Travel Grants

Updated 26 August 2022

To support travel to the SHOT Annual Meeting, participants can apply for travel grants, as follows.

• SHOT Travel Grants: If you are a graduate student, recent Ph.D., or independent scholar who is NOT a US citizen or enrolled at a US institution, you ARE eligible for SHOT’s own Travel Fund grants.  SHOT Travel Fund grants are also open to adjuncts, retired SHOT members, unemployed members, SHOT International Scholars, and participants from outside the US, Canada and Western Europe. Deadline for applications is 15 August 2022. For more information see section A below. The deadline for the application is closed. It is no longer possible to apply for the SHOT Travel Grant..

  • Please note: If you are a graduate student, you will have to provide an endorsement from your advisor, certifying that you are enrolled in a graduate program.

• SHOT-NSF Travel Grants: NSF Travel Grant Applications for 2022 are available now!The NSF Travel Grant is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and is available to graduate students, early career scholars (PhD within the last 5 years), and independent scholars, at U.S. institutions and U.S. citizens at institutions outside of the United States. Apply for funding intended to defray the cost of travel. The deadline for this travel grant is 1 September 2022 If you are either a US citizen or enrolled at a US institution, AND if you are a graduate student or a recent PhD (previous five years) or an independent scholar, you are eligible for a grant from the SHOT-NSF travel grant program. For more information see section B below. Go to the online SHOT-NSF Travel Grant  Application Form. (Please note that this form is managed by HSS)

  • Please note: Applications from members of historically excluded groups and from those without access to additional funds, for whom conference attendance would be financially difficult without the NSF travel grant will be prioritized.

• Special Interest Groups Grants: SHOT also offers travel awards through two Special Interest Groups: Women in Technological History (WITH) and Exploring Diversity in Technological History (EDITH). For more information, see section C below.
• REDI Travel Grant, deadline 15 August 2022: The Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) announces a new Broadening Community travel grant, with applications open to participants at the 2022 annual meeting. Part of a broader effort to combat systemic and epistemic racism at SHOT, this award is intended to facilitate the growth of a more inclusive, intersectional scholarly community. Awards support attendance by presenters from minoritized groups, especially those underrepresented among annual meeting attendees. Applicants may present accepted papers on any topic, period, or region. First time presenters, graduate students, and early career scholars are especially encouraged to apply.Awards will range from $500 to $1500, depending on distance traveled. These funds may be used to defray the cost of registration, transit, lodging, and incidentals for the SHOT Annual meeting. The deadline for the application is closed. It is no longer possible to apply for the REDI Travel Grant.

Section A: SHOT Travel-Fund Grants (deadline for applications passed)

SHOT’s own grant program is open to those who are not eligible for SHOT-NSF grants, with descending priority as follows:

1. Current SHOT International Scholars;
2. Graduate students who are not US citizens or enrolled at a US institution;
3. Scholars from outside the US, Canada, and Western Europe who are part of the annual meeting, without regard to their academic rank or position;
4. Postdocs, independent scholars, temporary faculty, adjunct faculty, and part-time faculty (in all cases not more than five years past the terminal degree);
5. Members of the field who are currently unemployed;
6. Retired members of the society;
7. Assistant professors not more than six years past Ph.D. conferral.

Applicants are only eligible for a SHOT travel grant when they participate in the annual meeting program in some capacity. In descending priority, the committee will consider whether an applicant is:

• Giving a paper and conducting society business, including organizing a session;
• Giving a paper, including at a “Works-in-Progress” session;
• Commenting at a session and doing society business;
• Commenting at a session;
• Moderating a session and doing society business;
• Doing society business (serving on a committee, etc.) or moderating a session.

If you meet these criteria, please apply through the SHOT Travel Fund link above. Deadline for applications is 15 august 2022

SHOT Travel-Fund Grants may be used only for travel expenses and basic conference registration. Grant funds may not be used for tours, the awards banquet, lodging, or meals. SHOT grants are not meant to cover the full cost of attending meetings; they are intended as encouragement, not a complete subsidy. Reimbursement normally will be made upon submission of travel receipts to the SHOT secretary after the meeting; in exceptional circumstances, reimbursement may be considered in advance of the meeting.

Grants may range up to $750 for travel on the same continent (for example, to Milan from within elsewhere in Europe) and up to $1,000 for travel from a different continent. Under special circumstances, which should be explained in the application, the committee may make a larger grant for international travel. Amounts depend in part on the number of applications, and the committee may make partial awards.

The SHOT travel fund was initiated by Hugh Aitken in 1988 and has been supported by individual SHOT members, royalties from two anthologies of articles from Technology and Culture, and generous contributions from the Dibner Fund. Additional funds come from the National Science Foundation.

Section B: SHOT-NSF Travel Grants

Eligibility for SHOT-NSF money is only for people who are participating in the meeting in some way (i.e., as a presenter, chair, Society governance, etc.) _and_ who fit one of the following three categories:

1. graduate students who are either US citizens or enrolled at US institutions, or
2. recent PhDs (received within previous 5 years) who are either US citizens or enrolled at US institutions, or
3. independent scholars who are either US citizens or enrolled at US institutions.

Applications from members of historically excluded groups and from those without access to additional funds, for whom conference attendance would be financially difficult without the NSF travel grant will be prioritized.

If you meet these criteria, please apply via the online SHOT-NSF Travel Grant  Application Form. These grants are administered by our colleagues at the History of Science, though SHOT itself reviews the applications and determines the awards.

SHOT-NSF travel grants cover only (part) of cost of transportation to and from the conference and the cost of meeting registration. Travel grants do not cover the costs of transportation during the meeting, food, or lodging. Travel grants will be disbursed after the meeting in the form of reimbursements. Grant recipients will be responsible for filling out reimbursement forms and providing receipts for all claimed expenses – further details will come in award letters. Maximum awards: $750 for domestic travel and $1000 for international travel

Please note that recipients of SHOT-NSF travel grants will need to follow certain regulations; most important, only tickets on US-flag airlines are eligible for reimbursement, so for this grant, you MUST arrange travel on a US-flag airline!  Further details will come in the award letters. Please note that HSS and 4S and other societies run related NSF travel-grant programs, and that no person may receive more than one NSF-funded conference-travel grant per calendar year.

Go to the online SHOT-NSF Travel Grant  Application Form. (Please note that this form is managed by HSS)

Section C: WITH and EDITH Travel Awards

WITH Conference Grants 2022

The Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) Special Interest Group (SIG) for Women in Technological History (WITH) has announced that the application deadline for the WITH travel grant will be extended: The application deadline for the WITH Conference Grant is September 30, 2022. Please find all information here

EDITH Conference Support Awards

The Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) Special Interest Group Exploring Diversity in Technology’s History (EDITH) has announced its conference grant program for 2022: Please find all information here

To apply for the EDITH Conference Support Award, please fill out an application form and attach the following documents: an abstract of your proposed paper, evidence that it has been accepted by the SHOT program committee, and a one-page curriculum vitae. The application deadline is September 30, 2022 (decisions by mid-October).. All information will be posted here as soon as it becomes available. Please find the application form here

For information on SIGs, see: https://www.historyoftechnology.org/special-interest-groups/

2022 Travel Grant Committee

For more information, please contact the SHOT Secretary’s office at [email protected].