Travel Grants

The Graduate School offers a limited number of competitive scholarships to selected graduate students who are in good academic standing. These travel grants are offered to support the costs of travel to professional meetings that are relevant to their degree.

To be eligible, graduate students:

• Must be presenting research or a creative activity which they have authored/co-authored. It must have been peer reviewed and accepted for presentation. If acceptance is pending, students can still apply, but the final award of a travel grant is contingent upon acceptance for presentation. Students who are simply attending a meeting without any active participation are ineligible for travel grant funding.

• Must have an approved degree plan on file in the Graduate School.

• Must have a $100-$500  match already secured from the applicant's department, college, or other appropriate source. These funds are matched on a 1:1 basis. Eligible graduate students may apply for a maximum of $500 with matching funds (for a maximum total of $1,000). 

• Must attend at least 3 TGS Professional Development Graduate Workshops per academic year. You can attend these workshops in person or live online stream. If, for any reason, you are unable to attend a workshop, videos are available online. To verify that the video was watched, please complete the associated video quiz for each video viewed before completing an application. Please list the name and date of the workshops you attended or watched on the appropriate application field.
• Effective February 1^st, 2018: Must complete Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training. This requirement can be met in one of two ways:
  • Online CITI Training – Available through the UNT Office of Research Integrity and Compliance. Students will receive a certificate after completing the course, and TGS will keep a record on file to verify completion.
    • Please follow this link provided by the Office of Research Integrity and Compliance to register for a CITI course. Registration is free for all UNT affiliated students.
  • Designated RCR Workshops – Students may use attendance at one of our designated RCR professional development workshops for credit. Please check workshop descriptions to ensure that they meet the requirement. Attendance at one of these workshops can also be used towards the professional development workshop requirement.

Applying for a Travel Grant

1. To begin, download the required forms:
   •  Faculty Evaluation for Travel Grant Applicants: Give this to the appropriate faculty members who will verify matching funds and provide a quick evaluation. This form must be completed with the appropriate signatures, match information, and rating, and attached to your application.
   •   Download a current copy of the UNT Travel Budget Authorization (TBA) form. This form should be completed by the department authorizing your matching funds and must be attached to your application.           
2. Gather your conference acceptance and workshop requirement information.
   •   Next, login and fill out the online application       
3. If you are a College of Music student, please submit your application here.
4. Once your application is submitted, you'll receive a confirmation message. Your application will be reviewed during the next evaluation period and you'll be notified of acceptance or denial within two weeks of the submission deadline.

Evaluation Periods

Travel grant applications can be submitted at any point throughout the academic year. The grants are awarded on a rolling basis with three evaluation periods throughout the semester. We notify students of their acceptance or denial 1-2 weeks after the evaluation deadline. We recommend you submit your application as early as possible, because applications that are not awarded will be forwarded to the next review period and reconsidered for funding during that period. Applications must be submitted and travel must occur within the same academic year (Fall through Summer).

Priorities & Limitations

• Preference will be given to students who are first-authors of scholarly research or creative presentations.
• The maximum amount awarded will range between $300 - $500.
• Students may receive only 1 Travel Grant for the academic year.
• For projects that involve more than one student, a maximum of 2 travel grants can be awarded. The application must identify the student's co-author who is also applying for a travel grant.

Common Mistakes

• Incomplete Faculty Evaluation forms

  Make sure that you have every section of the Faculty Evaluation form complete before submitting. This includes the Match Approval, AND the “ranking” on the bottom of the page. Appropriate faculty/staff signatures are required.

• Missing degree plans

  Students must have an official degree plan on file with the graduate school. Please take care of this prior to applying for a travel grant.

• Missing workshop requirements

  Please attend at least 3 professional development workshops to meet the workshop requirement. If you cannot make it to campus, you can watch workshop videos online, and pass the associated video quizzes for credit.

FAQ’s

• How do the matching funds work?

  Students must secure $100 to $500 in matching funds from their department, chair, advisor, or other appropriate source. Toulouse Graduate School will match these funds on a 1:1 basis.  This means that students who have $100 in matching funds can receive $100 from Toulouse, whereas students who have $500 in matching funds can receive up to $500 from Toulouse.

• I already attended my conference, can I still apply for funding?

  Yes - students can potentially receive retroactive funding for a conference that they have already attended, up to one year after the conference takes place

• I was awarded a travel grant; when will I receive my funds?
  Please follow the instructions detailed in your award letter to facilitate payment. After you return from your conference, you will need to submit the Reimbursement Form and the online evaluation form. We will then send your information to Financial Aid for processing. Travel grant awards are always reimbursed after you return from travel; we do not send funds in advance.
• How are travel grant funds disbursed?
  You will receive your travel grant award as a refund from Student Accounting. Please visit the Student Accounting website for more details about refund options.
• How do I receive matching funds from my department, chair, advisor, etc.?
  Please work with your department to determine how they will disburse matching funds. Some departments may require receipts or other documentation to facilitate payment. Toulouse Graduate School only reimburses our half of the matching funds. Departments can disburse their halves however they prefer to do so.
• For questions on the Travel Budget Authorization form, contact your Department Travel Coordinator.

Other Opportunities

UNT International administers the UNT International Travel Grant. The UNT International Travel Grant provides funding to UNT graduate students who receive a Toulouse Graduate School Travel Grant to participate in a professional meeting abroad. Read more about the International Travel Grant.

Questions? E-mail us: Travel.Grants@unt.edu

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