Loyola University Chicago

The Graduate School

Graduate Research

Research is a central part of graduate education. As part of its commitment to graduate level research, the Graduate School supports a variety of initiatives that fund research and support its presentation. Please note that research funding and travel awards detailed here are only available to students whose programs are housed on the lakeside campuses. Students enrolled in graduate programs at the Health Sciences campus should consult with the Graduate School at the Health Sciences Campus or the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing for research-related funding programs.

Students should update GSPS with all external awards, conference presentations, and honors received.

This competition began at the University of Queensland in Australia in 2008 as a way to "cultivate students' academic, presentation, and research communication skills... (by) explaining their research in three minutes, in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience." Universities across the world now participate in this unique event. Any graduate student conducting research for a thesis or dissertation can compete. The Graduate School hosts Loyola's competition and the winner is invited to compete in the annual regional Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools 3MT event later in the Spring. Global 3MT competition films can be seen here.

 

Note: If vaccinated for COVID-19, domestic travel for conferences is allowed; international travel is allowed (within State Department guidance and at discretion of department leadership); exercise caution when traveling to areas with substantial or high COVID-19 virus transmission; compliance with City of Chicago emergency travel order required upon return.

 

The Graduate School encourages students to present their work at conferences throughout the United States and abroad. Students may apply for up to $750 (per academic year) in travel costs associated with presenting at a conference. Please note that travel awards are only available to current students whose programs are housed on the lakeside campuses. Students enrolled in graduate programs at the Health Sciences campus should consult with the Graduate School at the Health Sciences Campus or the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing for travel-related funding programs. Students whose conferences fall after their thesis/dissertation defense date (for programs with a thesis/dissertation requirement) or after their final course (for those programs without a thesis/dissertation) are not eligible to apply for travel funding. 

 

To be considered for funding, you must apply online BEFORE the conference takes place. To apply, log into GSPS, navigate to Award Forms > Internal Awards section, and click the "Add" button to begin. You will be required to upload proof of acceptance to a conference (i.e. an email or letter of acceptance from the conference sponsor) and a preliminary budget in one single PDF. The budget should include expected travel and lodging costs, conference registration fees, poster printing costs, and food (students must adhere to the university's current per diem rates for food). You will receive confirmation to your LUC.edu email account to let you know if your application has been approved or rejected.

 

Within three weeks of completing travel, please submit a completed and signed Expense Reimbursement Form (instructions here), your receipts (in a single PDF file, in the order they appear on your reimbursement form), and any other related conference documents to the Communication & Records Coordinator in The Graduate School. Please note that you may be required to fill out an Electronic W9/W8 Form if you haven’t filled one out in the past academic year. Incomplete or incorrect claims will cause a delay in reimbursement, so please make sure that you have filled out the forms completely, and that all necessary receipts are included. Please note: according to Accounts Payable policy, expense reimbursements submitted more than 90 days following the date of the expense or the last date of travel will be considered taxable income. 

 

Applications for conference travel awards will be accepted on the following schedule:

Conference DateApplication Submission
June 15 to September 30 May 15 through 19
September 15 to December 31 August 17 through September 2
December 15 to March 31 November 15 through 19
March 15 to June 30 February 17 through 24

After April 15 and until June 1, students who did not receive conference funding during the appropriate application period, which includes all conferences during the current academic year, may resubmit their application.

 

Only $750 in travel funding per student can be granted per academic year. However, if you are awarded a partial award to cover conference registration fees, you may apply for a second award for a different conference during a later round of travel awards. Funds are limited and will be awarded based on a distribution of students in different programs, so while we do encourage you to apply earlier in the application period if you can, the applications will remain open for the full period, and simply applying on the first day of the application period will not guarantee funding.

17th Annual Graduate School Interdisciplinary Research Symposium

Saturday, April 13, 2024
Information Commons 4th Floor


The Graduate School and the Graduate Student Advisory Council host an annual interdisciplinary research symposium on the Lake Shore Campus organized around the diverse research methods exhibited in scholarly work. The symposium is an excellent forum for Loyola graduate students to present their scholarly work. Any current graduate student within The Graduate School is eligible to submit a presentation. Monetary awards will be given based on research category and student’s program status. 

 

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

The call for abstracts usually appears in January of each year and is featured in the Graduate School newsletter. The call for proposals for next year's conference will be posted in December.

  

CONTACT

If you have any questions, please email the Research Symposium Committee at GSAC@luc.edu.

Office of Research Services: The Office of Research Services (ORS) assists faculty and students at the Lake Shore and Water Tower campuses with externally funded research, training and public service projects.

 

Institutional Review Board (IRB): All use of human subjects including the use of any surveys, questionnaires, and interviews even with data previously obtained from human subjects must receive approval from the IRB.

 

Also view the Introduction to the IRB PowerPoint for more information.

Graduate School students who are approved in advance for a Research Funding Request may receive reimbursement of up to $500 for expenses related to the research and preparation of a dissertation, thesis, or major research paper if applicable. The Graduate School will only grant one research funding award per student, and reimbursement for the funds must be claimed within the same academic year. To apply, please submit a Research Funding Request Form.

Once the approved activities are completed, fill out an Expense Reimbursement Form and submit it to the Graduate School along with your original receipts. If your award included gift cards or incentives of some kind, please be aware that IRS rules require that you complete a disbursement log tracking what was distributed. Do not forget that the Graduate School can not reimburse gift cards purchased with personal or departmental funds. You MUST submit a request for the Graduate School to purchase the gift cards for you. If subjects must remain anonymous, please indicate that on your reimbursement request and list the subject’s study number on your disbursement log.

Note: Research Funding is only available to students in historically underfunded disciplines and whose programs are housed on the Lakeside Campuses. Students interested in submitting a request to purchase a laboratory supply and/or material relevant to the student’s research should reach out to the Associate Dean of the Graduate School.  

The Research Experience for Master's Programs fellowship is designed to give Master's students an opportunity to partner with faculty members to engage in a mentored research experience that provides intellectual depth and breadth along with a capacity to think critically and reason analytically. Fellows will receive $2,000 and are selected on a competitive basis to outstanding students who have a demonstrated record of academic excellence but are in a degree program without the option of a thesis component. Students with identities that are under-represented in their disciplines are strongly encouraged to apply. 

The Research Mentoring Program (RMP) is designed to partner graduate students who are working on their dissertation research with undergraduates who are interested in participating in research. The graduate student application deadline for this competitive summer fellowship is early December. Once the approved activities are finished, please submit original receipts and a completed reimbursement form to the Awards Coordinator in the Graduate School to receive reimbursement for expenditures.

Loyola University Chicago is committee to ensuring that all its faculty and students have the opportunity to be properly trained in the ethical and responsible conduct of research and scholarly integrity and are held to the highest possible ethical standards. All lakeside campus researchers and students receiving eternal funding from NSF or NIH or other federal agencies requiring training must complete this two-day course.  Graduate students in the Health Sciences Campus should follow the RCRS training structure on that campus.  In addition, beginning Fall 2011, the Graduate School is requiring RCRS training for all matriculating PhD students and master’s students completing a thesis.

External Funding Sources: A list of common external funding opportunities for Graduate students.

 

Pivot (formerly COS) Search Engine for Grant Opportunities: Pivot is the most comprehensive, premier funding search engine.