GSGA Travel Awards Policy

• GSGA Travel Funds
• CEAS GSGA Travel Awards Policy
• Travel Authorization Form
• Presenter Application
  
• Non-Presenter Application
• CEAS Travel Request Form (required)

Note: The maximum travel award amount for CEAS graduate students is $1,200.00 (for Presenter) and $600 (for Non-Presenter) per fiscal year (July 1 – June 30).

• Must be a degree seeking graduate student with at least 15 credit hours earned. 
• Must be registered for at least one credit hour every academic semester (except Summer). 
• Must be a current registered member of a CEAS GSA (Graduate Student Association) group. 
• Must be presenting original research in the form of papers/posters, or chairing a panel/session at a conference. 
• Students can qualify for up to $1,200.00 as a presenter per fiscal year. If student is funded on a grant student is not eligible for the CEAS $600.  Student receiving RA funding must provide confirmation from their department’s business manager or grant manager that travel funds are not available.  
• If the maximum is not met after one travel, you may request the remainder for a subsequent eligible travel within the same fiscal year.

• Must be a degree seeking graduate student with at least 15 credit hours earned. 
• Must be registered for at least one credit hour every academic semester (except Summer).
• Must be a current registered member of a CEAS GSA (Graduate Student Association) group. 
• Must obtain a letter from the student’s department chair or research advisor in support of attending the conference.
• Students can qualify for up to $600.00 as a non-presenter per fiscal year.
• If the maximum of $600.00 is not met after one travel, you may request the remainder of the $600.00 maximum for a subsequent eligible travel as a non-presenter within the same fiscal year.
• If you attend a subsequent eligible conference as a presenter within the same fiscal year you may request the remainder of the $1200.00 maximum. Example: travel #1 non-presenter award of $550.00; travel #2 up to $650.00 as a presenter (total $1200.00 for the fiscal year).

• Graduate students whose conference travel is supported by departmental and/or an advisor’s external grant (including but not limited to federal, state, and local government or industry grants awarded externally to UC), or who are traveling to a conference as an employee of such grants are no longer eligible for GSG conference travel awards or CEAS matching funds strictly due to the GSG policies.
• Are no longer eligible for CEAS GSG conference travel awards due to changes in UC student travel policies or due to funding changes from GSG or CEAS.
• Auditions, job talks, and interviews are ineligible.

• Keep a copy of your award application for your records. 
• Awards generally take about 3-4 weeks to process. 
• The maximum award amount is $1200 per fiscal year (July 1–June 30). 
• If a student has graduated, he/she is eligible for reimbursement only if the conference travel was completed prior to their graduation date. 
• CEAS Graduate Studies Office requires that all students applying for GSG travel awards must also apply to their department/advisor for funding whenever possible.  The advisor’s signature is required on the forms. 
• The GSG conference travel award application is only considered for funding when no/partial funding could be secured from department and/or advisor.
• Submit all relevant documents within 14 calendar days of the end of the conference. Late submissions will be rejected. If you need more time, you must contact Barbara Carter at carterbj@ucmail.uc.edu before the 14‐day deadline to request an extension.
• If you are contacted by email a some problem with your application, it is your responsibility to fix the issue(s) completely within 7 calendar days of receiving the email.

• Before undertaking any travel, every student must complete a Student Travel Authorization form a minimum of one week prior to your travel. 
• Students travelling internationally for a conference are required to fill out and get approval from the UC International Office through their online portal BEFORE TRAVELING to a Worldwide Graduate Student Research/Conference.
• The travel authorization form must be signed by your research advisor. 
• Submit the travel authorization form to Barbara Carter at carterbj@ucmail.uc.edu. Note that submitting a travel authorization form does not guarantee funding. 
• If students are travelling in a group, each student must submit their own form. Do not combine multiple people onto one form; it will be rejected. An advisor signature is required for each student.

• After returning from travel, submit a completed and signed “Conference Travel Award” application and list of expenses along with a CEAS Travel Request form.  Be sure to indicate the appropriate status (Presenter or Non‐Presenter). The application is on GSG’s website.
• Make sure that you list the correct “GSA Member Group” name. Please note:  You cannot sign your own application as a GSA “officer”. Only another officer can sign. 
• Ensure you have all required documents uploaded to your application. The application and all supporting documents must be submitted as one PDF file.
• A fully completed and signed CEAS Travel Request form must be uploaded with your application.
• *Please NOTE:  Reimbursement can take up to 3-4 weeks. We will process as quickly as possible.   
• Attach a copy of your current One Stop student term bill for the current semester.  For summer travel, the previous spring semester’s registration should be printed and used as proof.
• Proof of conference presentation. You may submit a copy of your email confirmation of acceptance. Please make sure that your name and the conference name are on the document and are explicitly highlighted. 
• Proof of having traveled to the conference city.  Examples of proof of having traveled include (but are not limited to):  plane ticket stubs, gas receipts, food receipts, hotel statements, etc. If you have questions, please contact Barbara Carter at carterbj@ucmail.uc.edu.  
• Original receipts of expenses. Only the expenses outlined below will be reimbursed. NO EXCEPTIONS!
  • Appropriate proof of expense (as detailed in each category) must be submitted. Any deviations from the requirements below will result in a delay of processing. 
  • GSG does not reimburse food expenses, transportation baggage fees, and aircraft seat selection charges. 
  • If your receipts are not in US dollar (USD $) currency, you must provide a printout of the appropriate exchange, including calculations into the US dollar amount. The exchange rate should be the rate in effect as of the date on the respective receipt. You may use this website to find exchange rates. 
  • For expenses shared between students, each student must divide the expense and submit their own reimbursement request. Names of students dividing/sharing expenses must be listed on each student’s reimbursement form. Each applicant must provide proof of payment (check, Venmo, PayPal, etc.) of his/her share of the travel expense.

E‐Ticket receipt or itinerary showing applicant’s name, travel cities, dates, and ticket cost. If there are multiple traveler names on the receipt/itinerary, the applicant must provide proof of payment (check, Venmo, Paypal, etc.) of his/her share of the travel expense. Baggage fees, seat selection fees, or other add‐on expenses will not be reimbursed.

Only the rental and applicable taxes will be reimbursed. Insurance, gas options, or other fees will not be reimbursed. The car rental agreement form with applicant’s name, dates of travel, and itemized charges must be submitted.  Rental car must be issued either from CVG airport or from UC Enterprise in order for insurance to kick in for local travel.

Gas receipts will be reimbursed only if submitted along with a car rental receipt. Receipt dates must match the rental dates.

Expenses for traveling once from the destination airport to the venue/hotel and once back to the airport will be reimbursed. Transportation to/from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (CVG) airport will also be reimbursed. Provide original receipts of travel, including for cash payments.

Miles of travel can be claimed if air/bus/train travel or car rental is not claimed. Claims must be reasonable and cannot be costlier than air travel. Travel from Cincinnati must use UC as the origin address. The current IRS/UC rate for reimbursement as of January 1, 2022 is $0.585 per mile (rate is subject to change at any time). 

Please fill out the mileage log form. Submit two copies of the completed log. If you are claiming only miles of travel for your trip, you must submit other receipts to prove that you did actually travel. Gas receipts or any other destination city receipts are acceptable. Note: if claiming mileage, you cannot request reimbursement for fuel.

Hotel/motel room charges and applicable taxes will be reimbursed. Room service or other add‐on expenses will not be reimbursed. An original hotel receipt showing the applicant’s name and itemized charges must be submitted. The applicant MUST be the payer in order to be reimbursed. If there are multiple names on the receipt, the applicant must provide proof of payment of his/her share of the lodging cost (check, Venmo, PayPal, etc.).

Conference registration and/or abstract submission fees can be reimbursed. However, the total amount reimbursed must not include any membership dues or non‐essential services. An original receipt from the conference must be submitted. The receipt must show the applicant’s name and itemized charges.