Undergraduate Research and Independent Projects

Writing a Conference Grant Proposal for a Creative Arts Project

Conference Grants support students who have been accepted to present their own projects at professional or scholarly convenings (e.g., academic conference, film festival, dance convention, etc).

If you have questions about what types of presentations qualify for this grant, please contact vpue-research@stanford.edu.

Please use the following guidelines when preparing your VPUE Conference Grant proposal.

  • Before applying, be sure to check our eligibility requirements.
  • Title of your Piece
    • Provide the title of your piece.
  • Description of your submission
    • Provide the description of your piece that has been accepted for presentation. Please include links to any relevant video or audio files that were included in your festival submission.
  • Your role in the presentation
    • Conference Grants are for presentations that you are leading. If you have collaborators, include a clear discussion of the extent of your individual role in presenting and responding to questions from the audience.
  • The festival/convention that you are attending
    • Include the name of the event, information on the society or association sponsoring it, with dates and location, as well as details of the session at which you are approved to present. Include a screenshot of the acceptance notification you received from the organizers (your name and submission title should be identified in that official correspondence).
  • The process whereby your piece was accepted
    • Conference grants are for competitive peer-reviewed, juried selection processes.
  • Goals of attending this event
    • Describe specific sessions or meetings that you will attend, beyond the one at which you will present. Describe what you would discuss with other artists, what you hope to learn at this event, which you will not be able to do if you did not participate in this event. How will these sessions and conversations fit with the other work you have done in and outside of the classroom at Stanford?
  • Your budget should present the transportation expenses and registration associated with attendance.
  • A travel appendix is required for festivals/conventions taking place internationally. Refer to the International Travel Requirements section on our website for further details and instructions.

Guidelines for Conference Grant Letters of Recommendation

  • A letter is required from a qualifying faculty mentor who supervised your project and who is guiding you on your presentation.
  • The letter of recommendation from your faculty mentor should explicitly endorse the project that you are presenting.
  • The letter should also provide an assessment of the event and comment on the relevance of the event for your work.