Individual Travel Grant

The GPSA Individual Travel Grant exists to support and promote the success of ASU graduate and professional student research and professional development by increasing ASU’s reputation as a Research Extensive Institution, promoting the ASU graduate and professional student community at large, and fostering opportunities for professional growth.

Program Overview & Eligibility Requirements

• The funds awarded from this program are used to support individual student travel to regional, national and international conferences only that are directly related to students’ graduate programs of study or professional development.

• Travel MUST be directly related to the applicant’s program of study.

• Students are eligible to apply for several grants up to a maximum of $950 in individual travel grant funding per fiscal year (July 1 through June 30).

• This program runs on a monthly cycle.

• You must be a current ASU graduate student (degree or non-degree seeking) enrolled in at least one graduate level credit at the time of application and time of travel (summer enrollment not required) to apply. Online students are now eligible for GPSA Travel Grant funding.

• 4 + 1 Masters students are eligible for the travel grant in their +1 year

• Funding is not guaranteed as applications are selected competitively.

Blind Review Process

You MUST remove your name from any verbiage and/or documentation in your application. Failure to do so negates the blind review process and will result in disqualification of the application.

Deadlines

• Applications are peer-reviewed after the 1st every month. Each month constitutes a travel funding cycle.

• If your conference requires travel, applications must be submitted no later than 11:59 PM AZ time on the 1st day of the month, TWO months prior to the month of departure.

• If your conference is an online/virtual event you must apply for the Virtual Conference Attendance Grant, rather than the Individual Travel Grant. For virtual events, applications must be submitted no later than 11:59 PM AZ time on the 1st day of the month, ONE month prior to the conference or event.

• The table below provides the application submission deadlines for each month of travel. For example, if you are traveling on November 22, your application is due no later than September 1st at 11:59 PM AZ time.

• You can apply no earlier than three funding cycles prior to your month of travel. Example, if traveling on November 22, you may choose to apply during the August funding cycle (due August 1). In this instance, you can request feedback, edit, and re-submit your application if not initially selected, but you MUST create a new application in ZoomGrants.

• We encourage applicants to not wait until the evening of the 1st to submit their application.  ZoomGrants could overload at this time, which could delay the time of submission past the deadline (11:59 PM). GPSA is not responsible for such delays, and applications submitted after the deadline are not eligible for funding.

• GPSA does not fund retroactively. To receive funding, you must apply BEFORE you travel.

• In order to ensure the integrity and fairness of the application process, no exceptions will be made to program guidelines or deadlines.

Reimbursable Expenses

The Travel Grant will cover costs of airfare, fuel/mileage if driving your own vehicle, ground transportation (taxi, shuttle services, trains, public transportation), hotels/lodging, meals, and event registration.

The cost of your meals can be calculated using the daily rate determined by ASU (per diem) for your destination. To determine this rate, visit https://cfo.asu.edu/traveler-resources. For international rates see: https://aoprals.state.gov/web920/per_diem.asp .

In February 2019 the ASU Study Abroad office instituted a $3 a day charge for insurance on all student travel to locations outside the United States. Students will pay out of pocket and will be reimbursed from the GPSA grant when they submit an expense report. This fee counts towards the $950 total. When registering your trip please select ‘Self Pay’ option when prompted.

The Travel Grant will NOT cover the cost of rental cars, phone calls, internet access charges, poster printing, or any expense prohibited by university policy. Expenses paid in cash are not reimbursable. Only pay with credit card or check.

One-Way Fares: If you decide to purchase two one-way airfares instead of a round-trip fare, you will need to print a quote of a round-trip fare at the time your one-way fares were booked, in order to demonstrate to the ASU Travel Department that the round-trip fare is in fact more expensive.

GPSA will not give travel advances for any reason.

Driving/Mileage Reimbursement

If you are planning to drive your own vehicle and request mileage reimbursement, the ASU Travel Department now requires extra documentation:

• At least 21 days prior to your departure date, you will need to print proof of airfare for your trip, to demonstrate to ASU that your mileage will cost less than flying. The Travel Dept will reimburse drivers for either a) the cost of airfare + $50 estimated ground transportation OR b) the calculated mileage expense, whichever is less.

• If there are less than 21 days until your departure and you decide to drive, simply request an airfare quote for a flight to your destination 21 days from the current date. (It does not matter if the flight on the airfare quote matches your actual departure date.)

Important Points to Note

• Applicants do not have to have proof of acceptance to their conference to apply . If you are not accepted to the program, you may decline funding. This will not impact your eligibility for future funding.

• If you are traveling internationally, please ensure that you secure the necessary visas. GPSA will not reimburse travel expenses if you are denied entry into the country.

• Submitting an application for travel grant does not guarantee acceptance. In recent years, our travel programs have become highly competitive. Depending on the cycle and the funding program, approximately 40% of our applicants receive funding. A good application may be denied funding due to budget limitations.

• A student can receive both an Individual Grant up to $950 and be a part of a Group Grant where they are eligible for an additional $950, for different events. Please note that students cannot use both awards for the same event. 

• Adherence to deadlines and providing complete and accurate information is essential to processing requests in a fair and orderly manner.

• To ensure the integrity of the application process, no exceptions to program guidelines or deadlines will be made. This includes deadlines to submit Travel Requests and Expense Reports.

• Due to ASU policy, GPSA cannot fund airfare retroactively.

• Applicants are strongly encouraged to communicate with respect towards officers, staff members, or GPSA representatives in all correspondence. If you are unable to comply with this request you will be expelled from participating in all future travel grants for the current academic year. You will then be submitted to the Graduate College for disciplinary action in accordance with ACD 125. 

How to Improve Your Application

• Within the application, provide a well-composed and compelling argument for the significance of your travel and how it relates to success in your graduate program of study. All descriptions should be understandable to an interdisciplinary audience of graduate students.

• Demonstrate outstanding current or past service to GPSA, the university, and your field.

• Submit a complete and realistic budget including cost-saving measures.

• Ensure that no information is missing from your application.

• In addition, funding priority may be given to applicants who have not been awarded funds in the past.

• Make sure to describe your ROLE in the event (e.g. your research, poster, panel) not just the EVENT.

• Please note that this is a highly selective grant competition. Correctly completing an application does not ensure funding. Each month, many excellent applications are not selected for the grant because of the large number of requests submitted and the limited availability of funds. We encourage you to submit your application about three months prior to your travel date. Some months are less competitive than others.

• If you are not selected for a Travel Grant, you may request feedback on your application and reapply if the deadline has not passed for your trip. Remember, applications are due by the 1st of the month, TWO months prior to the month of departure.

Award Notification

Applicants will be notified of the status of their application no later than the 30th of the month of the corresponding deadline. If an applicant does not receive an email notification, it is the applicant’s responsibility to inquire of his or her application status. Partial awards may be given.

• Notification emails are sent to applicants approximately three to four weeks after each cycle deadline.

• Please add to your address book the email notices@zoomgrants.com as notifications are sent directly from the ZoomGrants system.

Disclaimers

• The GPSA and its administrators are not responsible for technological failure. Technical support can be contacted by visiting the application website.

• The GPSA and its administrators are not responsible for any lost, destroyed, or otherwise delayed applications or for any resulting loss of funds by their own negligence.

• No awards are guaranteed, and the GPSA Vice President of Internal Affairs and Vice President of Professional Development may rescind any travel grant for any reason at any time without prior notification.

• Program guidelines are subject to change at any time, with or without notice.

Integrity Disclaimers

Please note that all applicants for any GPSA program must submit their own unique, individual applications to all GPSA-funded programs. Students are not permitted to take any portion of content from prior student awardees or online sources (i.e., conference websites) for any reason whatsoever. Any student caught using the work (in any portion) from another student or online source, or copying their own material from a prior application, will be considered in violation of GPSA’s policy. Such action will prohibit the student in question from being eligible for the current application in consideration, and may inhibit eligibility for future GPSA funding applications. In summary, each application must be your own original work.

Given that we are a student entity within Arizona State University, GPSA mandates that all students act within the university’s academic integrity policy found here.

Questions?

Please contact the GPSA Director of Travel at gpsa.travel@gmail.com.

OFFICE HOURS – Director of Travel, Nicholet Deschine Parkhurst, will be holding office hours by appointment (email gpsa.travel@gmail.com).

Office hours for Fall semester will be held weekly on a TBD date and time.

If you are having issues with ZoomGrants email questions@zoomgrants.com.

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