Postdoctoral Scholar Travel Fund (FAS Only)

The Yale Postdoctoral Scholar Travel Fund will provide awards of up to $1,000 to reimburse costs associated with presenting research at national and international academic conferences.  Only postdoctoral scholars in departments in the Faculty of Arts & Sciences (which includes Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry) are eligible. Postdocs from any of the professional schools, such as the School of Medicine, School of Public Health, School of the Enivronment, etc. are unforutnately ineligible for the award. 

Awards will be granted on a competitive basis, and decisions will be based on financial need and the importance of the meeting to the postdoc’s professional development.

Eligibility Requirements

  1. Postdoctoral scholars must be appointed in a FAS department.
  2. In the Biological Sciences, only postdocs in their 2nd year or beyond are eligible. In other disciplines, first-year postdocs are eligible.
  3. Applicants must have exhausted all other avenues available to secure funding for the conference, and provide a summary of these efforts.
  4. The conference must be relevant to the applicant’s current research.
  5. Applicants may apply for funds before they are accepted to the conference but must be accepted and present a paper, poster, or talk to receive funds.
  6. Previous recipients of Travel Fund awards are ineligible for new awards.

Application Process

A completed application consists of the following documents:

  1. Travel Fund Application
  2. Current curriculum vitae including a list of all conferences attended while at Yale, participation type at each (i.e., paper, poster, talk) and who funded the conference (i.e., self-funded, fellowship, faculty member/department).
  3. Letter of support from the Faculty Mentor containing the following: a) explanation of why attending conference is essential to the applicant’s research; b) statement that the mentor does not have sufficient funds to support the full cost of attending the conference including a summary of other efforts to secure such funding; c) statement of how attending this conference would enhance the applicant’s professional development.

Click here to submit applications electronically to Postdoctoral Affairs.

Applications should be submitted according to the deadlines indicated below:

  • Round 1: October 1st for conferences held between November 1st and February 28th
  • Round 2: February 1st for conferences held between March 1st and June 30th
  • Round 3: June 1st for conferences held between July 1st and October 31st 

Applicants will be notified within a month after each deadline.

Evaluation Process

Applications will be evaluated on the basis of these criteria:

  1. Letter of support from Faculty Mentor.
  2. Level of applicant’s involvement in the conference and effort to find other funding.
  3. Financial need of applicant: Financial need will be determined by reviewing budget information provided in the application. Priority will be given to applicants who do not have access to funding from their department or faculty mentor.
  4. Preference will be given to those applicants who have not attended a conference in the past 12 months.

Applications will be divided into 3 groups:

  • Group 1: Humanities & Social Sciences
  • Group 2: Physical Sciences 
  • Group 3: Biological Sciences

Reimbursement Process

Awardees should work with their departmental business office or lab administrator to make travel arrangements, book hotel accommodations, and submit registration fees. Awardees should save all original receipts and submit them to their business office or lab administrator in accordance with Yale policies.  Postdoctoral Affairs will provide the business office with an account number to pay for these expenses but will accept only those charges for which original receipts are provided.

Additional Notes:

A)     If applicant is chosen for award, proof of conference acceptance must be received (such as abstract approval, etc.) before funds will be awarded.

B)     “In the Biological Sciences, only postdocs in their 2nd year or beyond are eligible.” The Postdoctoral Scholar Fund’s intent is to help postdocs in later years, to gain exposure and facilitate their job search. Postdocs in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Physical Sciences are usually only at Yale for 1-2 years and have to begin this process right away.