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The Graduate School
Conference Travel Grant 2008/09
(For travel between Sept. 1, 2008 and Aug. 31, 2009)
Objective of the Grant: The Conference Travel Grant provides funds to assist PhD and MFA students traveling to conferences and/or seminars to make presentations on behalf of the University. The award is not intended to support attending courses at other schools, research or general educational travel.
Eligibility: Students are eligible to receive up to $500/$700 (depending on program -- see below) Conference Travel Grant per academic year (September 1 through August 31). This amount can be used towards one conference or multiple conferences. Students must have completed three quarters of full-time full-tuition registration toward the PhD/MFA degree in The Graduate School. Students therefore must provide an unofficial Northwestern transcript. Unofficial transcripts may be obtained from CAESAR. After logging in to CAESAR, you can view your unofficial transcript by selecting "For Students" then "Academic Information" then "View Unofficial Transcript." Select "Switch to printer-friendly view" at the top of the screen. To save your unofficial transcript as an electronic document, copy and paste the entire transcript into a Word (or equivalent) file.
Students who are registered and in good academic standing in PhD or MFA programs administered by The Graduate School are eligible to apply; students who are on an extension of the deadline for degree completion are not eligible. Applicants must have received commitments from other University sources (such as the home department or school) to partially cover the costs of the conference or seminar. In order to be considered, students must provide a copy of their invitation to present or other proof of their scheduled presentation with the application.
Department/School Approval & Commitment:The signature of the chair or graduate program director (or school dean’s office) indicates that the department has vetted the application and committed financial support. The dollar amount of the department’s/school’s commitment should be provided on the application and budget forms.
Questions: After consulting the FAQ, please contact gradfund@northwestern.edu with any further questions, or call or email Lesley Perry (847/491-7332, l-perry2@northwestern.edu). Please include your name and department in all messages.
Grant Amount:The maximum Conference Travel Grant is:
- $500 for students in McCormick, Feinberg, WCAS Division I, NUIN, and related interdisciplinary programs
- $700 for students in all other schools and divisions
For a list of WCAS Graduate Programs by Division, see the web at http://www.wcas.northwestern.edu/graduate.
Covered Costs: Conference Travel Grants will only cover the following items: early conference registration fees, transportation to/from meeting, lodging, food, and ground transportation while attending the conference. The cost of visas required to attend an international conference is considered a covered travel expense. Students are expected to find the most reasonable and economical lodging and transportation. For instance, students are encouraged to share a room, and it is expected that students partake of meals provided as part of the conference rather than incurring additional expenses. Examples of non-covered expenses include: proposal submission and optional pre-conference fees, poster printing, mailing expenses, and internet access while traveling. Do not include non-covered expenses in the application budget.
Air and rail fares and conference registration fees may be charged to a departmental account prior to travel; however, cash advances will not be provided. Expenses for hotel, food, taxis, etc., are to be paid with the student’s personal funds and will be reimbursed upon filing of a properly completed Travel & Entertainment (T&E) form with original receipts. Retroactive charges for expenditures incurred or committed prior to review and approval of this application will not be funded. You may review Northwestern’s travel policies at: http://www.northwestern.edu/finsys/polcydoc/travelmenu.htm.
Application Deadline: Grants for travel from September 1 – August 31 are awarded on a rolling basis throughout the academic year, or until funds are depleted. Students should apply two months prior to the conference whenever possible. Under no circumstances will approval be given retroactively if an application is submitted after the conference has begun. The final deadline for receipt of all 2008/09 Conference Travel Grant applications is Friday, June 12, 2009.
Award Notification: Each student will receive notice of a decision within four to six weeks of application. An e-mail will notify the student and the home department of the dollar amount of the award and request (or confirm) a departmental account number for transfer of funds.
Reimbursement: Funds are transferred to departmental accounts for distribution to the student; sponsored project accounts may not be used for this purpose. Departments are expected to handle all reimbursements upon the completion of a student’s travel. Should the actual cost of the travel be less than that initially awarded, excess funding should be returned based upon the proportion originally awarded by each funding entity within two months after completion of the conference.
How to submit your Conference Travel Grant Application:
1. Fill out the 2008/2009 Conference Travel Grant Application online. Print one copy, sign & date it, have a representative from your department sign it, attach a copy of your transcript and invitation to present and send it via campus main to:
Conference Travel Grant Processor
The Graduate School
Crown 1-502, Evanston Campus 1113
2. Send an .xml copy to gradfund@northwestern.edu. The online form will automatically save a copy and attach it to an outgoing message with your laptop/desktop email. If you have not configured that email account (usually Outlook for PC's and Mail for Macs), save a copy of the .xml file attacehd to the outgoing message and manually send it using whatever email account you normally use (e.g. gmail, hotmail, etc.)
3. If you are unable to save and send a copy of the online form as an .xml document, you must email gradfund@northwestern.edu to request permission to submit a hard copy only.
*Please note: The application form is a fillable pdf file. You may need to install the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Last updated: Oct 10 2008 2:03PM
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