USA Scholarships
Academic Conference Guides in the USA
Conferences
Short, intensive gatherings where you present your own work rather than study for a degree. Some cover travel and lodging for selected delegates, others ask you to pay a registration fee and get yourself there, so each guide below spells out exactly which costs land on you and which do not.
WACA Student Scholars Program 2026 - Free DC Conference
The WACA Student Scholars Program 2026 sends 25 undergraduates to the World Affairs Councils of America National Conference in Washington, DC, from 17 to 20 November 2026, at no cost to the student. WACA pays for conference registration, room and board, and gives each nominating Council $1,250 toward the scholar's travel and lodging. You cannot apply cold: one of WACA's 90 member Councils has to pick you as its single nominee first. You must be an undergraduate aged 18 or older at a local college or university, and students at schools in the Greater Washington DC area are excluded. Nominations and student applications close on Friday 25 September 2026 at 11:59 PM EDT.
East-West Center Graduate Student Conference 2027 - Hawaii
The 26th East-West Center International Graduate Student Conference runs 11 to 13 February 2027 at the Hawai'i Imin International Conference Center in Honolulu, under the theme Weaving Knowledge for Shared Indo-Pacific Prosperity. Abstracts close on 30 September 2026 at 11:59 PM Hawaii time, submitted through Submittable as a 350-word abstract plus a 100-word plain-language summary. Junior and senior undergraduates, graduate students, and anyone who finished a graduate degree in the past year can submit. The conference has been student-run since 2002 and takes academic papers, creative works, performance and film, with the choice of presenting in Honolulu or live online. Nobody funds your seat. Registration was $85 in person for IGSC 2026 if you paid before 15 December, and travel, visa and lodging are yours to arrange, though EWC residence hall rooms are held for participants from $113 a night.