Attending conferences is an important element of professional development, providing opportunities for networking, disseminating research and keeping abreast of developments in your field.
External funding for conference attendance is available – a sample of which is provided below.
When exploring external funding options, it is important to keep in mind that support purely for attendance is increasingly rare. Funding is typically tied to presenter status, meaning you should consider whether this is something you can offer.
Other top tips and considerations:
- Make use of professional societies and associations. Many professional bodies offer travel grants or bursaries exclusively to their members and/or to attend their own events. Joining relevant bodies can therefore increase your chances of securing funding.
- Plan ahead. Funding applications often have deadlines well in advance of the conference itself. Where membership of a specific body is required, minimum membership terms can also apply. Therefore, start your search and application process as early as possible.
- Network. Engage with the relevant academic community to learn about less-publicised funding opportunities.
- Make the most of your career stage. Many funding opportunities for conference attendance are dedicated career development opportunities (aimed, for example, at early career researchers).
- Be specific. There are precious few comprehensive funding streams that encompass all academic disciplines, meaning it is best to search for conference funding on a disciplinary basis.
Funding Opportunities
Arts, humanities, social sciences
- Association for Art History: Grants for Art History (support for delivery of research findings at conferences).
- The Association for Industrial Archaeology: Peter Neaverson Travel Bursary (a contribution to the cost of travel, accommodation and fees associated with research or study visits, conferences or training courses in Britain or overseas).
- British Commission for Military History Conference Panels and Papers Support Scheme (support for military history papers and panels presented by members at academic conferences held by non-military history societies).
- British Society for Latin American Studies: Conference Grants (support for postgraduate & postdoctoral members to attend and present at the annual SLAS conference).
- Design History Society: Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity Strategic Research Grant (can be used to assist with registration fees, travel and accommodation costs to present a paper, poster or convene a session at an academic conference).
- Design History Society: Research Exhibition Grant (can be used to assist with conference attendance).
- European Association for Jewish Studies: Small Research Grants Programme (grants to participate in an academic conference to present a scholarly paper).
- Experimental Psychology Society: Grindley Grant (to finance travel that supports the applicant’s work falling within the domain of EPS interests as defined by the content of the Society’s journal).
- Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness: International Conference Travel Awards (supports postgraduate students and early career researchers to present or co-present a paper at an appropriate international conference outside the UK).
- German History Society: Small Grants (including support for GHS conference attendance and external conference attendance).
- Royal Historical Society: Open Research Support Grants (may be used to support travel to academic conferences).
- Staff and Educational Development Association: Research and Evaluation Small Grants (may be used to pay for time release, administrative support, equipment, travel or contribute towards attendance at a SEDA conference or other event to disseminate research outcomes).
- Women in German Studies: Small Grants (including support for presenting work at conferences in the field of German Studies).
- Women’s History Association of Ireland: Anna Parnell Travel Grants (to support travel for conference presentations in the field of Irish women’s and gender history).
Engineering, maths, physical sciences, life sciences
- American Physiological Society: International Early-career Physiologist Travel Awards (to assist with travel expenses that international early career physiologists incur while attending the American Physiology Summit to present their work).
- Applied Microbiology International: Registration Fees Grants and Scientific Event Travel Grants (for a variety of needs including training, meeting support, career development and assistance in attending conferences).
- Biochemical Society: General Travel Grants (for members to participate in scientific conferences or training events).
- British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences: International Conference Grants (to assist researchers to present free communications at international sport and exercise science-related scientific conferences).
- British Cardiovascular Society Conference Travel Grants (for Nurses and Allied Health Professionals to attend the BCS annual conference).
- British Hydrological Society: Conference Grants (to help members whose travel expenses to attend scientific meetings are not met by an employer).
- British Society for Plant Pathology: Travel Fund (to assist with expenses for conferences, study tours and visits).
- British Society of Soil Science: Early Career Conference Grant (to help fund attendance at conferences applicable to research).
- Company of Biologists: Disease Models and Mechanisms (DMM) Conference Travel Grants (aimed at early-career researchers wanting to attend scientific meetings, conferences, workshops and training courses relating to the areas of research covered by the journal).
- European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology: Andre Bussing Memorial Prize (for an early career researcher to present a paper at the EAOHP conference).
- European Association for Artificial Intelligence: Conference Sponsorship (support for invited talks at international conferences).
- European Health Psychology Society: Conference Grants (to attend the EHPS conference – contingent upon having a paper or a poster accepted for the conference).
- Fisheries Society of the British Isles: Travel Grant (support for travel to conferences).
- G-Research: Grants for PhD students and postdocs in quantitative fields (for any costs associated with assisting your research, especially where there is difficulty obtaining funding elsewhere).
- Microbiology Society: Events Grant (to support eligible members attending the Society Annual Conference or one other Society meeting per year).
- Microbiology Society: External Event Grant (to support eligible members presenting work at scientific or education meetings, short courses or training events relevant to Microbiology).
- Nutrition Society: Conference Grants (can be used to cover registration fees, travel, and accommodation).
- Physiological Society: Conference Attendance Award (to attend and present at a Physiological Society and/or Society-sponsored research or teaching conference).
- Regional Studies Association: Conference Bursaries and Travel Grants (support for travel costs to attend a non-RSA event).
- Royal Society: Lisa Jardine Grant Scheme (to fund attendance of a specific, relevant event such as a conference).
- Royal Society of Biology: Travel Grants (for UK or overseas travel in connection with biological study).
- Royal Society of Chemistry: Researcher Development and Travel Grant (including support for conference participation).
- World Radiography Educational Trust: Educational Travel Scholarships (for attending conferences and making educational visits).
Medicine
- Brain: Travel Grants (to support attendance at scientific meetings that relate directly to the applicant’s research interests, and where they will be presenting their original work).
- British Neuropathological Society: Travel Bursaries (to support participation in international scientific meetings) .
- British Society for Immunology: Conference Travel Grants (support for members to facilitate their attendance at scientific conferences and seminars in the UK and around the world).
- European Sleep Research Society: Meetings and Courses Fellowship (to participate in ESRS or ESRS-endorsed meetings and courses taking place in Europe).
- European Society of Human Genetics: Conference Fellowships (a contribution to attend the ESHG annual conference).
- Genetics Society: Junior Scientist Conference Grants (to support the attendance of members at conferences on research in genetics).
- Healthcare Infection Society: Travel Grant (to support members in an early career or trainee post to present their research at a scientific conference or meeting).
- Society for Endocrinology: Travel Grant (to support members’ travel to conferences and meetings).
Multidisciplinary
- Association of Commonwealth Universities: Early Career Conference Grants (for early career researchers at member universities to attend and take part in conferences).
Finding Conference Funding
If none of the above examples suit your needs, you can search for additional funding opportunities using tools such as the following:
- Early Career Researchers Central (provides an up-to-date searchable list of travel grants specifically for early career researchers).
- Pivot-RP (a searchable database of funding opportunities with filters for relevant tags such as ‘travel’ and ‘conferences’).
You may also wish to consider external funding options for organising your own conference, for example: