URA Visiting Scholars Program (VSP) Grant

The URA Visiting Scholars Program (VSP) supports faculty, postdocs, and graduate students from URA member institutions to collaborate at Fermilab for up to one year. With a maximum award of $50,000, this program encourages participation in research across diverse fields such as high-energy physics and astrophysics. The application deadlines are the last Mondays in February and August, with funding decisions announced shortly thereafter. This initiative fosters scientific discovery and collaboration within the global research community.

The Universities Research Association’s Visiting Scholars Program (VSP) was established in 2007 to support faculty, postdocs and graduate students from URA institutions to work at Fermilab for up to one year.
The URA Visiting Scholars Program is supported by contributions from over 90 URA-member universities located in the United States, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
Visits can range from attendance at Fermilab conferences and summer schools to year-long stays at the Lab.
Award
Individual awards may be up to a maximum of $50,000 in any twelve-month period with a lifetime maximum award total of $50,000 per individual.
Award Administration
This program is administered by Universities Research Association, Inc., through reimbursement of expenses covered under the award to the researcher’s home institution.
Award payments from URA will be made through the home institution of the awardee on receipt from the home institution of an invoice detailing actual costs incurred. Invoices for expenses covered by an award are to be submitted by the home institution’s grants officer (or equivalent) to the URA Corporate Office in Washington, DC for payment. Final invoices are to be submitted to URA no later than 90 days after expiration of the award. All covered expenses must have been incurred after the initiation of the award and prior to the expiration of the award.
The full details of the administration of the award and submission of invoices are provided in “URA Visiting Scholars Program: Award Terms and Conditions.”
Application Deadline:
The application deadline for the spring round of awards is the last Monday in February. Funding decisions are announced at the end of March.
The application deadline for the fall round of awards is the last Monday in August. Funding decisions are announced at the end of September.
Fermilab Visitor Information
For general information on visiting and working at the Laboratory, please contact the Fermilab Users Office or visit them on the website here.
Fermilab's vision and mission
Fermilab is America's particle physics and accelerator laboratory.

Eligibility

Because these funds are provided by URA and come solely from contributions by URA member universities, the awardee’s home institution must agree to waive indirect costs, tuition, fees, and other administrative expenses.EligibilityIndividual proposals may be submitted by researchers who are: facultyresearch scientistspostdocs, or graduate students at URA-member universitiesDoing research in areas such as:high-energy physics experiments astrophysics theory accelerator physicsmaterials science computer science engineeringaccelerator R&D related to the Fermilab missionApplicants must be employed by or, in the case of graduate students, enrolled at URA member institutions during the course of the award.
Proposals may be submitted for an individual award, or, in limited circumstances, researchers in residence at Fermilab may submit a proposal for a laboratory-sponsored group activity (e.g., conferences, workshops, summer schools).A proposal must be written and submitted by the intended awardee.Support provided by the program may include the following: travel and local lodging expenses during a series of short visits OR salary support and round trip travel expenses for an extended visit.Award CriteriaApplications are judged on the scientific merit and cost-effectiveness of the proposed activity.
As all URA institutions contribute to this program, over time, some consideration is given to the balance among URA institutions, both by region and type.
Consideration is also given to the total amount of funds awarded to individual applicants and institutions in past cycles.
The allocation of awards is limited to funds contributed by member universities.Therefore, the URA review panel may deny or reduce some meritorious requests, particularly if they are deemed substantially more costly and/or less cost-effective than the norm.For example, it is expected that most salary requests include some contribution from the home institution, and most successful travel requests are kept low and cost-effective.Awards may not exceed one year duration and begin on the approved start date of the award activity or, in the absence of such a date, with the date of the award letter.Limitations
Visiting Scholars funds are intended for scholarships.Funding is strictly for individuals and activities approved in the award.Travel expenses only include economy round trip airfare and ground transportation (car rental, airport shuttle, etc.) between the awardees home or institution and Fermilab. Per diem reimbursement is limited to the first and last week of travel.
A train, bus, or other surface carrier may be used in lieu of, or as a supplement to, air travel. If such travel, however, could have been performed by air, the allowance will not normally exceed that for the lowest economy airfare.
Summer salary support is limited to two months.Reporting RequirementAwardees are expected to submit a brief report on the completion of their project (VS Project Report Form).Final project reports should be submitted electronically no later than 30 days after the completion of the project. Failure to submit final reports will delay VSP review and processing of pending and future proposal applications and administrative actions, including, but not limited to, no-cost extensions.Visitors do not become Fermilab employees. They therefore be sponsored by a home institution and can obtain a visa through their sponsored home institution if necessary. Additional information regarding visa requirements and access to Fermilab can be found here.

Ineligibility

Proposals developed or submitted by faculty on behalf of a student or colleague are not accepted.Requests to visit the laboratory solely for the purpose of operation of Fermilab facilities are discouraged.No awards will be made to faculty or postdocs in the terminal year of their appointment.The Visiting Scholars award may not be used for travel away from Fermilab (e.g., to visit another facility or attend a conference) or solely for the purpose of operating Fermilab facilities.Awards may not be used for household moving expenses or in support of accompanying family members (e.g., family member travel to Fermilab).Awards may not fund activities occurring prior to the start date indicated in the award letter. Applicants should plan the submission of their proposals accordingly.Reimbursement of tuition is unallowable.