Graduate Student Travel and Research Award

Award Types

• Travel Award: Funds travel and/or registration expenses to attend and present a poster/paper as first-author at a conference or workshop.
  • Attendance may be in-person or virtual
  • The fiscal year of the award will follow the dates of the conference (e.g., a FY25 award will be given for a conference that takes place 7/1/24 - 7/3/24).
• Research Award: Funds materials and resources needed to successfully complete the applied project.
  • Materials and resources may include:
    • Subject payments
    • Software and other project materials
    • Training or workshop

Award Amount

• FY 25 (July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025) - Up to $800 per student
• FY 26 (July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026) - Award amount to be determined

How to Apply

To apply, submit an application via the online form.

Guidelines

• Students may apply for a travel award, research award, or both within a fiscal year (July 1 - June 30).
• Students who apply/request support in summer, or for any other semester in which they are not registered for a credit/tuition-bearing course, should review the Award Disbursement section.
  • Up to two applications may be submitted per fiscal year. 
    • Separate applications must be submitted for each award type (i.e., travel, research) or conference. Applications may be submitted at separate times within the fiscal year.
    • Students presenting virtually (versus in person) may be eligible for an exception to the application limit due to lower expenses.
  • The maximum amount of funds applied for in a fiscal year may not exceed the total annual limit. For example, if the total annual limit is $800 and a request is submitted for $600, the maximum amount of a second request within the same fiscal year is $200. 

Required Application Materials

Applicants will be asked within the online application form to upload a single pdf containing the following application materials.

• Budget
  • List each expense and its estimated cost (i.e., show how you would spend the award amount).
  • All expenses must be in accordance with the University’s Business Expenses policy. Please contact Psychology Finance if you have questions.
• Abstract
• Notification from the conference showing the presentation was accepted
• Faculty advisor approval
  • Include a copy of an email from them that shows they gave you their approval to submit an application for this award. The approval should be brief; it simply takes the place of an approval signature.

• Travel Award: No later than 2 weeks prior to the first date of travel
• Research Award: Prior to purchases being made/expenses being incurred

Award Disbursement Options
If you would like assistance understanding your disbursement options, please contact Heidi Wolff (hwolff@umn.edu), Curriculum and Graduate Services Specialist.
 

• Student Account Deposit
  • This is the default/preferred payout method for this award.
  • Students must be enrolled in at least one credit/tuition-bearing course at the time of funds disbursement. (CLA 8000 in summer counts.)
  • Federal aid policies require students to be enrolled in a credit/tuition-bearing course to receive aid. Students are therefore strongly encouraged to proactively request anticipated summer support during the spring semester to ensure their requests can be fulfilled before a student incurs travel or research costs. Note that this represents a change in procedure effective Summer 2024, as GRD 4999 registration has been discontinued by UMN in compliance with updated federal aid disbursement policies.
  • The deadlines for requesting awards for disbursement in a semester with credit-bearing enrollment are as follows:
    • Fall semester: November 1 (applicable for students who will be on GRAD 999 in spring)
    • Spring semester: April 1
  • Balances due on student accounts will be deducted from the award, financial aid may be adjusted as a result of the award, and the award may be subject to taxable income.
    
    Students who request support in a semester without credit-bearing registration will be advised on applicable options, listed below. The Department’s goal will be to provide as timely of payout as possible in alignment with University policies for disbursing financial aid. Please note that there may be circumstances where the department is unable to fulfill a student’s request under the available options and policies.
     
• Reimbursement
  • If student account deposit isn’t possible (e.g., student isn’t registered for credit), reimbursement will be allowed for conference travel that qualifies as University business, provided that the reimbursement request is submitted to Psychology Finance within 60 days of travel completion. “University business” applies to cases where students are presenting a paper or poster. Students who are traveling for research or professional development/training are not eligible for reimbursement. 
  • Recipients will need to pay for their expenses out-of-pocket, then request reimbursement from Psychology Finance.
  • Funds for research subject payments cannot be paid out via reimbursement, per UMN policy. 
• Account String 
  • Faculty PCard
    • Students may request on their application to have expenses paid directly by a faculty member using a PCard (UMN credit card). 
    • The Making Common Purchases job aid shows which expenses a PCard may be used for. Psychology Finance should be consulted to confirm expense allowability before a student selects this award disbursement type.
    • The Travel and Research Award account string will be provided to the student in their award notice, to be used by the faculty member when reconciling their PCard charges with Psychology Finance.
  • Cash Advance, ClinCards, Digital Gift Cards, Survey Services
    • The Travel and Research Award account string may be used by the award recipient when setting up a plan to pay subjects. The Subject Payments page outlines the approved payment methods.  
• Vendor Payment
  • If a student will not be registered for credit in the subsequent semester and is a domestic student, they may request to be set up as a UMN vendor for reimbursement. This process may take 2-3 months to complete and should only be requested when other options have been exhausted. 

Contact Heidi Wolff (hwolff@umn.edu), Curriculum and Graduate Services Specialist.