Individual Student Grants

Research Grants | Service Grants | Travel Grants

GPSG provides grants to University of Iowa graduate and professional students to travel, conduct research, or engage in a service project.

We do not place specific restrictions on the types of research, travel, or service that we will fund. Successful applicants should be able to make a strong case for how their proposed research, service, or travel will contribute to their educational and/or professional development. Due to the competitive nature of the grants, and our desire to fund as many students as possible, applicants are only eligible for funding once for each type of grant per academic year.

Application Logistics

To apply for a GPSG Grant, please click here to be taken to Engage, our online application management system. Applications for each cycle will not open until the "opens" date listed under Grant Deadlines.

*Please note: You will need to sign in using your HawkID and password to access the application forms for the current funding cycle.
Once logged in, find GPSG in the "organizations" tab
Navigate to the appropriate grant form (travel, research, service) that is listed under the GPSG profile page
This system will provide a record/confirmation of your submissions and updates on the status of your application in your Engage account under the 'Activity' tab.

If you have questions regarding the GPSG Grant Program, please email Grant Director (GPSG-grants@uiowa.edu.)

For technical assistance with the application system, please email our system manager.

Overview of available GPSG Grants:

Travel Grant: Depending on funding availability, the GPSG Travel Grant provides up to $500 to support travel to conferences or workshops occurring within 90 days before or after the cycle deadline. Eligible expenses include registration fees for virtual conferences. Competitive applications clearly explain the importance of attending the specified event, demonstrate financial need and efforts to secure additional funding, and describe the work to be presented. Although presenting is not required, priority is given to applicants who do. Applicants must provide proof of travel, such as a hotel or airfare receipt or a photo taken at the conference venue. Read more about GPSG Travel Grants.
Research Grant: Depending on funding availability, the GPSG Research Grant provides up to $1,500 for expenses related to research projects. While funding is not limited to dissertation work, strong proposals present a clearly defined and feasible research plan. Applicants must submit an itemized budget and disclose any additional sources of project funding. Recipients of this grant have six months from the award date to use the funds. Funds are released only after a purchase request is submitted; therefore, this grant cannot be used to reimburse expenses incurred prior to approval. Read more about GPSG Research Grants.
Service Grant: Depending on funding availability, the GPSG Service Grant provides up to $1,500 to support expenses related to a service project. Although only graduate and professional students may apply for and receive GPSG Service Grants, other applicants may collaborate with them to complete their project. Priority is given to projects demonstrating a direct impact on the University of Iowa community. Successful proposals clearly articulate the project’s significance, its connection to the UI community, and its relevance to the applicant’s personal and professional development. Recipients of this grant have six months from the award date to use the funds. Funds are released only after a purchase request is submitted; therefore, this grant cannot be used to reimburse past expenses. Read more about GPSG Service Grants.

2026-2027 Grant Deadlines:

To provide for timely review of applications, GPSG has set the following grant review cycles for the 2026-2027 academic year (note: these deadlines are subject to change at any time):

Cycle	OPENS	CLOSES:
1	TBD	TBD
2	TBD	TBD
3	TBD	TBD
4	TBD	TBD
5	TBD	TBD
6	TBD	TBD

GPSG Council of Delegates Funding Vote date subject to change.

Application Procedure and Review Process:

The GPSG supports the sustainability initiative at the University of Iowa to eliminate paper applications. Please complete the electronic application above. Applications must be received by 11:59pm (Central Time) on the deadline date to be considered. All subsequent communication with applicants will be conducted via email. No physical copies of any material will be accepted.

Following each cycle’s deadline, the GPSG Grants Director reviews and prepares all applications. S/he then provides them to the GPSG Grants Committee for review. The committee reviews the applications and scores each application based on whether or not they meet specific criteria (criteria specifics mentioned below). Each application is scored by at least two members of the committee for an average score. After the committee members submit their evaluation scores, a cutoff score is generated based on the number of applications and the amount of funds available. The GPSG Grants Director presents the recommendations to the GPSG Council of Delegates at the next monthly meeting for their approval. A simple majority of the Council of Delegates is needed to confirm the recommendations. Funding decisions are then communicated to the applicants by the GPSG Grants Director. Depending on the date of receipt of the application and the total number of applications submitted that cycle, it may take up to six (6) weeks to receive a funding decision. Students who do not receive funding may reapply during a later grant cycle.

Travel Grants

Range of Support

Awards are contingent upon the availability of funds and the number of applications received. As of the 2020-21 fiscal/academic year, the evaluation committee will award up to $500 per applicant, even if the cost of attending the conference exceeds that amount.

Students are highly encouraged to provide detailed explanations for the amount requested, and demonstrate efforts to find the cheapest alternative (room sharing, carpooling, etc.)

The GPSG Travel Grant is not a guaranteed source of funding. Travel grant awardees are not guaranteed to receive funding before their travel begins. We encourage students to submit the required application materials by the earliest eligible travel grant deadline.

Eligibility

The applicant must be enrolled as a student in a graduate or professional degree program at the University of Iowa (i.e., must pay student service fees), and be in good academic standing. GPSG will not consider grant applications by students pursuing a bachelor's degree.
Travel must be completed prior to graduation: Applicants who plan to graduate during that same term must submit their travel expense report prior to the end of the term. If your travel has already taken place at the time that your application is due, you must submit your expense report along with your application. For instance, if you apply during the March grant round and your travel took place in February, you must submit your expense report along with your application.
Applicants are eligible to receive one (1) GPSG grant per academic/fiscal year; the fiscal year begins on July 1. For the purposes of implementing the 'one award per year' policy, all awards are treated as given on the application deadline. A student may apply as many times as desired per year until they are awarded a grant, as long as they follow all necessary guidelines.

Note: Group applications are not allowed. If several students are attending the same event, each student must apply separately for funding, and each student must be responsible for creating their own application.

GPSG observes a standard fiscal year that runs from July 1 to the following June 30. Travel grant recipients must claim the award during the same fiscal year it was awarded. Therefore, students traveling between July 1 and the start of the fall semester should wait to apply for travel funds until the fall semester after they return.

Travel Funding Evaluation Criteria and Process

For more information regarding the criteria used by the travel grant judges to evaluate the travel grant applications, please refer to the GPSG Travel Grant Evaluation Rubric.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I am trying to apply for the GPSG travel grant, but Engage indicates that all applications are closed. How do I apply?
A: In order to apply for all GPSG grants, you must log in to your University of Iowa Engage account (using your Hawk ID) when submitting grant applications. Once you have logged in, you will be able to see the open applications.

Q: Is there any way for me to get a confirmation email saying that I applied for this grant? I need to submit proof that I applied for funding.
A: If you log on to Engage, there will be a record of your submission found in the activity tab.

Q: Is there a limit to the number of awards a student can receive?
A: Applicants can only be awarded one of each type of grant per academic year. We try to award funding to as many different individuals as possible.

Q: I have been granted a travel award. How will I receive my award?
A: Once all travel receipts have been received by the grants director (gpsg-grants@uiowa.edu), awards will be dispersed by the Student Organization Business Office (SOBO) via your UBill account. Awards may be applied to your Ubill balance, reduce your loan amounts, paid by direct deposit, or a combination of any of these methods. The impact of the award to financial aid is unique to each student and cannot be predicted by the Student Organization Business Office. Please allow time for processing all the paperwork before inquiring about your award. Awards should be visible on your UBill account within 30-60 days.

Research Grants

GPSG recognizes that graduate and professional student education is advanced through academic research. Therefore, GPSG strives to support quality graduate and professional student research to continue the University of Iowa’s reputation as a leading research institution. Current graduate and professional students in good academic standing who have a project proposal and a principal investigator (PI) or project advisor may apply for Research and Project Grant funding. The maximum that can be awarded for Research Funding is $1,500 per project to be used within six months of being awarded. Please read ALL of the sections on this webpage, particularly the funding guidelines below, before you submit your application. Questions regarding any part of the application process may be directed to the GPSG Grants Director at GPSG-grants@uiowa.edu.

Eligibility

The applicant must be enrolled as a student in a graduate or professional degree program at the University of Iowa (i.e. must pay student service fees), and be in good academic standing. GPSG will not consider grant applications by students pursuing a bachelor's degree.
Research must be completed prior to graduation.

Research Funding Application

Please complete the Research Grant Application by signing in with your HawkID on Engage.

Research Funding Guidelines

All applicants are responsible for reading all the information on this website before applying, and will be held to the following guidelines (subject to change):

There is a maximum award of $1,500 allowed per project.
Allocated funds may only be used for the purposes for which they were approved by GPSG.
Activities that could otherwise be funded through GPSG Travel or Service Grants will not be considered for Research Grant funding.
Reimbursement for items purchased before the award was received will not be allowed.
If the final cost of an approved item is more than the remaining balance of the awarded amount, GPSG will not pay the difference.
Applicants are responsible for submitting all purchase requests within six months of receiving funding (exceptions may be allowed if they are requested prior to an existing deadline).
The activity or potential activities must align with the mission of the University of Iowa and GPSG. Additionally, it is the responsibility of the individual or the organization to ensure that allocated funds are spent in accordance with the University of Iowa and the Board of Regents policies, and any other policies the recipient is expected to comply with.
Acknowledgment of GPSG’s support is expected on all publicity, presentations, posters, and/or publications resulting from the research project. The GPSG logo will be provided for use if funding is awarded.
Awarded applicants must provide a final report on the outcome of the project upon request (within 12 months of the award date or before applying for any future award).

Research Funding Evaluation Criteria and Process

For more information regarding the criteria used by the research grant judges to evaluate the research grant applications, please refer to the GPSG Research Grant Evaluation Rubric.

Research Funding Prohibited Items

The GPSG will not fund expenses that are not directly related to the research being conducted. Prohibited funding items include, but are not limited to, the following:

Tuition or remuneration of the applicant’s time spent on the research project
Dissertation fees - including but not limited to Graduate College and/or graduation fees and dissertation printing expenses
Membership dues
Office or laboratory furniture
Office equipment or supplies
Rental of office or laboratory space
Salaries and wages for research assistants, University of Iowa affiliates, or employees
Food and refreshments
Philanthropic events
Entertainment
Child care

Item approval is left to the discretion of the committee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can the grant cover travel visas, passport photos, or visa mailing fees?
A: No

Q: Can I apply for a research grant for research that I have already conducted?
A: No. All research applications should be specific to research that will be conducted in the near future.

Q: Does the grant cover software?
A: Yes, so long as it is not already provided by the UofI or otherwise freely available. If the software is provided at a reduced fee, you may include this fee in your grant application.

Q: Does the grant cover books?
A: Only in the case where they are not available through the U of I library and their research purpose is well-justified.

Q: How long does a decision take?
A: We try to make decisions within 6 weeks of the application deadline, but cannot guarantee this. All decisions must be approved by the GPSG Council of Delegates, which meets approximately once per month.

Q: Does the grant cover shipping charges or taxes?
A: Shipping charges and taxes are covered, but they must be included in the grant application with the budget. They cannot be covered after the fact.

Q: What happens to any equipment purchased with the grant after it has been used?
A: The equipment will belong to your department.

Q: I am trying to apply for the GPSG research grant, but Engage indicates that all applications are closed. How do I apply?
A: In order to apply for all GPSG grants, you must log into your University of Iowa Engage account (using your Hawk ID) when submitting grant applications. Once you have logged in, you will be able to see the open applications.

Q: How are the grants reviewed and who decides which grants are funded?
A: All grants are reviewed and given a score by at least two members of the grants committee. That averaged score is used to determine which applications are recommended for funding to the Graduate and Professional Student Government. The GPSG Council of Delegates votes on the recommendations that their monthly meetings.

Service Grants

GPSG recognizes that graduate and professional student education is advanced through service projects. The maximum that can be awarded for Service Grant Funding is $1,500 per project to be used within the academic year. Please read ALL of the sections on this webpage before you submit your application. Questions regarding any part of the application process may be directed to the GPSG Grants Director at GPSG-grants@uiowa.edu.

Eligibility

The applicant must be enrolled as a student in a graduate or professional degree program at the University of Iowa (i.e. must pay student service fees), and be in good academic standing. GPSG will not consider grant applications by students pursuing a bachelor's degree.
Service project must be completed prior to graduation.

Service Funding Application

Please complete the Service Grant Application.

Service Grant Funding Guidelines

All applicants are responsible for reading all the information on this website before applying, and will be held to the following guidelines (subject to change):

There is a maximum award of $1,500 allowed per project.
Allocated funds may only be used for the purposes for which they were approved by GPSG.
Activities that could otherwise be funded through our Travel or Research Grants program will not be considered for Service Grants funding.
Reimbursement for items purchased before the award was received will not be allowed.
If the final cost of an approved item is more than the remaining balance of the awarded amount, GPSG will not pay the difference.
Applicants are responsible for bringing the project to completion within the academic year of receiving funding (exceptions may be allowed).
The activity or potential activities must reflect the mission of the University of Iowa and GPSG. Additionally, it is the responsibility of the individual or the organization to ensure that allocated funds are spent in accordance with the University of Iowa and the Board of Regents policies, and any other policies the recipient is expected to comply with.
Acknowledgment of GPSG’s support is expected on all publicity, presentations, posters, and publications regarding the service project. The GPSG logo will be provided for use if funding is awarded.
Awarded applicants must provide a final report on the outcome of the project (within 12 months of the award date or before applying for another award during the next academic year).

Service Grant Funding Evaluation Criteria and Process

For more information regarding the criteria used by the service grant judges to evaluate the service grant applications, please refer to the GPSG Service Grant Evaluation Rubric.

Other Grant Opportunities

Looking to increase your odds at winning an award? Check out these other great funding opportunities available to University of Iowa students. (If there are other opportunities that should be listed, please email the grants director so they can be advertised here!)