The AMS-Simons Travel Grant program

The AMS-Simons Travel Grant program acknowledges the importance of research interaction and collaboration in mathematics and aims to facilitate these activities for recent PhD recipients. AMS-Simons Travel Grants are administered by the AMS with support from the Simons Foundation. These grants provide support for a significant number of committed researchers who have limited opportunities for travel and conferences and for collaborative work.

This application is closed for the 2024-2025 cycle. Applications for the next cycle will open in  February 2025 on MathPrograms.org.

Eligibility requirements

Eligible applicants for the 2025–2026 application cycle are early-career mathematicians who are located in the United States who have completed the PhD (or its equivalent) within the last four years (between April 1, 2021, and June 30, 2025, inclusive).  No person may receive an AMS-Simons travel grant more than once.

Note that for any program, fellowship, prize or award that has a maximum period of eligibility after receipt of the doctoral degree, the selection committee may use discretion in making exceptions to the limit on eligibility for candidates whose careers have been interrupted for reasons such as family or health. Therefore, an applicant who has had to slow down or temporarily stop their career for personal reasons may request to be considered for an extension in the amount of time after the PhD degree. This should be stated on the application. You will be notified separately about the status of your exception request. If accepted, your application will then be in the pool of applicants for the selection process.

Additionally, the applicant's research must be in a disciplinary research area supported by the Division of Mathematical Sciences at the National Science Foundation.

Previous AMS-Simons Travel Grant awardees and early-career mathematicians who already receive substantial external funding for research and travel (such as from the National Science Foundation) are not eligible to apply. 

What will this grant provide?

As of the 2023–2024 award cycle, each grant will provide an early-career mathematician with up to \$2,500 per year for two years to be used for research-related travel. Award amounts are subject to continued program funding levels. Whether the grant is administered by the awardee's institution or the AMS, reimbursements for eligible research-related travel expenses will go directly to the awardee and will have the awardee’s name on them, making the AMS-Simons Travel Grant a personal grant. 

Eligible travel expenses

Awardees may use grant funds for research-related travel, such as travel to a conference, a university, or an institute, or to visit a collaborator. Funds may also be used for a collaborator to visit the awardee to engage in research activities. Other research-related travel may be supported, subject to the approval of the awardee’s mentor. Expenses for travel may include advance-purchase economy airfare, hotel, transportation to and from an airport, and meals. Awardees will be encouraged, but not required, to use U.S. Flag Air Carriers for international air travel. Detailed guidelines, similar to those in place for NSF awards, will be provided to the awardee. Only eligible travel expenses that have advance approval from the awardee's mentor will be reimbursed. No fringe benefit rate, indirect costs, or overhead are to be covered by this funding.

Funding for the awardee's department

If the awardee's institution administers the grant, the department of the 2024–2025 AMS-Simons Travel Grant awardee will receive a payment of up to \$500 (20% of the annual travel grant amount) at the conclusion of each year of the award, upon receipt of the grantee's technical report and the institution's expense report. These funds are to be used by the awardee’s department to enhance its research environment. Award amounts are subject to continued program funding levels. 

Institutions may not charge costs of any kind to this program, such as fringe benefit rate, indirect costs, or overhead.

What is the mentor's role?

Each applicant will identify a mentor with whom they will engage during the two-year period of the grant. The mentor must serve as one of the applicant’s references in their AMS-Simons Travel Grant application and they will be asked to complete a mentor approval form upon submission of the application. The mentor is expected to interact with the awardee regularly throughout the grant period. In particular, the mentor considers the appropriateness of the awardee’s proposed research-related travel. Prior to the awardee’s proposed travel, the mentor must submit their approval to the AMS Programs staff via a mentor pre-authorization form. Otherwise, trip expenses will not be eligible for consideration for reimbursement.

What is the timeline for this grant?

Applications will be accepted beginning February 2025. Award decision notifications will be made via email in late June 2025. For 2025–2026 awardees, reimbursable expenses may be incurred no earlier than July 1, 2025, and no later than June 30, 2027.

Application Materials

  • CV. The CV should be limited to two pages and should include the following professional information sections only.

    • Education and training – thesis advisor(s), institutions, departments, degrees, and dates

    • Appointments – all academic or professional appointments, beginning with current appointment

    • Publications – complete citations of all submitted, accepted, or published books and papers as of March 31, 2024

  • Statement of current research. This document may be no longer than three pages. It should begin with a half-page scientific summary accessible to a non-specialist mathematician. The research statement should be no longer than two pages, and citations may be included in the remaining half page.

  • References. Each applicant must provide the names and contact information of exactly two references. Entering more than two references on the application will disqualify the applicant from consideration. Reference details are as follows.

    • One reference must be a letter of support from the applicant’s proposed mentor, affirming that the mentor agrees to serve in the role described above. The ideal mentor is someone who is an active senior (at least seven years past the PhD) participant in the applicant's research area and/or a trusted senior colleague in the applicant's department.

    • The second reference must be from an individual in the same area of research as the applicant. This person may not be the applicant's thesis advisor or coauthor.

  • Mentor Approval Form. You will be asked to enter the contact information, name, and institution of the mentor with whom you will interact during the two-year period of the grant. If you check the "Send email on submit?" box, when you submit this application, an email will be sent to that person to request their completion of the approval form.

If you have questions about navigating the MathPrograms.org application system, please contact AMS Programs Staff.

Selection

Awards will reflect the diversity of the mathematical community, including disciplinary research areas and geographical locations, and will avoid concentration of awards among a few institutions. Awardees for the 2024–2025 application cycle will be notified via email no later than July 3, 2024; the status of the award is not available on MathPrograms.org. Please alert the AMS Programs staff regarding any change in your email or mailing address during the application period.

Current AMS-Simons Travel Grant Awardees

Current AMS-Simons Travel Grant awardees who have questions about program policies and procedures should visit the awardee information page.

See a list of our 2023 awardees.

More questions?

For questions about the AMS-Simons Travel Grants program, contact AMS Programs staff or consult the frequently asked questions below.

Frequently asked questions:

If I applied for an AMS-Simons Travel Grant previously, may I apply again?

AMS-Simons Travel Grant applicants who were unsuccessful in a previous application cycle may reapply if they still meet all the eligibility requirements.

What if I do not know what my home institution will be during the grant period?

The application includes a box in which an applicant should list their home institution for the grant period. If the applicant’s home institution is in doubt, the applicant should explain the situation in that box.

What is the difference between my current institution and my home institution?

The application coversheet includes a “current institutional affiliation” question, which concerns where an applicant is based at the time of application. An applicant’s current and home institutions may be different (for instance, if the applicant is on leave from their home institution to participate in research at another institution). In rare cases, an award might be made to an applicant with no current institutional affiliation.

How can I tell if my references have submitted their letters?

When an applicant enters the name and email address of their references into the application system, the applicant should the check the “email notify on submit” button. After the applicant submits their coversheet, an email will automatically be sent to each reference to request their letter. An applicant can check the status of a reference letter (but not view it) by looking at their coversheet (in the Portfolio section of MathPrograms.org). Purple text next to the reference’s name will indicate the date of their upload.

How will my references know if they submitted their letters correctly?

It is an applicant’s responsibility to identify a mentor and a second reference and to arrange for them to upload their letters to MathPrograms.org before the application deadline. As described above, each reference will be asked via automated email to upload their letter. Once they have uploaded their letters, they will be able to see it as a PDF link next to the applicant’s name on the REFS screen.