APSA Travel Grants
APSA is pleased to provide travel grants to qualified applicants for attendance at association events, specifically the Teaching and Learning Conference and the APSA Annual Meeting. Qualified applicants include U.S. graduate students, international graduate students studying in the U.S., unemployed members, international scholars, community college faculty, contingent faculty, unemployed faculty, APSA Status Committee members. Donate to APSA here
Travel grants can cover costs such as mileage for attendees who travel to association events by car or plane tickets for attendees who arrive by air. Grants can also cover hotels, meals, and conference related cab fare.
2026 APSA Annual Meeting Travel Grants — Boston, MA
Applications for 2026 Travel Grants are Now Open!
To be considered for a travel grant, it is required that individuals be presenting. First-time attendees and those on the job market will receive priority consideration. All grant recipients will be reimbursed for expenses after the conclusion of the relevant association event.
For questions about the travel grant program or applications, contact travelgrants@apsanet.org.
Deadline: May 1, 2026, 11:59 P.M. (ET)
Looking for more funding opportunities for the 2026 Annual Meeting? Sections, Status Committees and other APSA groups have travel grants for APSA members!
Applicant Eligibility
To be eligible for a travel grant, you must:
- Maintain your APSA membership through the date of the conference for which you are receiving travel grant funding
- Reside more than 60 miles from the conference location – you are not eligible for a travel grant if you live within 60 miles of the conference site
- Submit all itemized receipts for expenses, an APSA-provided expense form, and your attendance badge as proof of attendance
- APSA will not cover expenses that are not submitted without an itemized receipt
To accept the grant, APSA requires that all recipients complete and return a W-9 or W-8BEN tax form.
- Form W-9
- Form W-8BEN (for non-U.S. citizens)
The Walter E. Beach Travel Fund
The Walter E. Beach Travel Fund was made possible by the individual generosity of the late Walter Beach and his many friends and colleagues. Please consider making a contribution to the Walter E. Beach Fund to support travel grants to junior scholars and graduate students attending the APSA Annual Meeting.
Travel Grant Use
A travel grant from APSA can cover the following costs:
- Ticket and cab fare: Economy bus, train, and plane tickets are covered, conference related cab fare around the conference city is also covered
- Mileage: Mileage to the conference is reimbursable with a document showing the distance of your trip, should you travel to the conference by car
- Mileage is reimbursable at the 2026 IRS standard mileage of 72.5 cents per mile traveled
- You must also demonstrate that the cost of your mileage is less than the cost of a flight
- As proof, APSA accepts a printed copy of the cost of a flight to the conference city on the days that you plan to travel and printed directions from sites like Google Maps as documentation
- Hotels: The cost of a stay in a hotel, hostel, or other rented lodging such as Airbnb during the conference is covered
- Meals: The cost of meals during the conference is covered
An APSA travel grant does not, however, cover any of the following costs:
- Business or first-class tickets
- Rental cars
- Gasoline: Receipts for gas are not accepted – for APSA to cover the cost of a car trip to the conference, you must provide your mileage using the instructions above
- Alcohol
- Registration or APSA Membership: APSA cannot apply grant funds toward the cost of a membership or registration for the Annual Meeting
For a downloadable copy of APSA’s grant policy, please click here.