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Mellon Conference Travel Awards for Students

Mellon Conference Awards are travel grants for students wishing to attend Dumbarton Oaks’ annual colloquia or symposia in Garden and Landscape Studies.

Due to the present circumstances surrounding COVID-19, Dumbarton Oaks is not currently accepting applications for this award. In the meantime, we invite you to visit our online resources found here. 

Dumbarton Oaks is pleased to announce a travel grant for students wishing to attend the annual symposium in Garden and Landscape Studies at Dumbarton Oaks, in Washington, D.C. The awards offer reimbursement up to $600 for the cost of travel to Washington D.C., local accommodation, and other approved expenses related to symposium or colloquium attendance. Symposium or colloquium registration fees are waived for holders of the Awards. Successful applicants will be expected to assist with a portion of the conference, such as registration and/or facilitating the discussion periods.

To be eligible to compete for a Mellon Colloquium Award, applicants (and recipients) must be currently-enrolled graduate students or undergraduate juniors or seniors. Candidates should prepare an application consisting of (a) a cover letter that provides a brief summary of the candidate’s research interests, plans for future research, and an explanation of why conference attendance is important to the candidate’s intellectual and professional development; (b) a résumé; and (c) a letter of support from the applicant’s thesis advisor or department chair. Applications for the Fall 2019 Colloquium are due September 16, 2019 and should be emailed as a single PDF to Mellon@doaks.org and marked “Mellon Colloquium Award 2019" in the subject line. Referees should be instructed to send their letters of support directly to Mellon@doaks.org. Recipients of the Awards are responsible for making their own arrangements for travel and accommodation. No housing will be available at Dumbarton Oaks during the colloquium. Funds will be disbursed only after the successful applicant has submitted a travel expense form and original receipts.

This award was made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Learn more of the the Mellon Initiative in Urban Landscape Studies at Dumbarton Oaks.