The Cullen Fellowship Travel Grant (CFTG) is a competitive fellowship program established to support graduate student travel to meetings, conferences, performances, and exhibits to showcase their research and scholarly work.  This travel grant program is designed both to enhance professional development opportunities for students and to further promote the status of the University of Houston as a Carnegie-designated Tier One research university.  The CFTG is open to all masters, doctorate, and professional students.

Amount

This fund is a reimbursement award and will reimburse the student upon submission of the deliverables.

Doctorate/Professional: CFTG will cover up to 75% allowable travel expenses (hotel or conference housing, transportation, registration costs) or up to $750, whichever is less.

Masters: CFTG will cover up to $500 of allowable travel expenses (hotel or conference housing, transportation, registration costs).

Eligibility

The following minimum requirements must be met to qualify for the Cullen Fellowship Travel Grant:

Doctorate/Professional:

• The applicant’s work must be accepted to be presented at a competitive meeting, conference, performance, or exhibit. If the work has been submitted but an acceptance has not yet been received, the applicant may still submit a travel grant application; however, any award is contingent on acceptance. Only travel to the events with competitive selection criteria for the participants is supported by this travel grant;
• Event dates must occur within the travel dates for the application term
• The applicant’s college/department/program has to commit to cover a minimum of 25% of the conference costs.
• Preference will be given to students who have not previously received travel grant funding. Students may only receive one travel award in a calendar year.

Masters:

• The applicant’s work must be accepted to be presented at a competitive meeting, conference, performance, or exhibit. If the work has been submitted but an acceptance has not yet been received, the applicant may still submit a travel grant application; however, any award is contingent on acceptance. Only travel to the events with competitive selection criteria for the participants is supported by this travel grant;
• Event dates must occur within the travel dates for the application term
• Preference will be given to students who have not previously received travel grant funding. Students may only receive one travel award in a calendar year.

*Only travel permitted by University of Houston travel guidelines is eligible for an award: https://uh.edu/covid-19/guidelines-protocols/travel-guidelines/ . You may be asked to provide additional documentation that your travel has been approved according to UH policies before being eligible to receive the award.

Application

• Fully completed Cover Sheet (Please note: Doctorate/Professional applicants must gather the necessary signatures from the Department/College by the deadline). Please note the following when completing the Cover Sheet:
  • Conference location refers to the physical location of the conference, not the scope of the conference or attendees. If the conference takes place outside the U.S., mark ‘International’; if the conference is close enough to drive, mark ‘Local/Regional’; otherwise, for all U.S. destinations that require air travel, mark ‘National’.
  • Submission type refers to how your presentation/poster was chosen. ‘General acceptance’ means that all abstract submissions were accepted (no selection process). ‘Peer reviewed’ means that you submitted an abstract that was reviewed by one or more experts in the field, and your project was accepted. ‘Invited’ refers to situations in which conference organizers ask you to present at the conference without you having applied beforehand, as in the case of keynote or plenary speakers.
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)- 2 page maximum
• Abstract
• Written description by the applicant of the event detailing the following: event selectivity, what it means to be “accepted” to the event, and the applicant’s research that will be presented (1 page maximum)
• Support letter from the applicant’s faculty advisor or graduate chair attesting the following: quality of the work presented, quality/prestige of the event, event selectivity, what it means to be “accepted”, and how the event participation is directly related to the applicant’s work at the University of Houston
• Conference host letter (scanned copy of paper letter or email is acceptable) with the applicant’s name clearly listed as a presenter or performer to verify the student’s acceptance to participate in the event.

Deadlines

Due to the wide-ranging schedules of conferences, there is one deadline per term for Cullen Fellowship Travel Grant applications. There will be a 3-4 week review period following these deadlines. Applications must be received by 11:59PM CST on the deadline provided below. Applications should be for travel occurring after the application deadline

• September 22, 2025 (for travel commencing on or after September 22, 2025)

• February 9, 2026 (for travel commencing on or after February 9, 2026)

Selection Criteria

• The impact and selectivity of the conference.
• The potential for the student to disseminate his/her work broadly through the conference.
• The abstract and statement.
• The student’s academic standing, research experience, and support letter.
• Previous funding- students who have received a prior travel award from the Graduate School will be given lower priority for funding relative to students who have not previously received travel grant funding.

Deliverables

• Based on format presented at the event, submit the following corresponding document within 30 days for returning from travel:
  • Talk: Fully completed paper
  • Poster:PDF file of the poster
  • Workshop:A short story detailing the events of the workshop
• Final Travel Report

• Application and participation in the annual UH Graduate School research event (3MT and/or poster session).

  *If the recipient fails to apply/participate in the GRS event or an approved alternate event, the CFTG award may be revoked

Additional Resources

Traveling abroad? The Learning Abroad office at the University of Houston is officially designated as a U.S. Passport Acceptance Facility by the U.S. Department of State. Their acceptance agents are authorized to facilitate and receive your applications for a U.S. passport book and/or card. Visit the Passport for Coogs website for additional information.