SSP Travel Awards Program
McGill’s Surgical Scientist Program (SSP) Travel Awards Program provides funding to graduate students and SSP residents within the Department of Surgery to present their research at conferences during their Master's or PhD candidature.
The award is paid as a reimbursement of travel expenses, only AFTER the conference has taken place
Award Periods
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Total Available Funding for
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January 1st – July 31th, 2025* |
July 1st, 2025 |
$8,000 |
August 1st – December 31st, 2025 |
July 1st, 2025 |
$8,000 |
January 1st – July 31th, 2026 |
December 1st, 2025 |
$8,000 |
August 1st – December 31st, 2026 |
July 1st, 2026 |
$8,000 |
*For this award period, we will exceptionally accept applications for past conferences taking place from January 1st, 2025.
SSP TRAVEL AWARD |
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- Applicants must submit a detailed budget, including the costs for conference attendance and other existing sources of funding.
- Eligible expenses include:
- Discount economy round-trip airfare. For any higher-level airfare, the applicant will be responsible for the difference between the lowest airfare and the higher level.
- Transport to and from the airport.
- Reimbursement for hotel expenses is limited to the headquarters hotel rate during the official meeting dates. Stays extending beyond these dates are not eligible for reimbursement.
- Registration fees for the conference.
- A total per diem of up to $75/day (Within Canada) or $100/day (Outside Canada), excluding alcoholic beverages (receipts required)
- The maximal amount of each SSP Travel Award is $2,000 CAD, paid via reimbursement (after the conference).
- Budgets must be balanced and cannot run a profit or a deficit (i.e. expenses and revenue must be equal)
- The budget may be tentative, so please submit quotations or estimates if final amounts are unavailable.
ELIGIBILITY |
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At the time of application, applicants must:
- Be a graduate student enrolled in the Surgical and Interventional Sciences (SIS) Doctoral or Master's (thesis) program; OR
- Be a surgical resident enrolled in McGill’s Surgical Scientist Program;
- Be within the following timeframes from their initial graduate program registration:
MSc students: Two years
PhD students: Five years
- Have submitted an abstract (as first author, or co-first author) to an academic conference.
Who is NOT Eligible for this Award:
- Trainees enrolled in the SIS Master's non-thesis (coursework, taught) program.
RESTRICTIONS |
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- An applicant may receive up to a maximum of one SSP Travel Award per calendar year (January 1st to December 31st).
- Awardees must disclose any additional funding received to attend the conference.
- If another award is secured, the SSP Travel Award will be prorated to the amount necessary to cover the total conference costs. The maximal amount covered by the SSP is $2000.
- If the total funding from other awards is sufficient to cover the total conference costs, the SSP Travel Award must be declined.
- Support for duplicate presentations is not available.
HOW TO APPLY |
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DOWNLOAD the Application Form
Supporting Documents to submit with your application
- One-page Letter of intent explaining the motivations for attending the conference.
- If applicable, include information about other travel awards received to attend the conference.
- If applicable, include information about lack of eligibility for other travel awards.
- Budget (DOWNLOAD SSP Travel Awards Program Budget template)
- Abstract submitted to the conference.
- Confirmation of abstract acceptance or proof of submission (i.e., copy of confirmation email or website screenshot).
How to Apply:
Please submit your application documents in the specified order as a single PDF document** to surgicalscientist.med [at] mcgill.ca (subject: SSP%20TRAVEL%20Award) before the application deadline.
** Use PDF Merge or other free online applications.
- IMPORTANT - ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESULTS E-mails announcing competition results will be sent to all applicants approximately two weeks following the deadline. |
REIMBURSEMENT PROCEDURES |
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To obtain reimbursement, please send the following documents to surgicalscientist.med [at] mcgill.ca within 30 days of the travel completion:
- Updated budget (replacing any cost estimates with actual costs, including additional sources of funding)
- Proof of abstract acceptance (if not already provided)
- Original receipts for all expenses.
- Proof of payment of all expenses (e.g., credit card statement)
**As part of the award process, the trainee may need to provide their social insurance number and complete a direct deposit form.
Payments will be made via direct deposit.