Student Travel Awards for McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics

In keeping with our mission to contribute to the long-term professional development of the student, McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics at UTHealth Houston will award travel awards as funding allows to help defray the costs of attending and presenting at conferences for both M.S. and Doctoral students at our school.

It is the belief of McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics that presenting research at academic conferences enhances the academic experience and assists the student with invaluable networking opportunities essential to future success. These competitive awards will be made available to students who have been invited to present research at a national or international conference, meeting or class related to their academic area or dissertation research.

These awards are not intended to cover the entire cost of transportation, hotel, etc. Students may apply for travel assistance only once per semester. Up to $500 in travel assistance will be awarded to students based on merit.

Applications are continuously accepted but will be reviewed by the committee after the 1st of every month.

There are no absolute requirements as to the type of presentation, but certain types of applications are more likely to be funded than others. The goal of the travel award is to encourage top-quality research. With that in mind, attributes that make an application more likely for a successful travel award are:

1. Author status (first author >> co-author)
2. Prestige/competitiveness of the conference (subjective, but can be objectively argued, e.g., acceptance rate, ranking in field)
3. Publication/presentation status (published papers > abstract presentations > poster presentations)
4. Student status (Doctoral > Masters)
5. Faculty funding: students in groups with sizable grant funding are expected to use those funds for travel

All awards are dependent upon availability funds. The faculty sponsor's letter should address any of the above points where clarity is needed (e.g., why a conference is prestigious, why grant funds cannot cover travel).

Certificate students are NOT eligible for travel awards.

The application can be found here:
https://uthtmc.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7QFBToODLl2Z4Ud

You will need to upload the following items to complete this application:

1. A copy of your CV or McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics Biosketch with complete publications


2. A signed letter from your McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics faculty advisor signifying approval to attend the conference. This letter should list all sources of funding to be utilized for this trip and address your suitability to present your research at the conference in question.


3. A copy of your submission that was accepted for presentation


4. A copy of the letter or email showing acceptance of your submission