These grants are funded by the Graduate Student Government Association Senate (GSGA) and administered by the School of Graduate Studies to financially support graduate student research, creative projects, and travel. These grants are designed to reward excellence in research and scholarship, support professional development, and to increase the visibility of Appalachian State's graduate programs. 
GSGA Research and Travel Grants funds are limited. GSGA's annual budget is approximately $5 from each graduate student per academic year, or around $15,000. Research and travel awards will be funded for educational purposes for the amount requested with a maximum award of $500. Please read the instructions and guidelines below carefully. If guidelines and instructions are not correctly followed, award allocations will not be made. Only complete applications will be considered for funding.
Travel Grants
GSGA supports graduate students in advancing their academic and professional careers through Travel Grants. These grants help cover expenses for conferences, workshops, and research-related travel, enabling students to present their work, network with professionals, and gain valuable experience. All travel must be relevant to the student's degree program. Travel funding awards will be prioritized for students who are presenting research/poster presentations/case studies, etc.
Research Grants
GSGA Research Grants are designed to support graduate students conducting innovative and influential research. These grants provide financial assistance for materials, data collection, and project expenses.
A complete GSGA award application must include the following components:
- GSGA Faculty Recommendation and Signature Form - (to be filled out by your faculty mentor) Links will be made available when the application cycle opens.
- GSGA Online Application: Research Materials or Travel Support - (to be filled out by the graduate student applying) Links will be made available when the application cycle opens.
Deadlines
Fall Term: October 31, 2025
Spring Term: January 31, 2026
March 31, 2026 (if funding is available)***
*** We encourage applicants to submit by the January 31 deadline as all available funding may be awarded before the March 31 deadline cycle.
Guidelines
- You must be in good academic standing at the time grants are awarded.
- Awards will only be made to students in departments that have fulfilled GSGA meeting attendance requirements through their senator: Your program must have a senator who has attended at least 50% of GSGA and committee meetings and who has attended the most recent meeting prior to the grant deadline. To apply for a vacant Senate seat in your department, please contact your Program Director or the Director of Graduate Student Life.
- Applications for grants will be considered during the appropriate awards cycle. Awards made in the Fall term will be open to individuals who are traveling in the fall semester and have traveled after the start of the current academic year. The January deadline should be used for travel that will take place during the Spring or Summer semesters.
- GSGA cannot fund travel of any kind to countries or areas where there are safety warnings or sanctions in place.
Application Instructions
- This is a competitive funding application process. Please ensure that you have provided a complete and strong application packet. The process is also a blind review process. Identifying information such as name, program, and any other details that could reveal the applicant identity will be removed before sending the application to reviewers. Please keep this in mind as you complete your application materials.
- You must apply for funding in the appropriate deadline cycle. Applications will not be held for future deadline acceptance. It is the applicant's responsibility to resubmit their application at the appropriate time. (For example, if you are applying for an award to fund travel on March 15th and apply for the October deadline, the application will be denied).
- Your faculty mentor must ALSO submit the Faculty Recommendation Form.
- For Research Materials applications, include only those expenses that are directly related to research on your award application. You will be asked to provide a detailed description of the materials requested and their purpose if the item is not commonly known or used (e.g. special research equipment that is discipline-specific). The Faculty Mentor must certify that all supplies will reside on campus and are University property.
- Each application must include a well-written Personal Statement, which serves as one of the most important tools used by GSGA when determining which applications receive funding. Your statement should address:
- What impact the research/travel will have on the University's research mission
- What impact the award will have on you, the applicant, both personally and professionally
- How this experience will help to further the educational goals of your program
- What implications this experience may have on your future
- If additional funding is secured through your home department or other sources, that information must be provided as well.
- You may be awarded a maximum of one research grant and one travel grant in an academic year.
The rubric used in reviewing applications will be made available here before the application cycle opens.
Notification of Funding
- All GSGA awards will be disbursed through the Office of Student Accounts (paid directly to your student account).
- All award notifications will be made through the applicant's App State email account.
- Awards processed through a student's account may or may not be subject to taxes and may or may not affect financial aid.
Questions?
If you have questions about the GSGA research and travel awards process, please contact Maureen Cathey at catheyme@appstate.edu. If you have questions about the GSGA research and travel awards after they have been awarded, please contact Teresa Greene at 828-262-2695 or greenetm1@appstate.edu.