External Partnership & Travel

Yale School of Management and the Office of Community Engagement and Dialogue (OCED) are committed to enhancing community engagement in our student community and with our external partners. As we prepare our students to be leaders in business & society, it is important to build relationships with potential collaborators, stay informed on current trends in our industry, and showcase our expertise to a wider audience. To facilitate this, we support students through the External Partnership & Travel (EP&T) initiative.

The External Partnership & Travel initiative allows OCED to sponsor attendance for Yale SOM students at domestic and international affinity-based conferences. At this time, we can support a maximum of two (2) students per selected conference.

Please carefully consider the below criteria and additional information prior to submitting your application.

All applications can be submitted here. Please note, we will not support conference travel during class sessions.

  • Criteria

    Must be an SOM student in good academic standing who:

    • Can demonstrate a commitment to community engagement
    • Can represent the Yale School of Management in a positive light
    • Pledges to share knowledge and resources gained at the conference with the Yale SOM community
    • Is attending an affinity-based conference (affinity refers to a historically marginalized or underrepresented population)

    Additional consideration will be given to those who are first-time conference attendees.

  • EP&T Eligible Conferences

    The affinity-based business conferences that are eligible for the EP&T initiative directly achieve Yale School of Management's mission of preparing leaders for business and society and clearly accomplish OCED's mission of promoting cultural fluency and community connection. Please see below for a list of EP&T eligible conferences.

    • Forte
    • National Black MBA
    • Prospanica
    • Reaching Out MBA
    • Africa Business Conference at Harvard
    • Wharton Africa Business Forum
    • AfroTech
    • ASCEND/NAAMBA Conference
    • Asia Business Conference
    • Harvard Asia Business Conference
    • VANTAGE Summit | Wharton MBA Conference on Asian American Leadership
    • Harvard JSA Conference
    • The Jewish Executive Leadership Conference JELCON
    • Latin American Business Conference at Harvard
    • Latinx MBA Summit
    • Mexico MBA Summit
    • MBA Chile Conference
    • LGBTQ Leadership Summit (Hosted by ROMBA)
    • Out Women in Business (Hosted by ROMBA)
    • Harvard MENA Conference
    • Wharton MENA Conference
    • Women in Business Conference at Harvard

    Additional consideration will be given to those who are first-time conference attendees.

  • Which expenses will be covered?

    External Partnership & Travel support will cover the following costs:

    • Travel to and from the conference destination (airfare, train tickets, etc.)
    • Travel to and from the conference destination (airfare, train tickets, mileage, etc.)
    • Lodging for the duration of the conference

    External Partnership & Travel support will NOT cover the following costs:

    • Premium/business class travel accommodations
    • Premium/business class travel accommodations and/or upgrades
    • Premium/deluxe lodging accommodations and/or upgrades
    • Lodging 24+ hours prior to the first day of the conference
    • Lodging 12+ hours after the final day of the conference
    • Meals and alcohol/alcoholic beverages
    • Any costs associated with conference attendance during SOM class sessions

    OCED will coordinate booking and payments for the successful applicant’s travel and lodging expenses. Successful applicants must NOT book their own travel and/or lodging accommodations.

    OCED will coordinate conference registration payments. Successful applicants must NOT purchase their own conference registration.

    External Partnership & Travel will ONLY reimburse the following expenses

    • Local transportation for the duration of the conference (rideshare, public transportation)

  • What are the deadlines?

    1. All applications must be submitted 6-8 weeks in advance of the conference start date.
    2. Applications submitted within the proper timeframe will be reviewed, and decisions will be rendered within 14 business days of submission.
    3. Successful applicants will schedule time with the OCED Event Specialist within 7 business days of notice of approval to review spending guidelines, detail reimbursement processes, and coordinate all necessary payments prior to attending the conference.
    4. After the conference, successful applicants will share content from their experience with the OCED Assistant Director within 7-14 days from the last day of the conference.

    Note: Applicable reimbursements will be processed upon receipt of all paperwork and submissions required by the OCED Event Specialist and OCED Assistant Director. Please submit all receipts for reimbursements within 30 days of your return.

  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    Why does the application require submissions six weeks ahead of the conference?

    OCED requires six weeks of lead time to allow the team to fully review candidates including verification of class schedules and academic standing, as well as to coordinate internal and interdepartmental processes to ensure a smooth administrative process for successful applicants. However, the OCED team makes every effort to render decisions to all applicants in a timely manner.

    How many times can I apply?

    There is no limit to the number of times a student can apply.

    I previously attended a conference with EP&T support; can I apply again?

    Yes, there is no limit to the number of times a student can apply. While we can currently only support two students per selected conference, our goal is to support a variety of eligible candidates throughout the academic year. Please note that additional consideration will be given to applicants who are first-time attendees.

    I'm not a full-time MBA student; am I eligible to apply?

    At this time, students across SOM Master's Degree Programs are eligible to apply for EP&T support. Please note that the EP&T initiative will not support any costs associated with conference attendance during SOM class sessions.

    At this time, students in the Master's in Technology Management program and Doctorial Programs are not eligible for EP&T support.