Application Cycles* 
Applications must be submitted during the semester/term in which the expense is incurred. 

Fall Grants

• Submission Deadline: October 15 

• Period covered: August 15 - Dec 31 

Spring Grants 

• Submission Deadline: March 25 (April 1st for Research student travel grants)

• Period covered: January 1 - May 15

Summer Grants** 

• Submission Deadline: June 15 

• Period covered: May 15 - August 14
  
  * expenses for graduating students must be incurred and submitted at least 2 weeks (14 days) prior to the official end of term
  ** additional eligibility criteria and restrictions apply. Please review all instructions and program details carefully.

GAPSA - PROVOST FELLOWSHIP FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY INNOVATION

PURPOSE

The GAPSA-Provost Fellowship for Interdisciplinary Innovation is a program jointly funded by GAPSA and the Office of the Provost for the expressed purpose of fostering an interdisciplinary graduate and professional environment at the University of Pennsylvania. This highly competitive fellowship strives to promote original, student-derived initiatives that integrate knowledge across diverse academic disciplines. The fellowship is also meant to help the project-leader(s) develop, pursue and complete their proposed interdisciplinary initiatives.

FUNDING

$6,000.00 fellowship per project

The GAPSA-Provost fellowship is being reworked and information will be posted about this shortly. Stay tuned.

The guidelines for this fellowship are available here. Please contact gapsa.provost@gapsa.upenn.edu for all questions regarding this fellowship.

PRESIDENT GUTMANN LEADERSHIP AWARD

PURPOSE

The Office of the President has generously provided additional funding to GAPSA to augment GAPSA’s funding for graduate and professional student travel. The award will be given to students presenting their research at either a conference (either within the United States or internationally) that would normally be out of their budget even with an individual travel grant through GAPSA.

FUNDING

The maximum award is 70% of the total budget or $2000, whichever is less.

For the Fall 2023 round of PGLA Funding, travel dates are from September 1 - December 31, 2023. The full policies are available here. Please note that recommendations are required within one week of the application closing. In order for an application to be considered complete, you must indicate a faculty member to complete a brief recommendation form. It will be sent to your recommender automatically when your application is submitted. Please note that recommendation forms are sent out only after grant applications are submitted, so be sure to inform your recommender prior to submitting your application.

Please contact gapsa.evp@gapsa.upenn.edu for all questions regarding this fellowship.

PROFESSIONAL STUDENT INDIVIDUAL GRANT

If you are in a professional or non-research masters degree program (including DMD, EdD, JD, MD, MSE, and other MS programs with other letters), you are considered a professional student. If you are in a PhD program or a research master program (AM or MS), you are considered a research student. Students in the MD/PhD or the VMD/PhD programs should for professional student individual grants during their MD or VMD years, and research student individual grants during their PhD years. Please refer to flowchart or email gapsa.funds@gapsa.upenn.edu if you are unsure about your status.

Please note that you are only eligible to receive one GAPSA administered individual grants per academic semester, for a total of two such grants per academic year.

PURPOSE

Professional Student Individual Grants aim to defray the cost of qualified travel expenses for professional students attending and/or presenting at academic conferences, meetings, case competitions, externships and internships. Students pursuing professional development outside of the university and traveling for residency interviews may also apply.

FUNDING

Funding caps are the lesser of 75% of your request or*:
- $400 if you are attending, but not presenting at a conference
- $1000 if you are presenting at a conference or requesting interview/internship funding

All funding is granted retroactively, that is, you will have to incur the expenses first and then you will receive reimbursement on submission of the itemized receipts. Applications are not reviewed until after the grant window closes and exceptions cannot be made.

Sending a recommender application is not necessary, but it will help your application. You would indicate a faculty member to speak on your behalf and they must complete the form that is sent to them. You must inform your recommender prior to submitting your application, that they will receive a form to be completed within two weeks from when you submit your application.

Please contact gapsa.funds@gapsa.upenn.edu and gapsa.professional@gapsa.upenn.edu for all questions regarding this fellowship.

RESEARCH STUDENT TRAVEL GRANT

If you are in a PhD program or a research master program (AM or MS), you are considered a research student. If you are in a professional or non-research masters degree program (including DMD, EdD, JD, MD, MSE, and other MS programs with other letters), you are considered a professional student. Students in the MD/PhD or the VMD/PhD programs should for professional student individual grants during their MD or VMD years, and research student individual grants during their PhD years. Please refer to flowchart or email gapsa.funds@gapsa.upenn.edu if you are unsure about your status.

Please note that you are only eligible to receive one GAPSA administered individual grants per academic semester, for a total of two such grants per academic year.

PURPOSE

The Research Travel Grant aims to help defray the cost of qualified travel expenses for research students presenting their work at academic conferences, workshops and meetings.

The Research Travel Grants are to serve as a terminal funding source to support research students traveling to their conferences.

Applicants are expected to have considered all other possible funding options before pursuing funding through a GAPSA travel grant.

FUNDING

For students only attending a conference, the grant is capped at 50% of the total cost or $500, whichever is less. For students presenting at conferences, the cap is $800.

All funding is granted retroactively, that is, you will have to incur the expenses first and then you will receive reimbursement on submission of the itemized receipts. Applications are not reviewed until after the grant window closes and exceptions cannot be made. Research Council has also released a memorandum (last updated: July 2022) on how the grant is awarded.

We highly encourage applicants to read both documents before applying.

In order for an application to be considered complete, you must indicate a faculty member to complete a brief recommendation form. It will be sent to your recommender automatically when your application is submitted. Please note that recommendation forms are sent out only after grant applications are submitted. Be sure to inform your recommender prior to submitting your application. We ask that recommendations be submitted within five days of the submission of the travel grant application. It is your responsibility to ensure that the form is submitted on your behalf. Check with your recommender to make sure they submit the form on time.

Please contact gapsa.research@gapsa.upenn.edu for all questions regarding this fellowship.

INDIVIDUAL GRANTS BEYOND GAPSA

The University, and other bodies offer a number of individual grants to graduate students. This ever-growing list is maintained by the Grad Center on their website. In particular, please check out the Emergency Grant for graduate and professional students.

For research grants offered by SASGov, GSESG and the Fontaine Society, please visit this link.