HCDE BS & MS Student Travel Policy

The below travel policy applies to HCDE bachelor's (BS) and master's (MS) students; see here for the PhD Student Travel Policy.

HCDE has limited funding to support conference attendance.

Students who are attending a conference based on work from a funded faculty research project should first speak with their faculty supervisor and request that their expenses be covered by the project before requesting funds from the department. If their faculty supervisor does not have funds, students should then look into the HCDE travel funding options below.

Introduction

With HCDE’s limited funding, first priority is reserved for students who are presenting a peer-reviewed paper in a conference proceeding, followed by Posters and/or workshop attendance (see Option A).

In addition to conference funding to present a peer-reviewed paper, students may also be eligible for assistance to attend affinity-based conferences for the purposes of community building (see Option B).

Option A (Presenting)

Eligibility for funding

Eligibility for conference attendance to present a paper.

Students are eligible to apply for funding through Option A if all of the following conditions are met:

The student is currently enrolled in the BS or MS in HCDE program or will be enrolled during the quarter in which the conference is taking place
(Exceptions can be made for presenting at a conference on research done while at HCDE up to 2 quarters post-graduation)
the student is presenting at the conference,
the student is in good academic standing in HCDE (not on academic warning),
the student has submitted reimbursement requests for any previous travel supported through this program, and
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.

Process and Deadlines

Awards are competitive and based on the quality and appropriateness of the requests. To apply for an award, please fill out the HCDE BS/MS Student Conference Fund Request form at least one month prior to the conference.

After submitting the form, within 5 business days, students will be contacted by email about the status of their request.

Students who are attending a conference based on work from a funded project should talk with their faculty supervisor and request that their expenses be covered by the project before requesting funds from the department. If their faculty supervisor does not have funds, students should then follow the HCDE travel policy guidelines below.

Applications will not be considered for retroactive funding.

Although each request is considered on its own merits and is subject to availability of funds, decisions regarding student funding are expected to follow this pattern: Up to $750 of expenses reimbursed for conferences, even if conference costs are higher than $750.

Option B (Community-Building)

If HCDE BS/MS students aren't presenting at a conference, they should look into this option for funding to see if they're eligible.

Students planning to enroll in the next academic year (2025-2026), are eligible to apply to request funding toward registration fees, travel, and accommodations to attend UX/Tech/STEM affinity-based conferences supporting community building and professional engagement for students who are underrepresented within HCDE.

The number of awards and funding amount will be based on how many applications are received and how much funding is available for the next academic year. Priority will be given to students in UW Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) or students engaged in local chapters of the eligible conferences and students entering their Senior or final year in the program.

If the College of Engineering (COE) or HCDE partner departments are recruiting at the conference, additional funding may be awarded and students will be asked to spend a portion of their time recruiting and talking to interested HCDE and UW prospective applicants.

Eligibility for funding

To receive funding, students must be:

Enrolled in the BS or MS in HCDE program when they apply for funding and;
Enrolled in the BS or MS in HCDE program during the quarter in which they’ll be attending the conference and;
In good academic standing in HCDE (not on academic warning) and;
Planning to attend an eligible conference (see list below).

List of eligible conferences:

You can email tzortzis@uw.edu if you have a conference to suggest should be added.

Process and Deadlines

Students will apply in near the end of one academic year to request funding to attend a conference that occurs in the next academic year.

Students planning to enroll in the next academic year (2025-2026) can apply once the application opens.

The application opens on May 1, 2025. All applications must be submitted by July 1, 2025 (deadline). Students will be notified if they are selected to receive conference funding before August 1, 2025.

Temporary process for Academic Year 24-25’s remaining eligible conference:
If HCDE BS or MS students are interested in attending NSBE in March 2025 and would like to request funding support from HCDE, they may fill out this form by January 20th 2025 23:59pm.
Students will receive a response to their application by February 7th 2025.
The number of awards and funding amount will be based on how many applications are received and how much funding is available for this academic year. Priority will be given to students in UW Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) or students engaged in local chapters of the conference and students entering their Senior or final year in the program.

Award Stipulations (Options A and B)

Reimbursement requests should be sent to hcdefiz@uw.edu within 45 days of completion of travel. Reimbursement requests should include copies of receipts for travel, lodging, conference registration and any incidentals greater than $75. HCDE Student Travel will be handled as reimbursement and does not provide travel advance.

Within two weeks after the conference, students who receive funding must submit a short, two–three paragraph Conference Experience Report describing their experience at the conference for the News section of the HCDE website by uploading their Conference Experience Report to this folder. Photos from the conference would also be appreciated. Students who do not submit the write-up will not be eligible for further travel funding from the department.

Additional Funding Opportunities

In addition to the HCDE travel policies detailed above, MS students may also be eligible for support from the UW Graduate School (MS students presenting at conferences will be asked additional questions in the travel request form to determine eligibility and the department will apply for this award on their behalf), and BS students may be eligible for an Undergraduate Research Program Conference Travel Award (students would need to apply for this themselves).

For more scholarship opportunities, please see the Off Campus Resources section of our main conference funding page.