GPSC Travel Grants

An Important Note:

As we move into the 2018-19 academic year, GPSC is looking critically at our grant programs and working to improve both the application and judging processes. This includes moving the applications to a third-party platform! As a result, the dates, links, and information below are subject to change and clarification. We will continue to provide up-to-date information right here, so check back often as the academic year begins. You can also follow our facebook page to get reminders about dates and deadlines. Thank you for your patience!

The GPSC Travel Grants Program has four rounds per fiscal year (with deadlines of October 01, TBD, February 01, and April 01). All four rounds cover travel dates July 01 - June 30 of the same fiscal year.

To ensure your application receives full consideration, please check the Selection Criteria section and Instructional Videos below and fill out your application accordingly. All applications filed according to the previously used Selection Criteria will be given a score of zero. Additionally, paper submissions of expense reports and/or walk-ins will not be accepted. Only electronic submissions to gpscfunding@email.arizona.edu will be accepted.

GPSC Travel Grant Evaluation Rubric

The GPSC awards grants for graduate and professional student travel for professional development purposes. Event types covered by the grant include but are not limited to:

Travel to attend/present at academic or professional conferences
Travel to conduct field work or research
Travel to participate in summer schools or workshops
Travel to participate in practicums, internships, or other types of experiential learning
Travel for a job interview or campus visit
Travel for study abroad or international study

Online applications will soon be available.

It is suggested that all applicants save their text and responses on a separate document (Word or Google doc) in case an error occurs to ensure nothing is lost. If an error does occur, please contact GPSC at gpscfunding@email.arizona.edu as soon as possible.

Last updated: 7/18/18

Range of support and items covered

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Applications for domestic travel may receive up to $750
Applications for international travel may receive up to $1000
You may submit one application for one event for each round. You can only be awarded once per fiscal year.
Awards cover airfare, hotel/lodging, per diem, local transportation, event registration fees, and other types of expenses
Awards cover a maximum of three (3) nights' hotel stay and four (4) days per diem (per diem estimates calculated by FSO)

Eligibility

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Students must be enrolled in a graduate or professional degree program in good standing at the University of Arizona at the time of application (i.e. must pay student service fees). This applies even if the applicant plans to graduate in the current or subsequent term.
Applicants are eligible to receive one travel grant per fiscal year (July 01-June 30). A student may apply as many times as desired each year as long as the travel dates are applicable.
Group applications are not allowed. Each student must apply separately for funding. Identical applications will be automatically disqualified from that round of funding.

Submission Deadlines

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Program rounds cover travel dates falling within the same fiscal year (July 1-June 30).The application rounds are as follows:
Round 1: Application open September 1 – October 1
Round 2: Official Dates TBD
Round 3: Application open January 1 – February 1
Round 4: Application open March 1 – April 1
All required materials and sections must be submitted to the online portal by 11:59 PM Arizona time on the day of the deadline. No exceptions will be made.
An automated submission confirmation email is generated once an online application is submitted. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please contact gpscfunding@email.arizona.edu.

Selection Criteria

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The number of awards per round is contingent upon the availability of funds and the number of applications received
Applications are reviewed by graduate students from various disciplines. Each application will be reviewed by three judges. Each judge will give a total score out of 40 points. The top two highest overall judges scores will be combined to give a composite score out of 80 points for each application. After the judges submit their evaluation scores, a cutoff score is generated based on the number of applications and the amount of funds available.
For more information regarding the criteria used by the travel grant judges to evaluate the travel grant applications, please refer to the GPSC Travel Grant Evaluation Rubric

Travel Grants Judges

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Awardees will be automatically assigned as judges for the next round. In the event you are unable to serve as a judge for the round subsequent to your award, please contact gpscfunding@email.arizona.edu.
Graduate and professional student volunteers may also serve as judges. Serving as a Travel Grants Judge allows would-be applicants to obtain an insider's perspective on the evaluation process. Other reasons to be a judge include:
- Formulating a more competitive application by reviewing actual applications
- Additional service or volunteer experience for the relevant section of your CV or resume
- Obtaining an insider's perspective on an evaluation process similar to how major granting agencies (lNSF/NIH/NEH) award research grants
- Being involved in a central part of student governance
The evaluation process should take no more than 2-3 hours, including review of the guidelines. If you are interested in serving as a Travel Grants Judge for the upcoming round, please email gpscfunding@email.arizona.edu.

PLEASE NOTE: You MAY NOT serve as a Judge for the same grant round in which you apply.

Notification of Awards

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The GPSC Travel Grant is not a guaranteed source of funding. Awardees are not guaranteed to receive funding before their travel begins.
Applicants will be notified via email when an application status changes. Applicants may check your online application portal for updates on your status and judges scores and comments. Please do not contact GPSC and request judges comments and scores, as they can be accessed through the same page used to submit an application.
Award determination generally takes four to six weeks. If awarded a travel grant, the amount requested in the application will be distributed through the applicant's Bursar's account within five to eight weeks of the application deadline (two to three weeks after award notification). Appeals Process (new section)If the application did not save or a similar website issue caused your application to be rejected, you may be eligible for an appeal. If so, please contact gpscfunding@email.arizona.edu for more information. If the Travel Grants Team determines that you are eligible for an appeal, we will contact you within five business days. Appeals requests as well as all outstanding materials necessary for a full review must be submitted to the Travel Grants Team at gpscfunding@email.arizona.edu within ten business days of receiving the Award Notification email. Please note you will receive a response only if your application is eligible for an appeal.

Award Refund Policy

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If you are awarded a Travel Grant but are unable to attend or would like to decline your award, please notify the Grants Director at gpscfunding@email.arizona.edu immediately. If notified in time, your award will be retracted.
If less than 90% of an award is spent, you may be required to reimburse the University of Arizona. If necessary, your Bursar's account may be automatically adjusted for the amount in question.

Travel Expense Report

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Travel Grant awardees are required to submit a Travel Expense Report within TEN(10) business days after completing travel or receiving an award announcement (if travel has already been completed). Please include all items of expenses incurred during your trip. Keep the original receipts of all expenses incurred during your travel.
Awardees must spend at least 90% of their award. If a student's travel expenses are less than 90% of the original award, then that student will be required to reimburse the University of Arizona for the unspent funds.

IMPORTANT: Please do not submit a Travel Expense Report until AFTER you are awarded a Grant.

How to Submit Your Travel Expense Report

All materials must be submitted electronically to GPSCfunding@email.arizona.edu. Please sign both pages with an electronic signature. You will receive an email from us either with further questions/requests, or notifying you that your expense report is complete.

NOTE: Paper submissions/walk-ins will not be accepted. Only electronic submissions will be accepted.

IMPORTANT: Failure to submit the required travel expense documentation may result in the withdrawal of a GPSC travel grant award. Failure to submit an expense report will make an awardee ineligible for future GPSC Travel Grants.

Travel Expense Report

Sharing Hotel Rooms

Travel Grant Brochure

Frequently Asked Questions

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Range of Support

Can I submit one application for two events?

No, due to the nature of the budget form, our current application process does not allow for submissions for more than one event per application. Our Program rule is one event per application.

What if I am applying for professional development related travel with my student group?

The GPSC Travel Grants program does not permit group applications. Individuals must submit individual applications, which are evaluated separately. Groups seeking funding should apply for GPSC Professional Opportunities Development funding (insert link: http://gpsc.arizona.edu/pod).

What if the cost of my event exceeds the amount provided by the GPSC Travel Grant?

The GPSC Travel Grant is not designed to fully cover the costs associated with your travel. As part of your application, you are required to show efforts to obtain funding other than the GPSC Travel Grant. External funding that is pending (not yet received) should also be included.

Eligibility

I am a student at a different university. Am I eligible for a GPSC Travel Grant?

Unfortunately, no; only registered graduate and professional students at the University of Arizona are eligible. As the Program's funding comes primarily from the Student Service Fee, only students currently listed in UAccess as graduate and professional students who pay Student Service Fees as part of their tuition and fees may apply.

I am an undergraduate enrolled in a dual or accelerated B.A./M.A. program. Am I eligible?

If you are not technically enrolled as a graduate or professional student (which may be verified by looking at the Student view on UAccess), you are not yet eligible for a GPSC Travel Grant. Once you are registered as a graduate student and pay the applicable fees each semester, you will be eligible for a Travel Grant. If you attempt to apply, you will receive an error message.

I am graduating this semester. Can I still apply?

Yes, as long as you are enrolled in classes at the time of application AND when you intend to use the funds.

Submission Deadlines/Application Submission

My travel dates are in December. For which rounds can I apply?

You can apply for all four rounds. All rounds cover travel dates July 01 through June 30, which would cover travel dates in December.

I am having trouble submitting my application online. Can I submit my application materials via email?

No, we can only accept application materials via the online application. Judges can only view materials submitted through the online system/portal, and as such, we cannot accept materials in an alternate format. If you are experiencing issues with the online application, please contact the Travel Grants Program team at gpscfunding@email.arizona.edu.

Before beginning the application, applicants should save their text and responses on a separate document (Word or Google doc) in case an error occurs to ensure nothing is lost. If an error does occur, please contact GPSC at gpscfunding@email.arizona.edu as soon as possible.

My application is not saving. What should I do?

Please attempt to save the application one more time. If you continue to receive an error or the application continues not to save, please contact gpscfunding@email.arizona.edu for assistance. Please note applicants have up to 48 hours after the deadline of a given round to email the Travel Grants Team (gpscfunding@email.arizona.edu) and notify the team of an application error.

I tried to submit an application, but I received a message that applications are not being accepted. How can I submit an application?

If you receive this error message, you have attempted to submit an application outside of a current GPSC Travel Grants round. Please check the information provided on this website for deadlines and dates of round openings and closures.

Selection Criteria

How many awards will be given per round? What are my chances of receiving an award?

The number of awards varies by round and according to the availability of funding from our sponsors. Awards are determined by sorting the applicants (names removed) according to the top two of three judges scores.

How do I determine what to include in my application? How do I formulate a competitive application?

The best way to increase your changes of receiving an award is to formulate your application according to the Rubric posted above under Selection Criteria. Please note that if you contact the Travel Grants Team asking for this information, you will be redirected to the website.

I wasn't awarded a Travel Grant for the last round. Can I appeal the judges' decision?

Due to the limited amount of funding available for the Travel Grants Program, only individuals whose negative award determination was a result of a website issue are eligible for an appeal.

Travel Grants Judges

Who will review my application?

Both past Travel Grants awardees and graduate and professional student volunteers will evaluate your application. Peer evaluation is an important part of the mission to provide opportunities for professional development for graduate and professional students. Please note the process has changed, and focuses more so on your ability to present a case for why your event should be funded to a general audience. Please keep this in mind when formulating your application.

How can I sign up to be a judge?

Please register using the link to the registration form above.

Travel grants are made possible by funds provided by the GPSC, the Graduate College, Student Fees, the Confluencenter, and the UA Alumni Association. Thank you to all of our partners for their contributions to this great program and Graduate & Professional Students.