Reed College
Reed College

Biology Department

Presenting at Conferences

Note: The department currently do not have funding for travel supplements. We hope to receive more resources to offer this resource to students again in the near future. In the meantime students who would like funding to travel to conferenes should apply for a Reed College Opportunity Grant.

Ten Simple Rules for Attending your First Conference

If you are thinking about attending a conference, this paper written by Anna Ritz will help you to prepare and to get the most of of the experience.

Reed College Opportunity Grants

The most common use of this grant is to present research at a conference. Support can be given up to $1,500 for flights, lodging etc, and students can request a per diem to cover food and ground transportation. (Expert tip: be sure to budget carefully. You will not be awarded additional funds if your trip ends up being more expensive than originally budgeted.)

Opportunity Grant Application Guidelines

There are 5 application deadlines each year. See this year’s deadlines and learn how to apply here.

BUSTA Awards- Not Available Currently

Funds are available to provide travel supplements to Reed Biology students wishing to present their research at a scientific conference.  To be considered, students should submit an application, which should be prepared in consultation with your faculty advisor.

BUSTA Application Guidelines:

  1. Coversheet and Checklist (complete this page)
  2. Travel Application:
    • A brief (~1/2 page) description of the meeting to be attended. Explain why this is a particularly suitable meeting at which to present your research at this time. Identify and describe workshops and/or social events organized by the conference planners (refer to the meeting program) that you plan to attend, especially those geared toward undergraduates.
    • Your conference abstract with title. (Priority will be given to students who are presenting work at the meeting, but all applications with a strong justification for attendance will be considered.)
  3. Proof of submission of a Reed College Opportunity Grant application (if requesting more than $300).
  4. After receiving the award decision letter for the Reed College Opportunity Grant, please forward it to gonyerk@reed.edu. (May be submitted after the rest of the application.)

Submit your application as soon as you decide to attend a meeting. Applications are accepted and awarded on a rolling basis, but consider the following suggested deadlines:

  • BUSTAs will generally be considered after Opportunity Grants have been awarded, approx. 2 weeks after each deadline. Therefore, we recommend the following submission timeline.

Typical awards will include $500 to offset the cost of travel, registration and/or lodging. Co-submission of a Reed College Opportunity Grant is required.

All BUSTA recipients are required to complete both pre- and post-travel survey upon receiving the first award. Repeat recipients do not need to complete these surveys. Failure to complete both surveys may compromise future applications for BUSTA support.