Council of Graduate Students (COGS) - Career Development Grant

The Council of Graduate Students (COGS) offers a Career Development Grant to support graduate students' professional growth, providing up to $900 for eligible expenses such as travel and workshop fees. Applicants must demonstrate financial need, submit a personal statement, and provide a recommendation letter. The program is open to all non-professional graduate students at the University of Minnesota, with specific timelines for funding events in Fall 2024, Spring 2025, and Summer 2025.

This Career Grant is intended to pay costs associated with the development of graduate student careers. The maximum award is $900.
Applications must document the research expense for which funding is requested, explain how that expense is important to the research project or the applicant's research career, and show that the needed funding is not available through their academic program or advisor.
Selection Criteria
Applicants’ academic merit and financial need (as previously defined) are evaluated based on:
A statement of financial need;A strong, well-written personal statement that explains what the grant funds will be used for;One recommendation letter that addresses the applicant's financial need and academic merit; andEvidence of academic promise via research record, grades, and/or reference letters.
Event and Reimbursement Timings
Fall 2024 Grants fund events and activities must occur between: September 3rd, 2024 - December 19th, 2024Spring 2025 Grants fund events and activities must occur between:December 20th, 2024 - May 2nd, 2025Summer 2025 Grants fund events and activities must occur between:May 3rd, 2025 - September 5th, 2025Fall 2025 Grant fund events and activities must occur between:September 10th, 2025 - January 11th, 2025

Eligibility

Possible eligible expenses might include travel and fees associated with professional development workshops, learning new techniques essential for your career, and travel to internships.Any student represented by COGS - all "GRD-designated" and non-professional graduate students on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus - is eligible to apply for a COGS grant. You will need a current tuition bill showing the Council of Graduate Students fee assessment or a current registration summary showing Doctoral FTE 8444, Masters FTE 8777, or GRAD 8888.Please note that students registered in 999 courses are not COGS-fee paying students automatically. However, students registered for 999 courses may volunteer to pay the COGS fee by emailing onestop@umn.edu.Each student may submit one application from each of the three grant categories every semester; Previous grant recipients are eligible to apply for COGS grants.This means a student can submit per semester a maximum of one career development grant application, one conference grant application, and one research support grant. Grant applications are limited to one conference or career development "activity" per application.​An event (including conference travel) that has already occurred by the time the grant will be reviewed will be considered for a grant for reimbursement on the same basis as an activity that has not yet occurred.

Ineligibility

The award cannot be used to fund research projects.If your tuition bill shows that you pay the Professional Student Government fee, you are NOT eligible for COGS grants. Instead, explore PSG grant options HERE.