Graduate Student Council Travel Funding

• The priority of GSC Travel Funding 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 GSC travel funding 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 Funding Criteria and Amounts for details.

Step 1 - Apply for GSC Travel Funding

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.

Step 2 - Monthly application review

• Applications are reviewed and allocations are made on a monthly basis after each application deadline. Applicants are ranked by points awarded per criteria. Travel Funding is 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 funds 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 funding recipients

• No more than 10 business days after the application submission deadline, travel funding applicants are notified via email of whether or not they have been selected to receive a travel funding. A list of funded recipients is posted online.
• If the travel funding recipient is not able to pay for his or her travel upfront, many departments are willing to cover the recipient's travel expenses up to the amount of GSC travel funding prior to the travel and the department will be reimbursed directly by the Graduate School after the travel. Prior to travel, please contact your department office for more information about this arrangement.

Step 4 - Travel occurs

• 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 5 - Disbursement of travel funds

• If your department paid for some or all of your expenses, the Graduate School will work with your department on disbursement of travel funds. Prior to travel, please consult with your department about how they can assist with your travel arrangements and expenses.
• See additional information on the travel funding disbursement page.

If you are allocated a GSC travel funding, the funds may be disbursed to you directly or to your department, depending on how travel expenses were paid. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the funding disbursement process as soon as you have recieved a travel grant.

Submission of an application for a GSC travel funding does not guarantee funds will be awarded. The GSC travel funding is competitive. The GSC has a limited amount of funds for travel 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 funding

Many colleges have travel funding programs to support professional travel for graduate students. Follow the links below for your respective college to learn about their travel funding 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 funding 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.