Student Travel Award

The Wisconsin Archeological Survey sponsors this travel award to provide limited funding to students conducting research pertinent to Wisconsin. Typically, the award is made available on an annual (academic calendar) basis for not more than $750.00 as funds are available. Up to two $750.00 awards may be made each year, or more than two awards may be available if the total does not exceed $1500.00. All relevant forms and documents are available at the bottom of this page.

Award funds may be used to pay for costs related to a presentation (paper and/or poster) of original research at a professional conference. Applicable costs include conference registration, hotel, food, and transportation. If the conference is held online, the applicant may still request funding for the conference registration fee or other costs.

No portion of the award may be used to cover any administrative expenses associated with the award, payment of salary, or reimbursement of previously completed work.

Award Eligibility
Applicants funded by the Wisconsin Archeological Survey must meet the following criteria:

  • the research project must be pertinent to the state of Wisconsin;
  • the applicant must be an undergraduate or graduate student; OR if the research was conducted while a student, then the applicant may be a recently graduated student;
  • the applicant must not have received this award in the past two years.

Application Packet
Requests for awards must be submitted electronically as a Microsoft Word or Word compatible document or PDF. All pages of the application must be numbered sequentially in the top right-hand corner.

Applications must include:

  • Cover Page: A page that includes the title of the presentation, the conference to be presented at, the applicant’s name, organization, street address, city, state, zip code, daytime and evening phone numbers, and email address.
  • Presentation Abstract: The same abstract submitted to the conference should be used for this application. Abstracts should not exceed 300 words.
  • Budget: A page that details the amount of money requested and a rationale for how the funds will be spent. A budget worksheet is located at the bottom of this page. If additional funding has been requested or received from other organizations, this should be included.
  • Personal Resume: A resume or curriculum vita that details the educational, research, funding, and other relevant experiences of the applicant.
  • Letter of Support: The applicant must solicit a confidential letter of reference from a current member of the Wisconsin Archeological Survey. The reference letter must be sent via email directly to the President of the Survey with a subject line: Wisconsin Archeological Survey Student Travel Award – (specify applicant’s name).
  • Cover Letter (optional): If the applicant would like to include additional information to address aspects of the rubric not covered in the abstract. A single page cover letter is acceptable. It should follow traditional cover letter conventions and should not be more than a page in length.

Archeological Survey Travel Award – (specify applicant’s name). The applicant must provide the name and email address of the individual solicited with the application.

Application Submission
Applicants must submit completed application packets to the President of the Survey with the Subject line: Wisconsin Archeological Survey Student Travel Award – (specify applicant’s name)

NOTE: failure to follow the application procedure and requirements will result in rejection of the submitted application.

Application Deadline
Applications must be received not later than September 20 for consideration of funding during the same calendar year. Decisions will be made by October 1. Applications received after September 20 will not be considered for the current year but may be re-submitted for consideration in the year following. Students who previously received the award are not eligible to receive another award for two calendar years.

Review Process
Accepted applications will be distributed to the Wisconsin Archeological Survey Student Travel Award review committee for comment and ranking. All proposals will be evaluated according to a standard evaluation rubric (available at the bottom of the page).

Reporting Requirements
Documentation of expenses: Appropriate invoices or receipts must be provided to the Wisconsin Archeological Survey Student Travel Award Committee within 30 days of the completion of the funded activities.

A digital version of the conference presentation (poster or PowerPoint) must be submitted to the Wisconsin Archeological Survey Student Travel Award Committee upon completion of the presentation for display on the Survey website.

Failure to document expenses properly or to submit an acceptable report will result in the denial of the request for reimbursement.

Application Forms Will Be Available Soon