Graduate School Fund for Excellence and Innovation

Graduate Student Travel Awards

Definition and Policy

1. Graduate student travel awards are available to assist graduate students with travel fares to major national or international conferences so they may present papers or posters, or to serve as invited speakers. Students in the arts may receive funding to give invited performances or installations.
2. Each student must be confirmed as a presenter before funds are requested, and each student must be in a degree program and enrolled in courses at the time of travel.
3. Funds may be used only for airfare or fares supporting alternative modes of transportation (e.g., mileage, taxis); they may not be used for registration, hotels, food or other travel expenses.
4. Individual awards are limited to one every other year.¹
5. Priority will be given to graduate students who do not have other significant funding available for the travel and/or who have not received GSFEI travel funding in the past.

• $300 for domestic travel
• $500 for international travel

A limited amount of funding is available each period noted below to support graduate student travel within that period. Funding will be approved after stated deadlines with adjustments to maintain equity in the process. Departments should develop their own processes and priorities for students to request funding. Requests must be submitted before the trip and by the deadlines for each period. Funding will not be awarded retroactively. Departments may submit their requests in advance of deadlines, but decisions for the travel period will be made only after the deadline has passed.

If an award is made and the student does not attend the conference or chooses not to use the Graduate School funding, please notify the Office of Fellowships and Awards so that the award can be canceled and the student can maintain eligibility for funding.

Once the funds for any given quarter have been fully committed, requests will be placed on a waiting list and funded only if committed funds are returned and subsequently become available. Note: Pre-determined departmental allocation totals for student travel are no longer awarded.

Submitting a Request

Travel requests must be submitted by authorized departmental personnel using MyGradProgram. Students wishing to request travel awards should contact their departments for instructions and internal policies/procedures.

Requests may be submitted at any time prior to the requested trip but no later than the deadline listed for each travel time frame. Requests will be considered during the appropriate time frame as listed below, and awards will be made shortly after the deadline.

• June 1 for travel between July 1 and August 31
• July 1 for travel between August 1 and September 30
• Aug. 1 for travel between Sept. 1 and Oct. 31
• Sept. 1 for travel between Oct. 1 and Nov. 30
• Oct. 1 for travel between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31
• Nov. 1 for travel between Dec. 1 and Jan. 31
• Dec. 1 for travel between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28/29
• Jan. 1 for travel between Feb. 1 and March 31
• Feb. 1 for travel between March 1 and April 30
• March 1 for travel between April 1 and May 31
• April 1 for travel between May 1 and June 30
• May 1 for travel between June 1 and July 31

The "request justification" section of the request page must include:

1. Title of the paper, poster or talk student is presenting
2. Whether or not the student has applied for or is receiving other funding. (This includes departmental funding and faculty funding.) If yes, source and amount.
3. Explanation of extenuating circumstances contrary to stated policies, if applicable
4. Priority (optional; departments may choose to rank the requests they submit, and we will consider them in their priority order)

By submitting a request, departments are verifying the student has received confirmation of acceptance at the conference, that the conference is significant within the field of study and that the experience is important to the student's academic progress ( unless otherwise noted in the justification section).

Accessing Awards

The award approval process in MyGradProgram will generate an email message to the student, the department GSFEI contact and the requestor. Award amounts are authorized to be spent from departmental GSF-RSA budgets (75-XXXX). Please use PCA code "GRAD" when reimbursing. No actual transfer of funds will occur. MyGradProgram provides documentation of award amounts. Departmental personnel will handle all travel arrangements. Students should contact their departmental financial administrators for instructions for accessing their awards.

Questions should be directed to the Office of Fellowships and Awards at 206.543.7152 or gradappt@uw.edu

Footnotes

¹A year runs from July 1 – June 30 (fiscal year).