USENIX Conference Grant Programs
- Read an overview of our grant offerings that support participation in USENIX conferences.
- View all currently open grant opportunities.
- Ready to apply? Review these instructions before submitting your application.
- Are you a first-time applicant? Review these Frequently Asked Questions about the grant program.
Interested in providing financial support for these grant programs? Contact sponsorship@usenix.org for more information.
Student Grants Program
The USENIX Student Grants Program provides funds to cover registration fees and assist with travel and accommodation expenses for full-time students attending accredited institutions who wish to attend USENIX conferences and workshops. Please note that USENIX relies on outside funding for student grants, and funding is strictly limited. We do not guarantee assistance to speakers or participants, and student grants rarely cover full travel costs.
Professional Grants Program
As part of USENIX's ongoing commitment to encourage participation from professionals in advanced computing, we offer professional grants to support computer scientists interested in attending our conferences. All prospective applicants from academia or industry who experience adversity in attending USENIX conferences are encouraged to apply. Applicants must also work in or study computer science or a related field, and attend all days of the main conference program for which they are applying. Successful applicants will receive funds to help defray the expense of conference attendance.
Key Things to Know for All Grant Applicants
- Only apply for one grant per conference. USENIX will not consider applicants who submit multiple applications for the same event.
- If you are a student, apply for a student grant. Professional grants are awarded to computer scientists and practitioners experiencing adversity in attending USENIX events.
- Award funds are distributed after we confirm that you have attended the conference. Be prepared to fund your travel until reimbursements are complete, usually within two weeks after the conference ends.
- Only register for the conference once you know the status of your grant application. Notifications regarding the review of your grant application are usually sent within two weeks of the grant application deadline and before the conference’s Early Bird Registration deadline.
- Only apply for a grant if you have no other source of funding to attend the conference, such as support from your employer or university. As a small non-profit organization, USENIX has limited grant funding available.
Applications are located on the individual conference websites once registration opens for that event. Look under Attend in the navigation menu for Grant Opportunities and follow the link to the grant opportunity for which you wish to apply. Refer to the FAQs below for information about review criteria and guidance for completing the personal statement.
- Student Grants: USENIX may offer student grants to contribute to travel, accommodations, and registration fees to enable full-time students to attend USENIX events.
- Professional Grants: As a part of USENIX’s ongoing commitment to encourage participation in advanced computing, including those experiencing adversity, USENIX may offer grants to support attendance by computer scientists and practitioners who are post-doctorates or early career professionals with limited funding, unemployed, or facing other barriers to being able to readily attend USENIX events.
- Only apply for one grant per conference. USENIX will not consider applicants who submit multiple applications for the same event.
- Applicants who have already received a USENIX grant within the prior 12 months will be deprioritized for consideration.
- Applicants must demonstrate in their personal statement their eligibility and sufficient research or professional experience in the domain of the conference as appropriate to the grant type.
- Conference presenters are eligible to apply for grants.
- Applicants for student grants must have their advisor complete the Faculty Advisor’s Statement, linked in the application. Allow time before the grant application deadline for this to happen.
Within approximately two weeks of the grant application deadline, USENIX will notify applicants of the status of their application via email from conference@usenix.org. Check your spam folder if you haven’t seen a response. If you do not receive a response two weeks after the grant deadline, contact the USENIX Conference Department as soon as possible.
For those applicants who have received a grant offer, follow the instructions in your notification message to confirm whether you accept the grant, register for the event using the code provided, and reserve your hotel room. When booking accommodation, be aware that USENIX awards grants based on a shared hotel room rate. USENIX maintains a Google Group to facilitate communication among attendees seeking roommates. While you are not required to do so, we strongly encourage you to stay at the conference hotel and to book your guest room within the USENIX hotel guest room block.
Grant payment is contingent upon your attendance and participation at the conference. Be sure to check in when you arrive to receive your conference badge, and then watch for emails from USENIX about how to fully engage in the conference experience.
After the event concludes and once USENIX has confirmed your attendance, you will receive an email from finance@usenix.org with instructions to initiate a direct payment to you. This email typically arrives within two weeks after the conference ends. Make sure to check your spam folder if you do not see this message in a timely manner. Payment steps include confirming your contact information, providing U.S. taxation documentation (as needed), and setting up an account on BILL. If you do not receive a response two weeks after the conference end date, contact the USENIX Finance Department as soon as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions about USENIX Grants
Applications are located on the individual conference websites once registration opens for that event; look for “Grant Opportunities” under "Attend" in the navigation menu for more information.
The USENIX Grant Program includes student grants and professional grants. The availability of each type of grant may vary from event to event. Applicants should submit a single application for the type of grant for which they are most eligible.
If you are a student, you should apply for a student grant when available, as those typically have the most robust funding available. Professional grants are intended to provide support for graduates, computer scientists, and practitioners who experience challenges to attending USENIX events.
Do not submit multiple grant applications to a single conference. USENIX will not consider applicants who submit multiple applications.
All grant recipients will receive a complimentary registration to the conference for which they have received their grant.
Additionally, USENIX provides travel funds to assist with hotel and airfare. The award for travel funds is based on the amount of overall funding available to distribute to all applicants and the specific funding requests the applicants have made. If you do not request travel or registration coverage, we assume you have funding otherwise and will not award non-requested fees.
The USENIX Grant Program rarely has enough funds to cover all travel and/or hotel expenses for grant recipients. When completing the expense request portion of your application, base your accommodation expenses on sharing a room at the conference hotel. USENIX may provide a grant that is less in value than the expenses requested.
Grant applications open when the conference program is available and registration is open. The applications are linked from the conference website; the availability of each type of grant may vary from event to event. USENIX makes every effort to secure funding for grants for its events and offers grants at most conferences.
USENIX will not provide multiple grants to a single individual for any event. Applicants should submit a single application for the type of grant for which they are most eligible. Do not submit multiple grant applications to a single event. USENIX will not consider applicants who submit multiple applications for a single event. If you are a student, you should apply for a student grant. Professional grants are intended to support computer scientists and practitioners who experience challenges in attending USENIX events.
USENIX strives to send notifications to student grant applicants within two weeks following the grant application deadline and before the conference's Early Bird Registration deadline. We notify all applicants—those who are being awarded a grant and those who are not—of their application status. If you do not receive an email during this time, please check your spam folder for a message from conference@usenix.org. If you do not receive a response two weeks after the grant deadline, contact the Conference Department as soon as possible.
For our Student Grants Program, preference is shown to:
- Students whose areas of study significantly overlap with the conference topics and who write a strong and concise supporting statement outlining their studies and research;
- First-time applicants and those who have not received a USENIX grant in the past 12 months;
- Students from institutions not traditionally or frequently represented at USENIX events;
- Financial need;
- Degree level (priority is given to graduate students, with consideration for undergraduates engaged in relevant research);
- Students who are presenting a paper or poster at the event and who do not have alternate sources of funding available to them.
For our Professional Grants Program, preference is shown to:
- Computer scientists and practitioners who are active professionally in a field related to the event and who experience challenges in attending. Applicants should describe their adversity in their supporting statement as part of their application. Examples of hardship include but are not limited to recent post-doctorates with limited funding, early career professionals, applicants who are unemployed, or unavailability of employer resources to support the applicants’ attendance;
- First-time applicants and those who have not received a USENIX grant in the past 12 months; and
- Applicants with a strong supporting statement, especially one that includes detail about how an applicant experiences adversity that presents extra challenges to attending USENIX events.
For student grant applications, your supporting statement should:
- Outline your current research, studies, or curriculum related to the conference topics;
- Tell us why attending the event will be beneficial to you;
- State your educational/university class level, name your advisors/mentors, and detail your current funding situation as a student, particularly your academic department’s ability to support your participation; and
- Detail any relevant experience (but do not include links to your school research pages or résumé).
For professional grant applications, your supporting statement should:
- State how the conference will help you in your professional career or studies;
- Illustrate how you are experiencing adversity in attending without a grant;
- Provide details regarding your specific interests and your current projects.
Yes, poster presenters are eligible for grants. If you are presenting a poster at the conference, you should check "no" to the application question regarding presenting a paper but mention in your supporting statement that you are presenting a poster. If the grant deadline occurs prior to poster presenter notifications, please mention that you have submitted a poster to the conference and plan to attend if the poster is accepted.
Postdocs are not eligible for student grants; however, they are welcome to apply for professional grants if they meet the above-mentioned qualifications.
Applications and proof of student status (if applicable) must be submitted online by the date and time stated on the website for the conference you wish to attend. If you do not receive email confirmation once you have submitted your application, check your spam folder; if none arrives, contact the Conference Department as soon as possible. We will not consider unsubmitted draft applications and late applications.
The grant review committee consists of USENIX staff and, in some cases, the event chairs. The USENIX staff also access awardee details for payment processing, donor reporting, and coordination of available funds.
Grants are paid out after the conference and after USENIX confirms your attendance. You must attend all days of the conference to be eligible to receive your grant funding. Please check in and pick up your name badge when you arrive at the conference.
Payment is made once you complete each step of the payment process, including confirming your contact details, providing U.S. taxation documentation (as needed), and setting up an account on BILL. The payment process is detailed in an email from finance@usenix.org sent to you after the event.
Grants are awarded directly to the recipient; grants cannot be issued to a third party, such as a student's host institution. You will receive your grant award as a direct deposit or wire transfer to your bank account after the conference. You must attend each day of the conference to be eligible for your grant award, but you do not need to provide receipts or other proof of travel purchases. You will receive emails from the Finance Department the week after the conference with further instructions.
Be aware that grant payments issued are for the amount of the travel fees awarded, not for the conference registration fees. Grant recipients receive a discount code for complimentary registration, which should be used when registering for the conference for which they have received the grant.
Do not register for the conference, even if you are an author or a presenter, until you receive notification about your grant application, which typically occurs prior to the hotel and Early Bird Registration deadlines. If you receive a grant, we will send you an email with detailed instructions and a discount code to enter upon registering to receive complimentary registration. Grant funds are intended for travel and hotel expenses and are distributed after the conference once your attendance is confirmed.
If you are not awarded a grant, you may register using the standard online registration form. Student registration fees do not increase after the Early Bird Registration deadline.
You may reserve your hotel room as soon as registration opens for the event. Conference hotels tend to fill up fast, and a limited number of rooms are available at the discounted USENIX rate. We strongly encourage you to book your hotel room within the USENIX guest room block. We recommend booking accommodation that may be canceled if you are ultimately unable to attend the conference.
Note that sharing a room is an excellent way to help reduce expenses. In determining the value of a grant, hotel expenses are estimated based on the assumption that you are sharing a room. USENIX maintains a Google Group to facilitate communication among attendees seeking roommates and ride sharing. You can sign up for free to find attendees with whom you can share a hotel room, taxi, shuttle, or other ride-share service. Please include the name of the conference you are attending in the subject line when posting a new request.
To best expedite the process, carefully read the instructions on the student validation submission page to ensure your submission meets the required criteria. To validate your student status, sign in to your USENIX account (or create an account if you are new to USENIX) and click here to upload documentation verifying your current student status. Allow several business days following the submission of your validation for processing. We recommend that you submit your student validation at least a week in advance of the grant application deadline.
Visa applications for travel to USENIX conferences may require a support letter from USENIX. To request an invitation letter, you must first register for the conference you wish to attend, including the completion of payment. You may then email the Conference Department with your letter request. In your email, include your name, the conference you are registered for, and your full mailing address. If required by the passport agency, include your passport number and date of birth. Allow several business days following submission of your email for processing.
If you are traveling to the conference from outside the United States, the National Academies provide detailed advice for making the trip.
The number of grants awarded depends on the event and the amount of financial support we receive for that purpose from corporate sponsorship, donors, and other sources. Grants are awarded based on your request and frequently can only cover partial expenses. If you do not request travel or registration coverage, we assume you have funding otherwise and will not award non-requested fees.
No, there is no need to save and submit travel receipts. USENIX awards a lump sum toward your travel and lodging and does not require documentation of individual expenses.
The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers grant funds taxable income for the recipient. All grant applicants who are U.S. citizens or residents paying taxes in the U.S. must provide their tax ID (Social Security number) to receive their grant funds. Tax-related questions should be directed to an accountant; USENIX is not legally able to advise you on this issue.
On the application, you will be asked to provide your name. Please enter your preferred name in this field. If your preferred name does not match your legal name for U.S. tax purposes, please contact the Conference Department. Your legal name information is used only to prepare tax forms and is shared only with essential USENIX staff. If you have questions or concerns, please contact the Conference Department.
No, grants can only be used for travel expenses for the specific conference that you apply for. Students are always eligible to become a USENIX Student Member.
The USENIX Grant Program’s goal is to offer opportunities to attend conferences to those who have financial need or who experience other barriers to attending. If you are not able to attend, the opportunity is passed to the next qualified applicant.
Contact the Conference Department.