How to Search for Graduate School Funding: Travel & Study Abroad

Helping current and admitted UW graduate students learn the skills and tools to find funding

Using Databases to Find Travel Funding

Helpful for travel funding, including international research, conference travel, language study, or study abroad programs. COVID-19 has impacted some of these opportunities.

Funding search tools like UCLA and Grant Forward can also help find travel funding opportunities.

UCLA Graduate and Postdoctoral Extramural Support (GRAPES) Database
A publicly available database that includes travel funding and conference travel support.

Conference Travel Funding

Conferences often have travel funding for presenters and discounts or scholarships for attendees
Volunteering at a conference may waive or reduce registration fees

Some travel, workshop, and conference funding is also listed in funding databases.

Some travel funds support remote conference attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Graduate & Professional Student Senate Travel Grants (GPSS)
Awarded throughout the year, including summer quarter
Graduate Student Conference Travel Awards
For presenters and speakers

Language Study

Blakemore Freeman Fellowship
Grants that fund an academic year of advanced language study abroad of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and selected Southeast Asian languages. An applicant must have (at minimum) a bachelor's degree and have completed at least three years of study of the language at the college level by the start of the grant.
Boren Fellowship
The Boren Fellowship, an initiative of the National Security Education Program, provide unique funding opportunities for U.S. graduate students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests, and underrepresented in study abroad. The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are excluded.
Critical Language Scholarship
Fully-funded overseas language and cultural immersion program for American undergraduate and graduate students in specified languages.
Foreign Language & Areas Studies (FLAS) Fellowship
Fellowships for advanced training in specified languages. For graduate and professional students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Academic year awards are for language and area studies. Additionally, summer fellowships are offered.

Research and Study Abroad

UW Study Abroad Office
Curated lists of funding opportunities based on academic level and location, as well as other online resources.
Diversity Abroad's Scholarships & Grants
Diversity Abroad has partnered with several organizations to offer study abroad scholarships and grants. See the website for a current list of scholarships.
Fulbright Programs
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the largest U.S. exchange program offering opportunities for students and young professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and primary and secondary school teaching worldwide.
Studyabroad.com
A search tool for finding additional study abroad scholarships.
Timmissartok Foundation
The Timmissartok Foundation assists individuals with adventurous projects that will take place in a foreign country. The Foundation will partially support projects that involve “travel with a purpose” in which a particular passion is to be explored.
UC Berkeley Summary of External Travel Grants
A table summarizing major programs funding travel and research.
UW Independent Learning Enrollment Option
If you are interested in independent research, internships, practicums, clerkships, or fellowship programs abroad, you can apply for Independent Learning through UW Study Abroad.