Academic student positions are covered by the contract between the UW and the United Auto Workers (UAW). For all other student employment positions, UW Compensation establishes compensation requirements in accordance with University policy and as described on UW HR's Student Employees web page. Student employees must be paid at least the Washington State minimum wage, noted as "base" in the table below.

The following pay rates apply to hourly academic student employee positions within the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering. The College of Engineering and other departments may employ students with different job titles and at different pay rates.

Student Travel

This page contains three different scenarios that should help you understand the rules of road (so to speak). These scenarios are the most common in the department. Please see HCDE's Fiscal Specialist in Sieg 428 if you still have questions. When you are finished with this page you should continue reading HCDE's main travel page.

Funding Scenario 1: Department funds the trip through endowment money

Please reference HCDE's Student Travel Policy for more information on how to receive this award. All forms should be submitted to the Assistant to the Chair for a vote at the next faculty meeting.

If funded, you will be awarded a specific amount of money. This money can be used for any expense associated with your trip (hotel, registration, airfare, meals, taxis, etc). There are multiple ways for the department to pay for and/or reimburse you for these expenses:

1) Department uses travel card to pay for upfront expenses such as airfare, conference registration, hotel fees, etc. If you prefer to pay for these expenses yourself you can start the reimbursement process early by submitting receipts to the department fiscal specialist.

2) If you qualify for a Per Diem Advance you can receive travel money before you leave.

3) You pay for your expenses and be reimbursed when you return. Make sure to save receipts for all your expenses except for meals. Food expenses are reimbursed at a predetermined rate set by the federal government.

Please know that we are not limited to using one method or the other. We can use a combination of these methods (up to the total amount of your award) to reduce your upfront financial burden.

Funding Scenario 2: You receive a GSFEI award

GSFEI is a travel fund administered through the graduate school. Students apply for this fund through HCDE's normal student travel application process and department staff members determine if the application is eligible for GSFEI funding. These funds can only be used to pay for transportation expenses (planes, trains, taxis, cars, mobile home). Because of this, GSFEI awardees are not eligible for a Per Diem Advance unless they have a secondary source of funding. However, the department can still pay for upfront transportation expenses (see option 1 above) or reimburse you when you return (see option 3 above) or a combination of both.

Funding Scenario 3: You receive grant funding from a professor

If you are traveling with grant funds, it is up to you and the principle investigator (PI) to determine what will be reimbursed and what won't. A PI may say that you can be reimbursed for all your expenses or may say that you can only be reimbursed for a certain dollar amount or for certain types of expenses. Usually a PI will pay for all your travel expenses. These funds do not have special restrictions on them and may be used to pay for all allowable travel costs. This means the department has multiple ways of paying for and/or reimbursing you for these expenses (same list as scenario 1).