The National Association of Academies of Science is establishing a needs-based scholarship program to benefit student delegates who wish to attend the 2023 American Junior Academy of Science Annual Conference.



The 2023 AJAS Annual Conference will be in Washington DC, March 1-5, 2023. Importantly, our 2023 NAAS/AJAS Annual Meeting will be a hybrid event, with both in-person and concurrent virtual options available for the student delegates, chaperones, and other adults. Registration will start in early December 2022. Both registration and abstract submission must be completed by January 15, 2023. For all student delegates, certain events will start online in mid-January 2023. The AJAS is one meeting and one group; virtual attendees will have continual opportunities to interact at the live events and with the in-person attendees. As in past years, our meeting will be in conjunction with the AAAS Annual Meeting being held concurrently at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.

Scholarship Background
The NAAS is establishing a needs-based scholarship program to benefit student delegates who wish to attend the 2023 AJAS Annual Conference. The intent of this scholarship is to provide support for student delegates (attending virtually or in-person) who have demonstrated merit to attend AJAS, but where financial limitations would otherwise prohibit their participation. At least $30,000 of scholarship money is available. If you would like to donateto this scholarship fund – andsupportstudents attending the AJASAnnual Conference –please email admin@academiesofscience.org.

Eligibility
Any academy of science planning on sending one or more student delegates to the 2023 AJAS Annual Conference is encouraged to apply.

Application Process
Interested academies should apply using the form linked below. Individual academies are asked to submit an approximately 250-word proposal to the NAAS describing concisely how they would use a portion of the funds to allow one or more delegates with financial need to attend the 2023 AJAS Annual Conference. Scholarships may be awarded for either virtual or in-person conference attendance.

Your narrative should include the following elements:

• Number of students you will support with thisscholarship
• Ideal dollar amount you needto fully implement your strategy
• How you willproceed if you do not receive the full funding amount

Submissions are due back not later than 5:00 pm EST on November 21, 2022. Scholarships will be announced December 1, 2022.

View Application

Selection Criteria
Academies are encouraged to focus on the following criteria, listed in no particular order,for financial assistance to student delegates:

• Students who attend a Title 1 School
• Students who qualify for free or reduced lunch
• Students who will be first-generation college students
• Students who identify as historically underrepresented in STEM
• Students who do not meet the above criteria but who self-identify financial need
• Another innovative approach not described above.

An independent working group will evaluate the various proposals with the goal of distributing the funds as widely as feasible among the selected academies. Selected academies will be given a sum of money—or a waiver of registration fees—to support their proposal.

We anticipate receiving more requests for funding than can be provided, therefore, not all who apply may receive funding.

Estimated Costs
All persons—either student or adult, in-person or virtual—attending the AJAS Conference will pay the basic AJAS meeting registration fee plus the AAAS meeting registration fee.The AAAS fee is out of NAAS/AJAS control. Costs for virtual attendance would be limited to the AJAS meeting basic registration fee plus the AAAS registration fee. In-person attendees would, in addition, pay for five meals, the hotel, and transportation costs to and from Washington, DC. Much remains uncertain regarding the total cost of basic registration and the additional costs of in-person attendance.I can, however, confidently predict that the basic registration fee for AJAS will not exceed $350 per student delegate (virtual and in-person attendance may, or may not, cost the same) and AAAS registration will be $75 per student (same for both virtual or in-person attendance).Virtual adult/chaperone registration costs for the AJAS Annual Meeting will not exceed $100 (plus whatever AAAS may charge the adults as a registration fee for the AAAS Annual Meeting). In-person adult/chaperone registration costs for the AJAS Annual Meeting will not exceed $350 (plus whatever AAAS may charge the adults as a registration fee for the AAAS Annual Meeting). In-person lodging costs for the entire event can be estimated at $400 per student(assuming two students per room, in our hotel room block).Transportation to and from Washington, DC, is not covered in any of the above estimates, and is the total responsibility of the individual academy or student or adult.

The NAAS will endeavor to share strategies among academies through appropriate fora, such as a NAASAcademy Chat.

Contact
Please direct questions to Dr. Rachel Owen at ajas@academiesofscience.org.