Conference & Academic Engagement Grants
The UTGSU annually offers funding for conferences, workshops, or other academic events organized and hosted by graduate students at the University of Toronto. The purpose of this Grant is to foster collective or cooperative work amongst graduate students within or across disciplines. The maximum grant for any one event is $750.00.
Note that this grant does not fund individuals or groups who wish to attend or present work at academic conferences here or abroad.
2025 – 2026 Timeline
For 2025-2026, there will be three cycles of application periods. Applicants can apply during any cycle for any conference or academic event taking place in 2025 and 2026.
Fall Cycle: The application period for the first cycle of the 2025-2026 Conference and Academic Engagement Grant will open on September 8, 2025 and close November 17, 2025. Payments will be issued via Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) in December 2025 or January 2026.
Winter Cycle: The application period for the second cycle of the 2025-2026 Conference and Academic Engagement Grant will open on January 6, 2026 and close March 16, 2026. Payments will be issued via Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) in April 2026.
Summer Cycle: The application period for the third cycle of the 2025-2026 Conference and Academic Engagement Grant will open on May 4, 2026 and close July 17, 2026. Payments will be issued via Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) by September 2026.
All applications will be evaluated by the UTGSU Finance Committee after each application deadline.
Please note that grant payments can only be issued to an organization’s, event’s, or group’s bank account; payments will not be issued to individuals. Please ensure that you have the correct and accurate organization’s bank transit number, institution number, and account number to submit your grant.
Application Information
UTGSU will not fund more than one academic event per academic year hosted by any one department, association, course union, or group of students. Preference may be given to departments applying for the first time and for larger conferences. Applicants are not guaranteed to receive the full amount requested.
The application includes completing a form and uploading the following documents on Hello Rubric:
– A covering letter explaining the rationale and significance of the academic event, as well as an indication of the number of graduate students and disciplines that may participate.
– A full budget, including all anticipated costs and sources of funding (SSHRC, departments, student initiative fund. etc.). You must include the costs of registration for different groups (i.e. faculty, industry, students, etc.).
– An endorsement letter from your departmental course union (aka departmental student association) showing support for the event and lists the course union’s financial contribution.
The application link will open on the first day of each application cycle.
Please see the application below for full details and additional eligibility requirements:
Questions: Please contact the UTGSU Membership & Advocacy Coordinator at membership@utgsu.ca.
Applying via Hello Rubric
In order to apply for the grant, your student group needs to create a Student Club account via Hello Rubric. Please sign up for a Student Club account with your organizational email.
- Visit portal.hellorubric.com/
- New clubs can register right away and select ‘University of Toronto’ from the university dropdown
- Select the club category to the best of your ability (if unsure, select ‘academic’)
- Verify your account via email
The UTGSU is still finalizing the campus groups portal on Hello Rubric, so please check back during fall 2025 for more Hello Rubric campus club onboarding documents and how to fully set up your student group account.