Graduate Student Conference
The Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy is pleased to issue a request for graduate student-initiated proposals for conferences that will take place between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025.
Proposals will be evaluated on their intellectual merit and coherence, and their judicious use of funding. These conferences must take place at Columbia University. Conferences should highlight graduate student work and can focus on a single substantive or methodological topic or problem, on an event or policy, or on a set of intellectually related issues.
Proposals should also highlight the extent and type of faculty involvement. We encourage active involvement by faculty both as mentors and as participants on the conference program. Conferences that are collaborative and involve students or faculty from more than one Columbia Social Science department will be given special consideration. Funding requests can supplement departmental funding.
Please contact ISERP with any questions on this process.
Eligibility
Graduate students in one of the six social science departments in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University or SIPA are eligible to apply for ISERP Graduate Student Conference funding. At least one applicant per conference team must be a full-time Ph.D. candidate.
Application Guidance
Funding can cover: travel and lodging; refreshments or meals; venue, materials, and publicity costs; and honoraria for external speakers only. Please note ISERP does not permit remuneration for student coordinators involved in organizing student-run conferences.
If awarded, the conference must be managed by the lead graduate student organizer’s home department or another Columbia University entity, and this department or entity should be noted in the proposal. Awardees are required to identify ISERP’s sponsorship on all conference announcements and materials. A conference report, including the agenda, participant list, Chartstring summary, and relevant outcomes would be due in December 2025. ISERP is available to advise awardees in the planning stages.
Applicants should submit:
- A two-page proposal that describes the proposed conference, its goals and scholarly relevance, and its structure and organization.
- A proposed list of speakers and panels.
- A description of the conference's intended audience, its size, and whether the conference is open to the University community and/or to the public. ISERP-sponsored Conferences should generally be open at least to the University community.
- A detailed budget and budget justification, which should include all sources of funding, utilizing the budget sheet attached to this call. Please download a copy to complete and submit with the application.
- A conference administration commitment: an email from your department chair, with the department DAAF copied, stating the department’s commitment to administer the conference if awarded. If the conference will be administered by a different department (or center, institute, etc.), the email commitment should come from that unit’s chair/director.
Proposals should be submitted electronically as a single PDF document to ISERP here.
Duration
One (1) Year
Award Amount
Up to $15,000
Application Deadline
November 1, 2024
Award Period
January 1, 2025–December 31, 2025