Scholarships

We will provide you with supporting documents for your visa application. This includes an official letter of invitation from the IAS, which invites you to the conference. However, please note that it is your responsibility to investigate and fulfil your visa requirements for Rwanda and apply for a visa online before travelling. Find information about applying for a Rwandan visa on the IAS 2025 immigration page.

You may request a refund for incurred visa fees (up to USD 50) if your scholarship includes travel support. If you are attending with an in-person scholarship, you can collect your reimbursement at the scholarship desk. Please bring the original receipt showing your name, the total amount paid and the date.

First, please make sure you have completed the travel and accommodation survey we sent you via email. If you have already done so, please note that due to the high number of scholarship recipients requiring bookings (over 200), our travel agent will send your travel offer as soon as possible.
In the meantime, please check your inbox, including your spam folder, regularly. Please do not book anything on your own as we will not be able to reimburse you for any costs.

All scholarship recipients are required to secure comprehensive travel and health insurance that covers unexpected events, including medical emergencies, hospitalization, repatriation, trip cancellations, and loss or theft of personal belongings. Proof of valid insurance is mandatory to participate in the IAS 2025 Scholarship Programme.

If you do not already have travel health insurance, you must obtain coverage for the full duration of your trip at your own expense.

In May, we will follow up to request proof of your travel insurance, including a receipt with your name and the total amount paid. As part of your scholarship, you will be eligible for a reimbursement of up to USD 50 for your travel insurance, which you will receive during the conference.

We have pre-reserved enough rooms for all our scholarship recipients who received accommodation support. You will soon receive an accommodation voucher with details of your accommodation.

Your award letter is ready for download in your conference profile. If any personal information in your letter is wrong, please change the information directly in your profile by clicking on your name in the upper-right corner and then on “User account”. Log out and back in and re-download your corrected award letter.

In-person scholarship recipients requiring an invitation letter from the IAS can download it directly once they have submitted their registration in the “Registration” section in their profile.

We have a limited number of in-person and virtual scholarships available for late-breaker abstract presenters. When submitting your late-breaker abstract, you will have the option of ticking a box in the abstract system to indicate that you require a scholarship for your conference participation. We will do our best to accommodate your request.

Recipients who have received a scholarship for in-person attendance but can no longer travel should notify the Scholarship team as soon as possible. The deadline to request a change from in-person attendance to virtual attendance is 30 June.

If the presenting author changes, the scholarship is cancelled unless a request is made to transfer the grant to the new presenting author. The deadline to notify the Scholarship team and request a scholarship transfer is 30 June. If the submitter or presenter(s) withdraws an abstract from presentation, the scholarship is cancelled.

We have extended the early registration fee for all unsuccessful candidates for two weeks after the scholarship results are announced. To take advantage of this offer, please sign in to your IAS 2025 profile and make sure that your personal details are complete and correct (by clicking on your name in the top right corner and then on “User account”). You will be able to register as a delegate in the “Registration” section. Please keep in mind that you must register by Thursday, 17 April, 23:59 CEST, to take advantage of this offer.

You will also have the option of reserving hotel rooms in a variety of room and price categories in different hotels through your conference profile.

There may be various reasons why your scholarship application was not selected. Keep in mind that thousands of people apply and even very good applicants may not receive a scholarship.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of reasons for non-selection to help you prepare a stronger application next time:

• Incorrect letter of recommendation: Make sure that your letter follows the guidelines in our scholarship application guide.
• Use of AI or copied content: Applications completed with overuse of AI tools or using copied content may be rejected, as stated in the scholarship terms and conditions.
• Non-English application: Ensure that your application is in English only as this is a requirement.
• Not directly involved in the HIV field: Applicants who are not directly working, studying or volunteering in the HIV field may not be considered.

Competition is fierce each year, but addressing these areas can significantly improve your chances of success in future IAS scholarship applications.

The IAS 2025 Scholarship Programme supports attendance at IAS 2025. To see other opportunities offered by the IAS, please visit our website or sign up for our newsletter.

Please contact our IT helpdesk at profile.query.email@iasociety.org.