Application Process & Application Status

What information is needed in the application?

• Full name, email, number, city, and state
• Gender identity, race, ethnicity, citizenship, residency status, disability status, veteran status
• ACM or ACM SIGs membership and interest, IEEE-CS membership and interest
• Primary academic affiliation, department, research area(s), degree program and number of years, department chair and advisor name, and email
• CV Link URL, previous attendance to either Grad Cohort
• Why do you want to attend Grad Cohort?
• CRA Privacy preferences

How are the participants selected?

While we would like to include all students interested in a research career, we are limited by funding and space.

Research success is not a criterion in the selection or application because our goal is to include those who might benefit the most from advice, although we do give priority to Ph.D. students over MS only students. 

Beyond this, some funding may come from the home departments, so acceptance of some students may depend on whether the home department is willing to support additional students. We do our best to include as many universities as possible with the goal of the most widespread dissemination. The intent is that the students who attend should be able to share their experiences with their colleagues in their home institutions when they return.  We also give priority to students who have not attended Grad Cohort for IDEALS before.

When will I learn the status of my application?

Please note that invitations are distributed in waves and as we move along in the process, we will communicate decisions through email, please keep a close eye on your inbox. 

If I missed the deadline for the Grad Cohort for IDEALS application this year, is there any other way I can attend this year?

Unfortunately, you cannot, but the next Grad Cohort for IDEALS is not too far away! Applications will become available in August for the next Workshop. We encourage you to sign up for CRA-WP Updates to receive notifications for upcoming applications.

Costs, Financial Assistance, and Reimbursements

Do I have to pay to attend?

If you are invited to Grad Cohort for IDEALS, your registration fee (after attending) and reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed by CRA through funds generously provided by our Grad Cohort for IDEALS sponsors. You will need to be able to pay for the cost of most things upfront.

What do you mean by reimbursed for reasonable travel expenses?

After attending the workshop, you will provide a receipt for items $25 or more and submit to our reimbursement line for reasonable expenses. Reasonable expenses include: airfare, ground transportation: to the airport, to the workshop, and home, meals not provided by the workshop (but within the approved travel dates), and lodging for you and your assigned roommate at the hotel the workshop is taking place.

You mentioned roommates, what if I need a single room?

If you need to request a single room that is okay! However, if you choose to request a single room, you will be responsible for half of the room cost and it will not be considered a reasonable travel expense.

How long will it take to get the money back?

We will reimburse the costs of your attendance within 6-8 weeks of your submission.

Plane tickets can be expensive and as a graduate student I don’t have the funds to front for that long, can you help?

We can provide assistance with purchasing plane tickets in advance of the workshop. During the registration process, we there will be a message on how to ask for financial assistance for plane travel and registration fees, if needed.

Reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed by CRA through funds generously provided by our Grad Cohort for IDEALS sponsors.

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For questions, please contact IDEALSgcinfo@cra.org