Professional Development Grants are available to members of the UW–Madison advising, career services, and learning support communities who primarily work with undergraduate students.
The Office of Academic & Career Success funds two types of grants:
- The First-Time National Conference Attendee Grant
- The “Choose Your Own Adventure” Grant
Read below for more information on both available grants. The 2024 grant applications will be open from May 1 through June 18.
Please note: Professional Development Grants are currently on an annual cycle. If you are hoping to attend a conference or plan a “choose your own adventure” in the spring or early summer of 2025, please apply now!
First-Time National Conference Attendee Grant
The First-Time National Conference Attendee Grant was created to support advisors, career services, and learning support community members interested in attending a national conference for the first time. Conferences should be related to career services, higher education, academic affairs, or issues that impact undergraduate students.
1-3 grants are available per year. Grant amounts range up to $2,500.
Please note: Professional Development Grants are currently on an annual cycle. If you are hoping to attend a conference in the spring or early summer of 2025, please apply now!
Suggested conferences are offered through (but not limited to) the following organizations:
- American College Personnel Association (ACPA)
- The Annual Conference on The First-Year Experience (FYE)
- Career Leadership Collective
- College Reading & Learning Association
- Social Justice Training Institute
- NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising
- National Association for Colleges and Employers (NACE)
- National Career Development Association (NCDA)
- International College Learning Center Association
- National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE)
- National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA)
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Important Application Information
Applicants must submit a signed Supervisor Support Form with their application. Please download, fill out the form, and submit to your supervisor for approval and sign-off prior to applying for a grant.
Applicants will need to provide a financial contact person from their department or unit and a funding string when filling out the application. For the funding string, only 101 or 136 funds are able to be used. A full funding string is required with application: XXX(FUND) – XXXXXX (UDDS/Dept Id) – X (program). Project codes can be added to the string after the program if necessary).
Full funding string example: 101-101010-6.
Please have this information prepared prior to applying.
Questions? Contact info.oacs@wisc.edu.
Eligibility & Grant Details
- Only staff members who have never attended a national conference before are eligible to apply for the National Conference Grant (if you would like to attend a national conference, but it will not be your first time, please take a look at the “Choose Your Own Adventure” grant)
- We encourage staff whose units have limited/no funding available for professional development to apply for this grant
- This grant will cover all expenses, up to $2,500, that meet the requirements of the UW policies & procedures for reimbursement (including airfare). Grant recipients are responsible for arranging all lodging and travel accommodations.
Selection Process
Members of the advising, career services, and learning support communities will do initial screening of all applications, before making recommendations to the Office of Academic & Career Success.
Applications will be evaluated on the following:
- Clarity of purpose and goals for the conference attendance and how this opportunity would specifically impact your role
- How you will use your attendance to benefit the advising, career services, and/0r learning support community or the greater UW-Madison community
Other notes:
- Please spell out acronyms or abbreviations
- We are looking for as much detail as you can provide in your responses to the above questions within the application
Apply for a First-Time National Conference Attendee Grant!
Prior to applying, please review this PDF of the application so you can gather all the needed information.
Please note: you will need to provide a signed Supervisor Support Form and financial information in the application. Please see the above section “Important Application Information” for more details.
Once ready, apply at this link: National Conference Attendee Grant Application
"Choose Your Own Adventure" Professional Development Grant
The “Choose Your Own Adventure” grant is available to advising, career services, and learning support professionals who are looking to invest in a professional development or training opportunity to increase their knowledge and/or effectiveness in their current role.
Grant funding up to $2,500.
Please note: Professional Development Grants are currently on an annual cycle. If you are hoping to plan a “choose your own adventure” in the spring or early summer of 2025, please apply now!
Ideas for how the “Choose Your Own Adventure” grant could be used:
- Plan a site visit to another campus to learn more about their programs
- Bring a local speaker or facilitator to your office
- Attend a conference (for non-first timers)
- Invest in a Continuing Studies course
- Arrange a site visit to an employer or group of employers to learn about an industry
- Take a Facilitating Career Development course
- Purchase a professional development book
- Attend a course through the Center for Professional & Executive Development at UW-Madison (staff get 30% off)
- And many more…
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Important Application Information
Applicants must submit a signed Supervisor Support Form with their application. Please download, fill out the form, and submit to your supervisor for approval and sign-off prior to applying for a grant.
Applicants will need to provide a financial contact person from their department or unit and a funding string when filling out the application. For the funding string, only 101 or 136 funds are able to be used. A full funding string is required with application: XXX(FUND) – XXXXXX (UDDS/Dept Id) – X (program). Project codes can be added to the string after the program if necessary).
Full funding string example: 101-101010-6.
Please have this information prepared prior to applying.
Questions? Contact info.oacs@wisc.edu.
Eligibility & Grant Details
- Any member of the UW–Madison advising, career services, or learning support community is welcome to apply for a “Choose Your Own Adventure” grant.
- We encourage staff whose units have limited/no funding available for professional development to apply.
- This grant will cover all expenses that meet the requirements of the UW policies & procedures for reimbursement (including airfare). If applicable, grant recipients are responsible for arranging any lodging and travel accommodations.
Selection Process
Members from the advising, career services, and learning support communities will do an initial evaluation of all applications and then make recommendations to the Office of Academic & Career Success.
Applications will be evaluated on the following:
- Clarity of purpose and goals for the activity or experience and how this opportunity would specifically impact your role
- How you will use the experience to benefit the advising, career services, and/or learning support community or the greater UW-Madison community
Other notes:
- Please spell out acronyms or abbreviations
- We are looking for as much detail as you can provide in your responses to the above questions within the application
Apply for a "Choose Your Own Adventure" Grant!
Prior to applying, please review this PDF of the application so you can gather all the needed information.
Please note: you will need to provide a signed Supervisor Support Form and financial information in the application. Please see the above section “Important Application Information” for more details.
Once ready, apply at this link: “Choose Your Own Adventure” Grant Application