Graduate Student Council Travel Awards

• The priority of GSC Travel Awards is to provide travel support to students presenting research or scholarly/creative work at professional conferences and meetings. Students who are not presenting work at a conference may apply for travel funding, but priority will be given to those presenting research or creative/scholarly work.
• Applicants must be enrolled in a graduate degree program at K-State and must be in good academic standing (have at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA).
• Graduate students are not eligible to receive a GSC travel award if they graduate before their event begins.
• Research or creative/scholarly work that will be presented must have been completed during the student’s graduate career at K-State. The GSC will not fund travel for work completed during an applicant’s undergraduate career or while pursing graduate studies at another institution.
• Within a fiscal year (July 1-June 30), a graduate student may be awarded a maximum of $500 for domestic travel (within the U.S.). If a graduate student engages in international travel (outside the U.S.), he or she may be awarded a maximum of $750 within a fiscal year. Students may NOT receive $500 for domestic travel and $750 for international travel within a fiscal year, but may receive a maximum of $750 for the fiscal year if they engage in international travel or a combination of international and domestic travel. See Award Criteria and Amounts for details.

The application deadline is the first of the month, two months prior to the month in which your event officially begins. The deadline is NOT two months prior to the start of your event. For example, if your event is scheduled to begin any day in July, you must apply by May 1.

For an event that occurs across two or more months, you must submit an application for the month in which that event begins. For example, if attending an event that is held August 31-September 2, you must submit an application for the August month of travel (apply by June 1).

If you are not sure of the application deadline for your specific travel event, please contact gsctravel@ksu.edu.

Step 1 - Apply for GSC Travel Award

Complete the online application (accessible below) by the respective deadline for the start date of the event you plan to attend.

You may review a sample application (pdf) to see what information is required in the application.

Information/documentation needed for application:

• Proof of presentation/activity (if available): If you plan to give a presentation or actively participate in the event in some other way, you must provide documentation that verifies your activity. Please upload the documentation in the application if you have it. If you do not have this documentation yet, you still must apply by the deadline and indicate in the application that you plan to give a presentation. If selected for funding, you will be required to submit this documentation prior to travel.

• Major professor endorsement form: The Major Professor Endorsement Form must be completed with your major professor's signature and uploaded in the online application. The form may be completed electronically with an electronic signature. The form also may be printed, signed, and scanned as a PDF to be uploaded in the application form. A form with the major professor's name typed in the signature line will NOT be accepted. Endorsement by your department head or graduate program director is also acceptable if unable to obtain a signature by your major professor.

  Apply for a GSC travel award

Step 2 - Monthly application review

• Applications are reviewed and award allocations are made on a monthly basis after each application deadline. Applicants are ranked by points awarded per criteria. Awards are allocated beginning with the highest ranked applications, and priority is given to applicants who are presenting research, scholarly, or creative work.
• If the number of eligible applicants in a given month exceeds the amount of funding available, the following criteria are used to allocate awards in the following order:
  • • Authorship – applicants giving presentations will be funded in the following manner based on their authorship status: first author, second author, third author or below
    • Date of application – as a final resort, date of application will be used to allocate awards, with preference given to those with the earliest application submission dates

Step 3 - Notification of award recipients

• No more than 10 business days after the application submission deadline, travel award applicants are notified via email of whether or not they have been selected to receive a travel award. A list of award recipients is posted online.

Step 4 - Travel occurs

Step 5 -Submit reimbursement materials

• Submit reimbursement materials no later than 10 business days after the last day of travel.
• If you plan to engage in other travel before or after attending your event, please notify the GSC (gsctravel@ksu.edu) as soon as possible.

Step 6 - Receive reimbursement funds

• Allow 2-6 weeks after submitting reimbursement materials to receive your reimbursement.
• If enrolled in direct deposit, reimbursement will be disbursed directly to your designated account. If you are not enrolled in direct deposit, reimbursement will be sent in the form of a check to your address provided on the W-9 form.
• If the travel award recipient is not able to pay for his or her travel upfront, many departments are willing to cover the award recipient's travel expenses up to the amount of awarded funds prior to the travel and the department will be reimbursed directly by the GSC after the travel. Prior to travel, please contact your department office for more information about this arrangement.

If you are allocated a GSC travel award, the funds will be disbursed to you after your event. However, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the reimbursement process as soon as you are awarded a travel grant so that you can make sure to have all the necessary documentation ready after your event.

Submission of an application for a GSC travel award does not guarantee funds will be awarded. The GSC travel awards are competitive. The GSC has a limited amount of funds for travel awards and often receives more applications than can be funded. Therefore, students are encouraged to seek funding from other sources and should explore these options well in advance of their travel event.

College travel awards

Many colleges have travel award programs to support professional travel for graduate students. Follow the links below for your respective college to learn about their travel award program. If your college is not listed, contact your college dean's office to ask whether they offer financial travel support for graduate students.

College of Arts and Sciences

College of Education

College of Engineering

College of Human Ecology

College of Veterinary Medicine

Department/program funding

Your home department or graduate program also might offer travel support for you to attend conferences or for other academic or professional travel. Consult with your major professor, department head, or graduate program director to find out whether your department or program has funds available to support your travel. You should also ask your major professor whether he or she has funds from a research grant or other sources to support your travel.

Student Governing Association (SGA) travel funding

The Student Governing Association (SGA) offers travel grants, but the application must be submitted by a student organization, not an individual student. If you are involved with a student organization that is registered with the Center for Student Involvement, consult with the officers of that organization about applying for funding to support your professional travel. The Student Allocations Funding Request form is available in OrgCentral. You may be prompted to login to OrgCentral with your K-State eid and password to access this form.

Professional associations

Many professional associations offer travel awards to students attending their meetings/conferences. Research the website of the conference you plan to attend or contact conference organizers to ask whether the association offers travel funding for students. Additionally, explore grants and funding opportunities throughout the year. Many professional, private, and government organizations offer funding to support graduate student research/scholarship, including research-related travel.