Postdoctoral Scholar Conference & Travel Support

To support career development, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs provides funds to Postdoctoral Scholars to help offset the costs associated with attending a professional or scholarly conference. The funding may be used for travel, lodging, and related expenses.  Up to $500 may be awarded to offset conference expenses.  Please note that preference is given to 1) postdocs who are presenting their research and 2) to applicants without a dedicated research or travel award/account and/or without access otherwise to sufficient funds.

Additional Information

  • Applicants should be presenting a paper/poster at a scholarly or professional conference.
  • Travel grant funds may be used for expenses related to a caregiver for the purpose of providing care for a child.
  • Postdocs who are attending conferences virtually are still eligible to apply for support for the cost of registration.

Eligibility: This Postdoctoral Scholar funding opportunity is only open to current postdocs in the following job titles: Postdoctoral Scholar – Research Associate, Postdoctoral Scholar – Teaching Fellow, Postdoctoral Scholar – Fellowship Trainee, Postdoctoral Scholar – Visiting Fellow.  All postdocs are eligible to apply.

Instructions on how to apply

Please use the following link to access the application portal.  If you have not done so already, you will need to register an account with USC SMA.  You will be able to upload the necessary documentation within the online submission portal.  Incomplete applications or applications with missing documentation cannot be considered.  Applications will be accepted year-round on a rolling basis.

Review 

Application are reviewed on rolling basis.  You can login to your application portal to check your status.

Types of Eligible expenses covered by this support opportunity:

  • Conference registration costs
  • Postdoc member dues (with evidence of attending the conference)
  • Costs associated with providing care to a child
  • Travel related expenses including:
    • airfare hotel/lodging with proof of expense paid by the postdoc
    • ground transportation fares/costs
  • Poster preparation expenses