Community Educator and Mentor Scholarships

The CROI Community Educator Scholarship is limited and highly competitive. Applicants must be actively involved in communication, education, or advocacy in communities affected by HIV, viral hepatitis, SARS-CoV-2, mpox, and their related conditions.

To be considered, applicants must be affiliated with an organization that provides communications, advocacy, or educational services.

Limit: 2 applications per organization

Application Requirements

Eligible applicants must:

• Be engaged in community-based communication, education, or advocacy
• Have strong scientific literacy and a clear ability to understand and share research findings
• Demonstrate motivation, creativity, and competency in disseminating information shared at CROI

Required Materials

A letter of recommendation is required and must:

• Be written by a mentor or a member of leadership at the applicant’s institution
• Be on official institutional letterhead and signed
• Be saved as a PDF and uploaded by the applicant through the submission system

The letter must include:

• The mentor’s full name, degree(s), title, and current academic affiliation
• A statement confirming the mentor’s relationship to the applicant
• The length of time the mentor has worked with the applicant
• The applicant’s academic background, including:
  • Current position and title
  • Highest degree earned and awarding institution(s) with year(s)
  • If an undergraduate, the expected year and institution of graduation
• Confirmation that the applicant meets eligibility requirements
• A brief statement of recommendation summarizing the applicant’s qualifications and dissemination efforts
• Acknowledgement that the mentor will be available to answer additional questions as they relate to the application.

Eligible applicants will be assessed on their ability to:

• Be engaged in community-based communication, education, or advocacy
• Have strong scientific literacy and a clear ability to understand and share research findings
• Demonstrate motivation, creativity, and competency in disseminating information shared at CROI

Selection Criteria

The Community Educator Scholarship Review Committee will evaluate applications based on the following:

• The applicant’s demonstrated the ability to understand and disseminate scientific information
• Overall quality of the application
• Work setting and role
• Command of English and scientific literacy
• Degree of financial need

Preference will be given to applicants who:

• Have shown consistent engagement with diverse communities around science-based information
• Focus their efforts on broader community education and advocacy, not limited to clinical services or recruitment

Community Educator Mentor Scholarship

Up to 5 experienced CROI Community Educator Scholars may be awarded a Mentor Scholarship. To be eligible, applicants must:

• Have received 3 prior Community Educator Scholarships (prior to CROI 2026)
• Be willing to mentor new scholarship awardees

Mentor Applicants will be evaluated based on:

• Experience and willingness to mentor colleagues
• Familiarity with CROI and ability to guide new scholars through the conference
• Proposed strategies for supporting scholarship engagement and learning at the conference

Scholarship Limits

• Individuals may receive a maximum of 3 Community Educator Scholarships or Community Educator Mentor Scholarships
  • Previous Community Educator Scholars are encouraged to apply for the Community Educator Mentor Scholarship
• Scholarships awarded for the virtual-only CROI 2020 do not count toward this limit
• The goal is to allow a diverse range of voices to participate in the conference over time

• All scholarship awardees must:
  • Attend the full CROI 2026 Conference, including the Scott M. Hammer Workshop for New Investigators and Trainees on the opening Sunday morning
  • Complete all required conference evaluations (daily and overall) and complete the Community Impact Statement sent out after the conference

  Please note that scholarships are not transferable. If the awardee is unable to complete the requirements for any reason, they must decline the scholarship. Failure to comply with these parameters may result in CROI invoicing for funds awarded to the scholar.

The Community Educator Scholarship has 2 possible awards: in-person and virtual attendance.

The in-person award provides:

• Complimentary registration for the conference.

• Travel assistance up to:
  • US $750 for travel within the United States or Canada*
  • US $1500 for international travel*
  • Up to 5 nights hotel accommodation in the designated scholarship hotel
    • Awardees are responsible for any additional nights

• A conference stipend may also be provided for awardees from resource-limited countries as identified by the World Bank(low- and middle-income countries are highlighted in purple).

*Travel must be by air, rail, or bus at the lowest available economy fare. Travel to and from the conference must be within 2-3 days of the conference start and end. No extended stays are allowed. Travel arrangements must be made 30 days prior to the conference through Sequel Travel.

The virtual award provides:

• Complimentary registration to the virtual aspects of the conference through the mobile app and website materials.