EBSCO/MLA Annual Conference Grant

EBSCO Information Services generously donated to the MLA Scholarship Endowment Fund to provide stipends to enables MLA members to attend the association’s annual conference. Each year MLA awards up to four travel grants to members who would otherwise be unable to attend the conference.

Eligibility

• The applicant must be a member of MLA.
  • access to grants is a member benefit
  • membership must be current and paid through the annual conference (no exceptions)
  • see membership options
    
• The applicant must be currently employed as a health information professional.
• The applicant has 2-5 years of professional experience.
  • 2025 Only: this criteria is waived
• The applicant must complete an application including a 200-word statement answering the question listed below. 
• No more than one awardee from any given institution will be awarded the grant in a single year.

Priority Consideration Criteria:

• The applicant is a first-time attendee at the MLA annual conference (in-person).
• The applicant is presenting (or has submitted) a paper, poster, or lightning talk for MLA’s annual conference.

Terms

• The grant recipient will be reimbursed up to $1,000 for actual travel and conference-related expenses.
  • Expense statements with all receipts must be submitted to MLA after the annual conference. 
• Up to four awards may be made each year for the EBSCO/MLA Annual Conference Grant.
  • 2025 Only: up to 25 travel grants are offered for this year only.
• All proposed expenses must clearly align with the intention of the grant and will be evaluated for relevance.
• Funding may be used for reasonable and actual expenses that meet MLA guidelines:
  • Physical travel within North America (e.g., mileage, travel fares, lodging)
  • Direct costs related to profession development or conference attendance (e.g., registration fees, books)
  • Costs to enable the awardee to travel (may allow for compensation for reasonable expenses, e.g., family caregiving)
  • The funds may not be used for institutional overhead, other indirect costs, or income tax payments.
• If no candidates are determined eligible, no grants will be awarded.
• Letters of reference are NOT requested or desired.
• The travel grant must be used in the year it is awarded and cannot be carried over to another year. 
• The travel grant is non-transferable, cannot be applied to already paid in-person registration, institutional registration, or virtual conference registration.
• If awarded the recipient must have paid membership dues (through the annual conference) and accept the offer within 10 days of notification.

NOTE: In the case of a virtual-only conference, terms may be altered.

Submission Checklist

• MLA paid membership
• Completed online application
• A 200-word statement answering the following questions:
  • What do you expect to gain professionally and/or personally by attending the MLA annual conference?
• Updated MLA member profile

Past Recipients