TRAVEL GRANTS

COSYNE 2026 travel grant applications are now closed.

The Cosyne community is committed to bringing talented scientists together at our annual meeting, regardless of their ability to afford travel. Thus, a number of travel grants will be awarded to students, postdocs, and PIs for travel to the Cosyne meeting.

Each award will cover at least $500 towards travel and meeting attendance costs. Larger grants may be available to those traveling from outside Europe.

The Undergraduate award will cover travel costs up to $1000 per person (for people coming from Europe) and $1500 for students coming from further afield.  This amount can be used to cover flights, food, and relevant travel expenses.

We currently offer five award-granting programs: Childcare, Presenters, New Attendees, Mentorship, and Undergraduate Travel Grants (see below for details). It is permissible for an applicant to apply for more than one grant program (e.g., one may apply for both the Presenters Grant Program and the New Attendees Grant Program), but no applicant will be awarded more than one travel grant. Note that you can apply for a travel grant even before receiving notification about the outcome of your submission. Also, note that each conference attendee is only eligible for one discount per registration, travel grant recipients cannot also serve as volunteers.

All awards will be distributed at the main meeting and each awardee must register for the main meeting to receive the award.

  • We are pleased to announce that a limited number of childcare assistance grants will be available to help cover expenses incurred by participation in Cosyne 2026. Awards can be used to support participation at either the main meeting or workshops. Applicants should provide a 1-2 paragraph summary of their situation and how the grant will be used to facilitate participation in Cosyne. Preference will be given to those with young children and/or extenuating circumstances. This program is supported by our sponsors. The responses we receive will help us expand and tailor the program in future years.

  • Purpose: To ensure that early-career scientists with highly scored abstracts will be able to present their work at the meeting.
    Eligibility: For Ph.D. students, postdoctoral fellows, and new faculty members. The applicant must be the presenting author on a submitted abstract and must declare a need for travel funds.
    Selection of awardees:     Awards will be determined primarily based on merit (reviewer scores). For some awards, special consideration will be given to applicants in areas of interest to the donors. You are more likely to receive an award if you are a first author, an author on an oral presentation, an author on multiple presentations, and a first-time award recipient.

  • Purpose: To bring scientists that have not previously attended the Cosyne meeting to the meeting for the exchange of ideas with the community. We hope that these scientists will have their research enriched by the experience and may become regular attendees.
    Eligibility: For undergraduate students, Ph.D. students, postdoctoral fellows, PIs, or other research positions. The applicant does NOT need to be an author on a submitted abstract, but must declare a need for travel funds, and must declare that she/he has not previously attended the meeting.
    Selection of awardees: Awards will be determined based on the applicant’s statement. Particular consideration will be given to members of underrepresented minority groups.

  • Purpose: To bring early-career scientists of underrepresented minority groups to the meeting, and to acknowledge Cosyne PIs that are contributing to this effort (“Cosyne Mentor”).
    Eligibility: Applicants for the award should be faculty-level independent investigators who are intending to accompany a student (undergraduate or graduate) to the Cosyne meeting. The travel grant will fund only the student's travel expenses, but the application must be submitted by the faculty investigator (i.e., the PI), not the student. The faculty member should know the student well, typically as a teacher and/or a research advisor.
    Selection of awardees: Awards will be determined based on the prospective mentor’s statement. Particular consideration will be given to students of underrepresented minority groups.

  • Purpose: To bring undergraduate students with a strong interest in neuroscience to the meeting.
    Eligibility: For undergraduate students. The applicant does NOT need to be an author on a submitted abstract, but must declare a need for travel funds, and must declare that she/he has not previously attended the meeting.
    Selection of awardees: Awards will be determined based on the applicant’s statement. Particular consideration will be given to members of underrepresented groups.

For questions regarding travel grant submission, please contact: meeting [at] cosyne.org. After award announcement, if needed, please contact Leslie Weekes (leslie.weekes [at] cosyne.org) for further details on award distribution.