GSG Grant Programs

*Applications for the Spring 2026 Travel Grant are now open*

Purpose of GSG Grant Programs

The graduate student government is committed to enhancing the graduate student experience at Mines by providing a variety of services, social events, and forums for graduate students to express their comments and concerns. Perhaps one of the most important ways in which GSG supports graduate students is by providing a number of grants which support students in their professional development, support graduate students with families, and support students in bringing in outside professionals for informative seminars open to all graduate students. We are always interested in feedback on our grant programs, to ensure they are meeting the needs of Mines graduate students. Please contact a GSG Executive Council Member or General Council Program Representative if you have ideas for new grant programs or improvements to existing grant programs.

For any questions regarding grants please contact the GSG Director of Finance (gsgtreasurer@mines.edu).

Please find further details on each grant below.

Travel Grants

Link to Application Form

Applications typically open within 1-2 weeks of Census Day each grant period.

Travel Grant Quick Reference Rules (Current for Spring and Summer 2026)

Each graduate student is allowed one travel grant per degree program with a total award not to exceed either $700 or $950 depending on travel destination. The following table gives the grant amounts.

Travel grant applications will only be considered if the conference travel occurs within the stated Conference Travel Dates, applications for conference travel outside of the stated dates will be rejected and applicant will need to reapply in the appropriate grant period. The following table gives the grant periods and their associated conference dates.

Travel Grant Quick Reference Rules (New Rules Starting Fall 2026)

Each graduate student is allowed one travel grant per degree program with a total award not to exceed $800.

Travel grant applications will only be considered if the event travel occurs within the stated Event Travel Dates, applications for event travel outside of the stated dates will be rejected and applicant will need to reapply in the appropriate grant period. The following table gives the grant periods and their associated conference dates.

Travel Grant Rules and Regulations (Current for Spring and Summer 2026)

Overview

The principal role of the Mines graduate student government is to support the professional development of graduate students across the Mines community. Therefore, GSG encourages graduate students to apply for a one-time travel grant fund during their degree program.

The GSG Director of Finance, with the approval of the General Council determines the travel grant funding available per semester. It generally encompasses ~30% of the GSG Scaling Funds Budget, which are meant to scale relative to the student population that semester. The total award monies are divided into three periods to handle applications for conferences falling within defined dates so that GSG can best serve the graduate community by setting aside specific travel grant funds for each of the three periods in the year. The first of these periods, the Fall Travel Grant Period, accepts applications for travel from the start of the Fall semester (generally in mid-late August) to the end of December. The Spring Travel Grant period accepts applications for travel from the beginning of January to the end of the spring semester (generally in mid-late May). The Summer Travel Grant period runs from the end of the Spring semester to the beginning of the Fall semester. Applications for each term follow the same application, guidelines, and rules.

Eligibility

Concerning the Travel Grant, your degree program is the degree you applied for and accepted into Mines. For example, a student who applied and finished a Master’s degree program, reapplied, and was accepted for a PhD program can apply for one travel grant during their Master’s degree and one during their PhD. However, a PhD student who gets their Master’s along the way qualifies for only one travel grant as the Master’s and PhD degree programs are not separate. These grants are open to all qualified graduate students in any degree program (Master’s Non-Thesis, Master’s Thesis, PhD, etc…).

All applications for Travel Grants to professional development events occurring outside the period of each term will be automatically rejected. Once the funds for a given period are exhausted, no further Travel Grants can be approved without additional appropriations approved by the GSG Council. The official Academic Calendar posted by the Mines Registrar will determine the start and end dates for relevant terms.

Grants are designed to help cover some costs of attending and/or presenting at a conference or professional development event. The Role and Travel Categories listed on a student’s application determine the amount of money they can receive as a Travel Grant. A student is either Attending an event or can be Attending and Presenting, which determines the Role Category. Each student may receive an Attending and Presenting portion of a Travel Grant from GSG. Each portion will only be awarded once per student per degree program. These portions are combined if a student has applied and approved for the money to attend and present at the same event. Students may apply to receive these portions for separate events if their application for the Attending portion is approved and a subsequent application for their Presenting portion for a different event is also approved. If a student has accepted either portion of their Travel Grant from a previously approved application, they are ineligible to receive that portion based on a future application.

Awards and Post-Conference

The Travel Category is Domestic or International based on the event location in the United States. These are mutually exclusive, meaning a student who has previously accepted a Domestic Travel Grant may not later receive an International Travel Grant, and vice versa. The table above describes awarded Travel Grant amounts based on the Role and Travel Categories. The maximum student award for an individual domestic conference event is $700 (Attendance=$200 and Presenter=$500). For international conference grants, the Attending portion remains $200. However, because of the higher costs associated with international travel, GSG will provide an extra $250 for the Presenting portion of the grant, bringing the total maximum up to $950 for international conferences with the same rules and restrictions in place.

Acceptance of a GSG travel grant requires the student to complete a Conference Report within 30 days of travel. The format of the Conference Reports may vary but requires a 250-word description of the attendee’s experience, with at least three photos from the trip, one of which must show the applicant presenting their material if awarded the Presenting grant. They should be emailed directly to the GSG Director of Finance at gsgtreasurer@mines.edu. Alternatively, awardees may post a photo of their poster/presentation/travel in general on social media, tagging and thanking GSG for the grant.

Applications are processed on a first-come-first served basis by the GSG Director of Finance, but may be reviewed by the GSG grant committee to ensure all rules and requirements are met. If interested in applying, please complete the travel grant application. Travel grants are generally reviewed and awarded in the first week of each month, but there may only be one award round per semester, as funds can fully disbursed quickly.

Travel Grant Rules and Regulations (New Rules Starting Fall 2026)

Overview

The principal role of the Mines graduate student government is to support the professional development of graduate students across the Mines community. Therefore, GSG encourages graduate students to apply for a one-time travel grant fund during their degree program.

The GSG Director of Finance, with the approval of the General Council determines the travel grant funding available per semester. It generally encompasses ~30% of the GSG Scaling Funds Budget, which are meant to scale relative to the student population that semester. The total award monies are divided into three periods to handle applications for conferences falling within defined dates so that GSG can best serve the graduate community by setting aside specific travel grant funds for each of the three periods in the year. The first of these periods, the Fall Travel Grant Period, accepts applications for travel from the start of the Fall semester (generally in mid-late August) to the end of December. The Spring Travel Grant period accepts applications for travel from the beginning of January to the end of the spring semester (generally in mid-late May). The Summer Travel Grant period runs from the end of the Spring semester to the beginning of the Fall semester. Applications for each term follow the same application, guidelines, and rules.

Eligibility

All applications for Travel Grants to professional development events occurring outside the period of each term will be automatically rejected. Once the funds for a given period are exhausted, no further Travel Grants can be approved without additional appropriations approved by the GSG Council. The official Academic Calendar posted by the Mines Registrar will determine the start and end dates for relevant terms.

Your degree program is the degree you applied for and accepted into Mines. For example, a student who applied and finished a Master’s degree program, reapplied, and was accepted for a PhD program can apply for one travel grant during their Master’s degree and one during their PhD. However, a PhD student who gets their Master’s along the way qualifies for only one travel grant as the Master’s and PhD degree programs are not separate. These grants are open to all qualified graduate students in any degree program (Master’s Non-Thesis, Master’s Thesis, PhD, etc…).

To ensure that students are prepared to attend conferences or other professional development events, and maximize the benefits they can obtain from these experiences, Travel Grants will now require additional campus engagement from students before they will be considered eligible. Students have three options designed to promote professional development that make them eligible for the GSG Travel Grant at the time of their application:

1. Previous participation in the GSG GRADS symposium, offered every spring term over three days at Colorado School of Mines. Students who have presented a poster, oral presentation, or competed in the three-minute thesis competition during their degree at Mines are considered to have met the required eligibility criteria for the Travel Grant.

• • For more information on GRADS, please visit https://gsg.mines.edu/grads/

OR

2. Participation in one of the professional development workshops offered by the Office of Graduate Studies or the Arthur Lakes Library. These are offered at least once a month throughout the year, a schedule for which can be found here:

• • GRADS Workshops: https://gsg.mines.edu/grads/
  • OGS Workshops: https://graduatestudies.mines.edu/graduate-advantage/
  • Arthur Lakes Library Workshops: https://libguides.mines.edu/researcher501

OR

3. Previous enrollment in CSM 501 – Grad Skills and Success, or SYGN 501 – Research Skills for Graduate Students will also be accepted to fulfill eligibility requirements.

GSG Travel Grants can be used to help cover some costs of attending and/or presenting at degree-related professional development events. This can cover a wide variety of events, opportunities, and experiences, including conferences, professional summer schools, bootcamps, research trips, etc. They must be degree-related, and all other requirements still apply. If a student presents original work at the event, they are eligible to receive the presenter portion of the grant, otherwise they can only receive the attending portion of the grant. This information is taken from the Role section of the students’ application and determines the amount of money they can receive if the application is accepted. A student is either Attending an event or can be Attending and Presenting. Each student may receive an Attending and Presenting portion of a Travel Grant from GSG. Each portion will only be awarded once per student per degree program. These portions are combined if a student has applied and approved for the money to attend and present at the same event. Students may apply to receive these portions for separate events if their application for the Attending portion is approved and a subsequent application for their Presenting portion for a different event is also approved. If a student has accepted either portion of their Travel Grant from a previously approved application, they are ineligible to receive that portion based on a future application.

Awards and Post-Conference

The maximum student award for an individual professional development event is $800 (Attendance=$250 and Presenter=$550). Acceptance of a GSG travel grant requires the student to complete a Travel Report within 30 days of travel. A template of the Travel Report will be sent with an application acceptance. It requires a 250-word description of the attendee’s experience, with at least three photos from the trip, one of which must show the applicant presenting their material if awarded the Presenting grant. Applicants whose event occurs before receiving their acceptance are still expected to provide both this report and receipts of expenses. They should be emailed directly to the GSG Director of Finance at gsgtreasurer@mines.edu. Alternatively, awardees may post a photo of their poster/presentation/travel in general on social media, tagging and thanking GSG for the grant.

Applications are processed on a first-come-first served basis by the GSG Director of Finance, but may be reviewed by the GSG Grant Committee to ensure all rules and requirements are met. If interested in applying, please complete the travel grant application. Applications open within 1-2 weeks of Census Day, and will remain open until all money is allocated. Travel grants are generally reviewed and awarded in the first week of each month, but there may only be one award round per semester, as funds can be fully disbursed quickly.

Emergency Travel Grant Fund

• • Written explanation of the unforeseen circumstances that currently prevent attendance without Emergency Funds (unexpected funding cuts, Advisor departure, etc…..).
  • Written explanation of reason attendance is necessary from a professional standpoint (e.g. required for research/degree completion, only opportunity to present work at a professional conference, etc….).
  • Documentation that your home department is aware of your case and cannot provide the necessary funds on its own.
    • There may be an opportunity for some price sharing if home department or other source cannot cover full cost, but is willing to price match up to the new standard GSG Travel Grant amount.

Family Assistance Grants

Family Assistance Grant Application

Family Assistance Grant Reference Rules

Applicants for Family Assistance Grants must  

1. Be a full- or part-time graduate student at Colorado School of Mines  
2. Have at least one Dependent and have documented financial need  
3. Have an annual household income less than $60,000  
4. Self-report total annual income per household, including portions of scholarships not paid directly to Mines 

Applicants are allowed only one award per semester and there is no automatic renewal, you must reapply each semester.  

Family Assistance Grant Rules and Regulations

The Family Assistance Grant is intended to help graduate students at Mines with the responsibility of family care to defray the additional costs. This grant is funded by the Graduate Student Government (GSG) and overseen by the Office of Graduate Studies (OGS). 

All awards are ultimately at the discretion of the GSG Grant Committee, so specific requirements may be waived for extraordinary circumstances, however, applicants should generally meet the following criteria. Applicants for the family assistance grant must be a full- or part-time graduate student at Colorado School of Mines, have at least one dependent and have documented financial need, have an annual household income less than $60,000, and self-report total annual income per household, including portions of scholarships not paid directly to Mines. In determining financial need, several factors are considered. Among these are (i) household income; (ii) educational expenses; (iii) other non-documented sources of income; (iv) and access to other daycare services or health insurance. 

A maximum of 14 family assistance grants are awarded each semester. If more than 14 students apply, the 14 applications with the highest determined need (as determined by the GSG Grant Committee) will receive the Family Assistance Grants. There is no automatic renewal of award, rather applicants must reapply each semester that their need persists. There is also a limit of one Family Assistance Grant awarded per student per semester with the total number of awards a student has received playing into the need ranking.  

Grant awards through this program are made semi-annually (Fall and Spring semester disbursement only). Currently, the amount of the awards is for $1000. As awards are given in the form of a grant based on financial need, these may, depending on the awardee’s individual circumstances, be tax exempt. The applications are evaluated by the GSG grant committee. This committee is comprised of at least 3 members and is charged with evaluating and ranking applications based on the criteria defined above as well as other criteria as approved by the GSG General Council. The grant committee makes its award recommendations to the Dean of Graduate Studies.  

If you are denied an award and extenuating or other mitigating circumstances exist, you may appeal the award decision to the grant committee and Dean of Graduate Studies. The appeal must be in writing and must be received by the Grant Committee no later than 5 business days after initial notification of committee decision. Examples of extenuating circumstances that would be considered but are not limited to are: a sudden illness in the immediate family or recent loss of a job. 

Lecture Series Grants

Lecture Series Grant Application

Lecture Series Grant Quick Reference Rules

A maximum of two $1500 lecture series grants are awarded each semester in support of enhancing the academic or educational experience of mines graduate students. Applications must  

1. Further the research/educational experience or opportunities of Mines graduate students  

1. Promote CSM’s institutional values and principles for graduate education  

1. Reach as many graduate students as possible (preference will be given to those which reach the most students) 

The grant requires the authorization of your local department head and department GSG representative as well as a presentation to the GSG general council on the event and its benefit, cost and cost breakdown, and which graduate students can attend along with the date and location of the event.   

Lecture Series Grant Rules and Regulations

The Colorado School of Mines GSG is committed to supporting opportunities that better the academic graduate experience, including on-campus academic programming. In support of this goal, GSG provides up to two lecture series grants per semester, each worth a maximum of $1500. These lecture series grants can be used to support bringing in an internal/external speaker for a seminar open to all graduate students, support department conferences open to the graduate body, and generally support any event/lecture/etc… which is open to and academically benefits the graduate community at Mines. 

To apply for funding from the Graduate Student Government, the proposed lecture/event/etc… should benefit and enhance CSM graduate research. Requests will be evaluated on an individual basis, and emphasis will be given to initiatives that (1) reach the most graduate students; (2) further the research/educational experience or opportunities of graduate students; and (3) promote CSM’s Institutional Values and Principles for graduate education. Overall, grants will be awarded for lectures/events which reach multiple research groups within the campus. 

The Lecture Series Grant application requires authorization from both the GSG Department Representative and your local Department Head. Completed applications may be scanned and emailed to the GSG Treasurer (gsgtreasurer@mines.edu). Upon completion of the application, the applicant/department rep must present their application in person at the next GSG Council meeting with a brief explanation of the event and its educational/academic benefit to the graduate community, the cost and cost breakdown of the event, and an announcement of date/location of the event so that any interested student may attend.  Applications will be considered by the GSG Council, and applicants will be notified within three (3) weeks of the Council’s decision. In submitting an application, the submitter agrees to work with the department to secure all travel arrangements for the presenter and take responsibility for room reservations, catering, marketing, and any other activities required to organize and present the lecture. 

Fellowships

GRADUATE COMPLETION FELLOWSHIPS

Completion Fellowships (formerly known as Continuance Fellowships) are offered by the Office of Graduate Studies (OGS) to cover 1 credit of tuition, fees, and insurance for thesis-based students in the final semester of their MS or PhD program, whose prior continuous funding (e.g. via RA, TA, fellowship contract, or external sponsorship) is no longer available due to unforeseen circumstances.

All U.S. and international students must be enrolled for a minimum of 1 credit in the final semester of their degree program. If the student, advisor, and department/program have no other financial resources available for the minimum required 1 unit of tuition, fees, and insurance, Completion Fellowships are intended to provide this last resort assistance, to enable the student to complete all requirements for his/her degree. Completion Fellowships do not include stipends for living expenses.

Applications for Completion Fellowships are accepted for fall, spring, and summer. Students may receive the fellowship only once.

To be eligible for these fellowships, students must meet the following criteria:

1. Have received prior continuous support via RA, TA, fellowship, or external sponsorship that covered tuition, fees, health insurance (unless waived), and stipend in all Fall and Spring terms
2. Are entering the final semester of their thesis-based degree program (i.e. student has met all requirements except completion of their thesis, is eligible for reduced registration and will graduate by the end of the semester for which the fellowship is awarded)
3. Are in good academic standing
4. Have not previously been awarded this fellowship
5. Have experienced significant unforeseen circumstances that have led to lack of support for tuition & fees (e.g. withdrawal of sponsorship funding; discontinuation of a research grant; medical emergency; family emergency; extended lab closure or lack of access to work sites due to COVID-19. These circumstances must be described and documented by the student and/or their advisor, as applicable)

In Fall 2024, Completion Fellowships will provide students with coverage of 1 credit of tuition and the associated fees, plus health insurance if the student has not waived Mines student health insurance. Tuition and fee charges are posted by the Bursar’s Office here. Frequently Asked Questions about Completion Fellowship support will be coming soon. Additional questions may be directed to Assistant Dean Jenny Briggs: jsbriggs@mines.edu. If a fellowship is awarded, OGS will work with department/program staff to share the appropriate financial information for the student’s contract.

Application Information/Deadlines: Applications should be addressed to the Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies and submitted electronically to the Office of Graduate Studies at grad.services@mines.edu. Late applications will only be considered under extenuating circumstances. Applications will be reviewed for eligibility and completeness by the Assistant Dean. The final decision will be made by the Graduate Dean based on available funds.

Applications for Fall 2024 must be submitted after August 1, 2024. Applications will be reviewed and fellowship recipients will be notified by August 26, 2024.  

Click here for the Application Form