Travel Grant

Note: Due to travel restrictions as a result of COVID-19, travel grants will ONLY reimburse registration costs if you are presenting, NOT travel costs (flights, lodging, etc.)

The A&S GSO allocates $18,000.00 of our annual budget for travel grants. In order to make grants available to the largest number of A&S grad students, travel grants are for $200.00. All A&S Grad Students who present at an academic conference or professional meeting may apply for a travel grant; eligibility requirements are outlined below.

Please pre-apply by the date listed, based on the date of your conference. For more information on the pre-application process please scroll down the page to the Pre-Application Process header.

Cycle If your conference occurs between: You may apply between: You will be notified by:
I 1 May- 30 June 1 March- 20 April 1 May
II 1 July- 31 August 1 May- 20 June 1 July
III 1 September- 31 October 1 July- 20 August 1 September
IV 1 November- 31 December 1 September- 20 October 1 November
V 1 January- 28/29 February 1 November- 20 December 1 January
VI 1 March- 30 April 1 January- 20 February 1 March

Please fill out the online application form at A&S Travel Grant Pre-Application before the conference.

If you have been awarded a travel grant, you will receive a confirmation email with

Forms will only be accepted in .pdf file format emailed to asgso@pitt.edu as an attachment.

Read each section below carefully. If you fail to follow any of these instructions, your reimbursement will be delayed significantly.

Email asgso@pitt.edu if you have any questions in the course of preparing the application materials.

Pre-Application Process

The pre-application process has been implemented to ensure equal opportunity for travel grant funding, regardless of when the conference takes place. It will also allow students to better plan based on financial compensation.

Every person will be guaranteed travel grant money, unless the number of applicants exceeds the number of travel grants available per cycle. Each cycle will receive the same amount of travel grant funds, which is based on the yearly budget. Any funds not used in a cycle will be rolled over into the following cycle. For cycle dates and deadlines please refer to the table in the previous section.

If the number of applicants exceeds the number of travel grants available within a cycle, then applicants who have pre-applied, by the given deadline, will be placed into a random order generator. Travel grant funding will be given to the first person on the list and continue down the list until the funds have been exhausted. You will only be eligible for travel grant funding within the cycle your conference occurs, if you do not receive funding due to the number of applicants exceeding the number of travel grants available, you will not be permitted to reapply for the next cycle for the same conference.

If, for any reason, someone in the group who received travel grant funding, fails to submit their paperwork within 30 days of the conference, they will forfeit their funding and the next person on the list will receive the funding.

If someone does not apply by the pre-application deadline they will be added to the end of the list in the order their applications are received and the rules above will apply. If you apply after the pre-application deadline please send us an e-mail at asgso@pitt.edu to let us know to check for your application.

Please review the Eligibility requirements for the A&S GSO travel grant before pre-applying.

Deadline

You must submit the paperwork for the A&S GSO travel grant (as well as the GPSG and A&S PBC and Alumni grants) within 30 days of the first day of the conference. If you are out of the country during the deadline, or think you will not be able to submit the request within 30 days, you must notify the A&S GSO Administrative Assistant before the deadline passes. You can email the Administrative Assistant at asgso@pitt.edu .

Eligibility

To be eligible for the A&S GSO Travel Grant you must have been enrolled as an A&S Graduate Student at the time of your travel.

The only travel that the grant currently covers is for travel to an academic conference to present a paper or a poster, to participate in an interactive workshop, or to attend a job talk/ interview at a conference (for doctoral students only). For a workshop to be considered you must be presenting original research and you may not be receiving course credit. This option mainly applies to students in the Humanities for writing or performances who have been invited to participate. The A&S GSO Travel Grant does not currently cover travel for any other purpose, including research, courses at other Universities or job fairs. However, the GPSG Travel Grant does cover travel for activities such as research travel. Please see their application (ignore the website which says research travel is not eligible, click on the application link for more information about research travel.)

–Arts & Sciences (A&S) graduate students completing masters or doctoral programs are eligible for an A&S GSO travel grant if they are presenting at an academic conference or professional meeting.

–A&S graduate students in master programs are eligible for one travel grant. A&S graduate students in doctoral programs are eligible for one travel grant per fiscal year (begins May 1st) and a maximum of two total travel grants. All graduate students are eligible for a maximum of 2 travel grants. (Travel Grant Recipients– last updated July 2018)

–Applicant is required to submit proof of attendance and/or participation at conference or meeting with the travel grant application.

–Original itemized receipts (not invoices) indicating payment has been made in full must be submitted in order to receive reimbursement. The A&S GSO will reimburse for specific food purchases, as long as original receipts are provided

Please email the A&S GSO administrative assistant at asgso@pitt.edu with any questions or concerns PRIOR to submitting your materials.

Additional Travel Grants

We strongly encourage graduate students to take advantage of the other travel grant funds available. However, if you have already received the A&S PBC or GPSG travel grants or are ineligible for other reasons, you may still apply for the A&S GSO travel grant.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are applying for multiple travel grants, ALL paperwork and receipts for a trip must be submitted on the same University Travel & Business Expense report (T&B Form). If you are receiving funds through your department, they will generate the T&B form. If you are submitting first to A&S PBC or A&S GSO, the administrator in those offices will generate the T&B Form. A&S GSO will not be responsible for paperwork sent through campus mail. See Order for Paperwork below.

It is YOUR responsibility to find out whether you are eligible for these other grants. Please contact the GPSG and A&S PBC directly if you have any questions about their grants.

Graduate and Professional Student Government

See the GPSG website for their eligibility requirements and application. Grants are between $150 – $300 depending on whether you are attending or presenting at a conference. They also support travel for academic research.

A&S-PBC and Alumni Travel Fellowship

Please refer to the A&S Grad Studies website for more information and a link to the application or stop by 5141 Sennott Square to pick up a hard copy of the application from the Graduate Studies office.

Order of Paperwork

All receipts for a trip MUST be filed on the same Travel and Business Expense (T&B) report if you are receiving travel money from multiple sources. If you are receiving money from your department or another source please have your department complete and sign-off on the Reimbursement application through Concur and direct them to request any account information from A&S GSO Administrative Assistant at asgso@pitt.edu. We advise you to submit electronic copies of paperwork and documentation to facilitate processing. As a courtesy, A&S-PBC will forward your paperwork to us and we will forward your paperwork to GPSG for you but you are responsible for ensuring that paperwork from your department or other campus office reaches the appropriate office.

  Department / Advisor / Research Grant
  CLAS / China Council etc.
  A&S PBC & Alumni (5141 Sennott)
  A&S GSO (5141 Sennott)
  GPSG (825 WPU)