Graduate Student Research Dissemination Award Application

Graduate Student Research Dissemination Award Application - see link to web form at the bottom of this page. 

Use this form to:

• Apply for a Graduate Student Research Dissemination Award (GSRDA)

Reminder: Applicants travelling internationally must adhere to the requirements outlined on the Safety Abroad website prior to departure.

Award Description:

Through a commitment of financial support from the Graduate Student Association (GSA), Graduate Studies Endowment Fund (GSEF) and Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA), awards are available to encourage full-time or part-time graduate students to present their own research (oral, poster, paper) at an academic conference and engage in academic dialogue within their field of study and research.

Application Timing and Selection:

Applications will be accepted during defined application periods held prior to each term. Applications must be submitted during the application period corresponding to the term determined by the conference end-date.

Recipients will be selected through a random selection process if applications exceed available funding.

Refer to the Program Status table below for application period dates.

Award Value:

Recipients will receive an award valued at $250 for virtual conferences or $500 for in-person conferences. 

The number of awards available will vary from year to year depending on available budget. The annual budget will be divided across three terms, with a greater allocation typically assigned to the spring term. 

This award is intended as a reward for presenting research at a conference and the value may not be sufficient to cover associated expenses. Students are encouraged to seek additional financial support from their graduate supervisor, department and/or faculty.

Eligibility and Award Conditions:

• Graduate students must be registered in the term of the conference as full time or part time in a research-based program while completing a thesis or Master's Research Paper (MRP). 
• Students are limited to receiving the award once per fiscal year (May-April), regardless of the value of award issued.
• Applicants must be presenting their own research (oral, poster, paper), which is of direct benefit to their research/academic studies, at an in-person or virtual academic conference.
• Applicants must submit a Graduate Student Research Dissemination Award application where they must include a lay summary of the research they will be presenting, as well as a description of the expected outcomes and how the conference will benefit their research/academic studies. The applicant must upload a Graduate Student Research Dissemination Award – Supervisor Verification form signed by their supervisor when applying.
• Applications must be submitted during the application period corresponding to the term in which the conference end-date occurs. Applications submitted for conferences with an end-date in a different term will not be considered.
• If the conference dates straddle two terms, applicants must submit their application for the term in which the conference end-date occurs (e.g., a conference occurring from August 30 to September 3 would be considered a fall conference).
• Award recipients must notify GSPA immediately if their attendance type changes (e.g., in-person to virtual). In this case, the award value will be adjusted to reflect the new attendance type.
• Award recipients who do not end up attending the conference are required to notify GSPA immediately by email to arrange for repayment of funds awarded.
• Students who were approved for the award who later change their registration status to inactive in the term of the conference will be required to repay the award.
• GSPA will perform audits of select award recipients who will be required to provide proof of presentation which may include conference brochure, agenda or screenshot of website listing the recipient as a presenter.
• With the applicant’s consent, GSPA may publish research summaries and expected outcomes provided by the applicant on the application form on their website in order to promote graduate student research at Waterloo.
• To support internal tracking of research activity, students are strongly encouraged to share their SCOPUS / ORCID ID (16 digits) at the time of application.

Program Status

Fiscal Year	Application Term	Conference Period	Application Period
26-27	Spring 2026	May 1, 2026 - August 31, 2026	April 22, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. to May 1, 2026 at 4:00 p.m.
26-27	Fall 2026	September 1, 2026 - December 31, 2026	July 31, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. to August 7, 2026 at 4:00 p.m.
26-27	Winter 2027	January 1, 2027 - April 30, 2027	November 30, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. to December 4, 2026 at 4:00 p.m.

*All times are listed in Eastern Time (ET).

Application Process:

1. Apply during the application period corresponding to the term determined by the conference end-date (refer to the Program Status table).
2. Download and obtain your supervisor's signature on the Graduate Student Research Dissemination Award - Supervisor Verification form
3. Complete the application web form, upload the signed Supervisor Verification Form and submit.

Award Notification and Payment:

Applicants will be notified of the decision by email within 3 weeks after the application period ends. Recipients will have their award applied to the term in which the conference end-date occurs. The award will be coded to the student’s Quest account and first applied to any outstanding tuition and incidental fees. Any credit balance will be released as a refund via direct deposit.