Graduate Student Travel Award

If the reason for travel is cancelled, or if you choose not to travel because of a concern about exposure to COVID, send an email to Erika Beckstrand indicating that you are cancelling the trip. Graduate school funds that have not been spent will not be available for other travel. If a meeting is rescheduled, send confirmation of the new time/location to Erika Beckstrand .

The Graduate Student Travel Award promotes student involvement and professional development by partially funding a student’s travel and/or registration costs associated with professional presentations at regional, national, international, and virtual conferences.

Presenting at conferences helps you network with other researchers, practice communicating your research, build your CV, and prepare for your post-graduate job search.

Funding Amount

The School of Graduate Studies will award travel grants from $150-$400 depending on the location of the conference and while funds last. All awards require a dollar-for-dollar match from a department or other university source. Grants are presented on a first-come, first-served basis. The funds will only be applied on the student's travel authorization or travel reimbursement.

• Virtual conference: $150
• Regional conference*: $200
• National conference: $300
• International conference: $400

*Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada

Covered Costs

SGS travel grants can be used to help cover any of the following expenses:

• Conference registration
• Airfare
• Hotel
• Mileage
• Per diem
• International travel insurance

Eligibility

To be eligible for a travel grant, applicants must be:

• A full-time graduate student
• Able to provide proof of acceptance to present at a conference
• Able to acquire a dollar-for-dollar match from their department or other university source
• Willing to share their experience and pictures with the School of Graduate Studies through a post-event form
• Willing to purchase the university’s SOS travel insurance if traveling internationally

Students are limited to one graduate travel award per fiscal year. Over the course of their degree, master’s students can receive up to two travel awards and doctoral students can receive up to three travel awards.

Only one student per presentation/poster will be funded although multiple students may be funded to attend the same meeting/conference.

If a presentation has co-presenters, the student’s designated department may agree at any time that the Graduate Student Travel Award funding be split between the two presenters.

Application Process

To apply, students are required to complete a graduate student travel application form a minimum of two weeks prior to the date of travel. Due to grants being awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, students are strongly encouraged to apply before the two-week mark.

The application form requires the following information:

• Personal information
• Conference information
• Presentation information
• Proof of conference acceptance
  • You can either submit a PDF of your email confirmation showing you have been accepted to present, or you can submit a PDF of the conference program with your name listed as a presenter

  Upon submission, you will receive an automated email confirmation that your application has been received. You will be notified of the outcome of your request (approved, denied, or incomplete), typically within 10 working days.

  Once approved, travel authorization (TA) forms are to be submitted by your home department.

  Erika Beckstrand
  Travel Award Application Manager
  (435) 797-3741
  erika.beckstrand@usu.edu
  
  Kayleen Rich
  Business Manager
  (435) 797-8854
  richard.cutler@usu.edu