Travel Grants

The University of South Carolina Graduate School is delighted to offer graduate student Travel Grants to assist terminal degree-seeking students (those in PhD, MFA, and professional doctoral programs) with travel to conferences to make presentations on behalf of the University of South Carolina. The grants encourage and support student presentation of research at professional meetings nationally and internationally.  Qualified students normally may receive one travel grant each fiscal year.

For Travel Grants for the period from July 1, 2012 - June 30, 2013,  we will accept applications beginning  June 1, 2012.  Please check back.

Students must apply and be approved for funding in advance of the start date of travel.  Funding is limited and grants are awarded on a rolling basis.  Apply early!

Eligibility:

• You must be a currently enrolled, degree-seeking student in a Doctoral or MFA program when you apply and when you travel.  
• You must present a paper/poster/creative work at a conference/meeting of national or international stature.
• You must be first or sole author of work and provide a PDF copy of your invitation to present or acceptance notification.

Restrictions:

1. Travel Grants are available to support student participation in professional meetings (i.e., presenting a research paper, poster or creative work). Travel Grants cannot be used to support field or library research, working conferences, courses, retreats, workshops or simple attendance at a professional meeting.
2. Awards range up to $500 for domestic travel and $1,000 for international travel and may be used to cover approved travel expenses (see http://www.sc.edu/policies/busf100.html for more information).  Award amounts are based on total cost of attendance, location of conference/meeting and availability of funds.
   1. Travel Grants are issued to the department or program on behalf of the student, not to the student. Students make arrangements with their programs for reimbursement.
3. Student applicants must be first author of paper/article/creative work, regardless of the format. Proof of authorship is required.
4. Travel Grants are available to supplement (and ordinarily match) funds committed by the student’s academic unit or department.  Applications received with a departmental match are preferred.
5. Applications for travel already started or completed will not be funded by a Travel Grant.
6. A Travel Grant may be used only for the conference/meeting for which it was originally requested.  Awards are made to an individual student. Grants do not belong to a particular department or program and are NOT transferable to another conference/meeting or student.
7. Students may receive one Travel Grant per fiscal year (July  1- June 30).  If you received funding since July 1, 2011, you may be eligible to apply again after June 1, 2012 for travel between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013.

Online Application Process (to be completed after you receive formal notification of acceptance to present at the conference)

1. Complete and submit online Conference Travel Grant Request Form.
   1. Create a username and password in the Graduate Management System (GMS).
   2. Include a PDF copy of the acceptance letter/notification you received from conference organizers.
2. Your academic advisor will receive a copy of your request via email.  The advisor reviews the request and provides electronic confirmation of your standing and progress to degree. 
3. Once your advisor reviews and signs off, your Graduate Director receives notification to approve your travel request by logging into GMS. 
   1. The Graduate Director confirms all information (including the program or departmental financial support for your travel) in the pledge box provided.
   2. Once approved by the Graduate Director, the Graduate School begins its review process.  Completed applications are reviewed weekly.
4. Only complete applications can be reviewed.  Students can check the status of their application by logging into GMS.  The student applicant is responsible for following up with the advisor and graduate director regarding travel grant requests. 
5. The Graduate School reserves the right to require additional documentation to complete the review of a student’s Travel Grant request. 

Award Recipients:

1. Once you receive your award notification letter from the Graduate School, please complete the Travel Authorization (TA) form with the assistance of your department/academic unit’s Program Administrator or Business Manager. The total TA amount should include the grant awarded by the Graduate School plus all support provided by the student’s department or supervisor. 
2. Within 30 days after travel is complete, a Travel Reimbursement Voucher (TRV) request, including all required documentation, must be submitted by the student through the department or academic unit’s Program Administrator or Business Manager to USC’s Travel Office.  Travel documents are handled by the department/academic unit's Program Administrator or Business Manager, not by the Graduate School.
3. After the TRV is successfully submitted, the department or program requests Graduate School reimbursement by providing a copy of the TRV to Robert Sutherland (rsutherl@mailbox.sc.edu).

Questions?

• Students: for questions about the online submission tool please contact Ryan Webber at rwebber@mailbox.sc.edu or call 803 777-1250; for questions about the application process contact Simone Gause at uscgrad@mailbox.sc.edu or call 803 777-2477.
• Academic Programs: for assistance with travel reimbursement contact Robert Sutherland at rsutherl@mailbox.sc.edu or call 803 777-3893.