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Current Students

PhD Student Travel Assistance

Policy updated November 2022.

The HCDE student conference travel support program is intended to provide opportunities for HCDE PhD students to become familiar with, and participate in the life of, their academic field. This program is supported by the generosity of donors to the Mary B. Coney fund, among other sources. 

Overview

HCDE doctoral students receive $3000 in travel funds upon matriculation and an additional $3000 on achieving candidacy. Funds rollover. Current students may view their available funds (UW login required).

Currently, HCDE master's and bachelor's students are not supported by this program. Available funds for doctoral students enrolled in the program before autumn 2022 were determined based on year in the program and whether they have completed generals.

Eligibility

  1. The student must be in good academic standing in HCDE (not on probation),
  2. the student must have the support of their faculty advisor, rotation mentor, or the PhD chair to attend the particular conference,
  3. all conference travel and reimbursement will be completed while still enrolled in the HCDE program (see exception below), and

  4. the student has submitted all conference experience reports from prior conference travel
    An experience report can be a document with your name, describing what conference you attended through these funds, and what you gained from the conference. If you've received conference travel funds before and haven't submitted an experience report, please do so now by uploading it to this folder. 

With adviser approval, students have access to this funding when on short-term leaves or internships. With adviser approval, graduating students may access funds up to a quarter after their graduation, when sharing research published with their HCDE affiliation. 

Timing and Procedure

Preparing to submit:

1. Talk with your adviser(s), mentor(s), and/or principal investigator on any grants that supported the work  about your travel early (e.g., when submitting a paper or first considering attending a conference), to discuss how the conference may support your goals, as well as if other funding sources (e.g., grants) may be available to support attendance.

2. Discuss your conference travel plans and funding options with your advisor(s), rotation mentors, and/or principal investigator(s) before requesting conference funds through this support program. Have your faculty advisor send you an email stating one of the following:
(A) They approve your request of Travel Funds and there is no alternative funding available, OR;
(B) They approve your request of Travel Funds and there are additional grant or other funds available

If (B), then email must include i. what the work tag(s) for the fund(s) is/are AND ii. what the fund name is AND iii. how much (specific $ amount) will be coming out of each grant for this conference request.

You will be asked to attach a screenshot of this email in the form you'll be submitting.

3. You may use this pdf to plan out your budget when you're planning (do not submit this anywhere; planning purposes only).

4. If your request is received at least a few days prior to the start of the conference and the conference attendance involves giving a presentation, HCDE can request an additional $300 (domestic) or $500 (international) from the graduate school (GSTA) on the student’s behalf. You must be registered for classes the quarter you are traveling to be considered. If you're eligible, you will be asked to attach the official conference acceptance email when submitting the form. GSTA funding is not guaranteed. (You will see more details in the form about eligibility).

How to submit your conference travel support request:

Fill out and submit the HCDE PhD Student Conference Travel Request form.

Please submit the request form as early as possible, but no later than a business day before spending funds.

If the form is submitted prior to the conference, extra funding may be available (see item #4 of "Preparing to submit" section).

Costs related to Visas and Accessibility 

HCDE recognizes that visa expenses or accessibility needs may disproportionately increase the costs associated with travel for some students. Please clearly state additional hardships under "Other Funds" of the HCDE PhD Student Conference Travel Request form and include a supporting link if possible. 

Award Stipulations

The request will be reviewed and notification of approval/denial sent within 3-5 business days. Additionally, note that conference assistance:

  1. May be used to support visa-related expenditures, if required for travel to a conference or meeting.
  2. In general, may not be used for courses or classes, in lieu of conferences or meetings. Travel support is meant to encourage and allow students to have the research community to engage with their work and/or for students to engage with colleagues in their field, so certain courses (e.g., a summer school to build a cohort of researchers in an area, a course or workshop at a conference) may be appropriate uses of this funding. Similarly, this funding is not intended to support open access fees (see, instead, the doctoral research grant program).

You must receive approval before spending any funds.

Reimbursement process

To request a reimbursement, email the HCDE Fiscal Office at hcdefiz@uw.edu, within 45 days of completion of travel, and include the following:

  • Traveler Information:
  • First/Last Name 
  • Phone Number
  • Event Name (include Link to Conference Website homepage)
  • Destination (City, State, Country)
  • Purpose of Travel
  • Travel Start/End Dates
  • Summary of expenses and total amount to be reimbursed.

Attached copies of receipts for transportation, lodging, conference registration and incidentals. The following expenses have additional requirements:

  • Airfare - itemized itinerary
  • Fees related to change/cancellation of travel plans - itemized itinerary
  • Lodging - Itemized 
  • Car Rental (if applicable) - FINAL rental agreement
  • Rail/Train - itemized itinerary
  • Conference/Seminar Sponsored Meal - itemized receipt/pertinent information

Some expenses, like car rentals, require prior approval. Talk with the fiscal office if you have questions.