towards registration, travel, or other expenses to present Duke faculty-mentored research they have conducted at Duke for one conference per academic year. This award provides financial support for conferences, contingent on university requirements and restrictions regarding approved travel destinations.  Further, this award is not eligible to be used to present research that you have conducted under the mentorship of faculty at another academic institution.  

Please note: Due to a higher demand for conference funding than we currently have money for, we are only accepting applicants who are presenting research, in alignment with our office’s mission to support undergraduate research initiatives. We encourage you to discuss with your mentor and/or your department to explore other potential funding options that may be available to support your conference attendance if you are not presenting research. Thank you for understanding.

Eligibility

• You must be an enrolled undergraduate student at Duke. For summer awards, you must also be enrolled for the upcoming fall semester.
• You must be a Trinity College student.
• You must be presenting research at the conference. We are not able to fund attendance-only participation at this time.
• Applying before your abstract is accepted is allowed and encouraged! If submitted early enough, your application may be tentatively earmarked for funding pending abstract acceptance. We will notify you if funds have been earmarked. Before an official award letter can be issued, however, you must notify URS that your abstract has been accepted, as we can only fund confirmed conference participation.

Eligibility Limitations

• You may receive only one conference funding award per academic year.
• You must apply before the conference takes place. We cannot provide funding for retroactive travel.
• We prioritize faculty-mentored research presentations at academic conferences. Due to limited funding and guidance from leadership, student competitions are not currently eligible for support.
• Please note that competitions, summits, or other networking conferences that are NOT research conferences are not eligible for funding through this award.  You also must be presenting your research project: there needs to be a research question, data gathering, data analysis, results, and future directions that are part of your presentation.  

Award Cycles and Eligible Conference Dates

Award Logistics

URS reserves funding for conference awards for each semester.  Applications will open by the first day of the academic term and applications will close once our funding is depleted.  Students should apply for conference award funding prior to the conference, even if they have not received official notification that their abstract has been accepted.  You can apply for a conference award for a conference happening during the current academic school year, even if you have submitted an abstract, but don't yet know if it will be accepted.  This conference funding can be earmarked for you until your abstract is officially accepted, and then we can provide an official award letter.  

URS can pay directly for awardees’ conference registration or travel. Awardees will work with the URS Program Coordinator to register for the conference or arrange payment for travel. To accommodate this process, it is best if students applying for this award submit their application at least two weeks prior to regular registration deadlines and at least six weeks prior to the conference dates for travel if able to. For students preferring to pay for conference costs and be reimbursed up to $800, that will remain an option for the award.  

Note about reimbursements: If you are considered a non-resident of the U.S. for tax purposes,  you may be required to pay taxes on the money that is reimbursed to you.  Please understand that URS can not cover this tax burden.  Therefore, we encourage you to utilize our direct payment option for conference registration or travel, instead of reimbursement. 

If your total expenses to attend the conference will surpass $800, please list your other sources of funding on the application to demonstrate how you have thought through your expenses and considered the resources you have available.   

Application Processing

URS expects that conference presentation preparation is being mentored and in consultation with Duke faculty/staff mentor/s. Take note that your application submission will prompt an email to your Duke faculty mentor(s) asking them to answer some questions, which they will need to complete and submit on your behalf. 

Once your application is complete (your application and your mentor support submitted), the URS office will review your application and let you know about your funding decision within two weeks of submission.   

If you are awarded a URS Conference award, an award letter will be provided with further instructions for working with the URS Program Coordinator to register for the conference or book travel or arrange reimbursement.  Please note that you will be required to submit a reflection about your conference within two weeks of the date of the conference.  Finally, if URS pays for registration fees or travel for you to attend the conference, you must attend the conference. Failure to adhere to any of this agreement will mean that you are not be eligible for any future funding from URS, including conference award, independent study award, assistantship award, or the T-SUMR fellowship.

Conference Presentation Resources

• Voice Lab from the Academic Resource Center: The VOICE Lab is the ARC’s new service to help build confidence and skill in communication. Whether you’re preparing a class presentation, a research talk, or just want to get better at public speaking, we’re here to help.
• Center for Data and Visualization Sciences from Duke Libraries
• Duke Subject Librarians
• PhD Posters

Updated: 8/24/26