Professional Development Funding
The Department of Criminology, Law and Society is pleased to provide doctoral students with professional development funding to attend conferences, workshops, and training programs. Conferences present excellent opportunities for you to interact with colleagues from other institutions, get feedback on your research, and network as you prepare for your career beyond graduate school. Similarly, workshops and training programs can help you build specialized skills, stay current with developments in the field, and enhance your academic and professional toolkit.
Application Process
To apply for funding, students will complete an annual application survey, sent via email by the Director of Graduate Programs, at the beginning of each academic year. Once the survey submission has been received and reviewed, the department will process a scholarship payment which will post directly to the recipient's George Mason student account.
Students will be responsible for their own travel arrangements and will be required to explain how they used their professional development funding on their Student Activity Report (i.e. which conference(s) or training workshop(s) they attended).
This professional development funding falls under the “non-qualified scholarship” designation and is taxable. For additional details, read more about the terms and distribution of non-qualified scholarships here and (for international students) here.
Maximize Your Professional Development Funding
Making the most of your available funding is key to expanding your professional development opportunities as a graduate student. If you will be presenting your research at a professional conference, review the options below to learn about additional travel funding from the Graduate Division that can help support your academic, research, and professional development goals.
The Graduate Student Travel Funding (GSTF) from the Graduate Division provides the following funding to George Mason graduate students who are presenting their work at professional conferences:
- up to $150 for students presenting in local conferences (DC, Maryland, or Virginia),
- up to $350 for poster presentations or $450 for oral presentations outside of the local area but within the United States, and
- up to $1,000 for presentations at international conferences.
List of things to consider for this opportunity:
- students are only eligible to receive funding once per fiscal year (between July 1 and June 30),
- applications must be submitted by deadline associated with your conference dates; reimbursements are processed after you return from the trip, and
- reimbursable expenses are limited to registration fees, lodging, and transportation.
Graduate students applying for GSTF can also apply for additional incentive funding through the Travel Research Incentive Program (T.R.I.P.) supported by the Graduate Division and the University Libraries. Students can receive up to $500 when presenting at a conference.
To be eligible for T.R.I.P funding on top of the GSTF funds, students will need to meet the following criteria before the application for GSTF is submitted:
- meet all the requirements for the general GSTF application,
- complete 3 workshops through the Professional Development Workshop Series in the University Libraries, and
- indicate in the GSTF funding application that their application is part of T.R.I.P.
Important details:
- T.R.I.P. funding is only possible as an addendum to GSTF funding application; you must apply for GSTF funding to be eligible for this additional opportunity, and
- can be combined with the GSTF award to attend up to two conferences in the same fiscal year.