Graduate Conference Travel

Open to all graduate students of Taft-eligible units registered for one credit hour or more. Recipients are awarded up to $700 in travel funding per fiscal year to cover transportation, lodging, registration fee, and M&IE per diem.

Applications for Research Support are reviewed on a rolling basis from July 15–June15.

Open to all graduate students of Taft-eligible units registered for one credit hour or more. 

Applications must be for prospective travel, except where travel occurs in the late summer and was not known at the end of the prior academic year. Applications are not restricted to the same fiscal year, though yearly limits are determined by the fiscal year of the award, not the year of travel.

Graduate Conference Travel does not fund graduate travel apart from research presentations at established academic conferences or events. This program does not fund attendance to workshops, seminars, or institutes (even where presentations may occur). Awards do not support conference participation in other capacities not mentioned, such as commenting, being on a discussion panel, serving as a session chair, or giving a reading. Where an acceptance lists such participation, it is incumbent on the applicant to explain how the proposed travel fits the program. 

Awardees remain eligible for other awards.

Applications must be received through the online portal no later than 5PM on the day of the published deadline. Applicants may not bypass any component of the system or ask the committee to instead view a different uploaded document. Applicants must upload a single PDF containing the conference acceptance and screenshots of costs.

A travel authorization must be completed prior to submitting a funding request.

Conference registration fees must be separate from any additional membership/organization fees, unless unable to disaggregate.

In the case of domestic conferences, travel outside a 24-hour window of the conference start or end date is generally not permitted. Though it may be necessary to travel the day prior to the start of the conference, it is expected that return travel will occur on the same day as the end of the conference, except where such is not possible (to be demonstrated within the application). In the case of international travel, arrival a day prior to the conference start date and departure the day following the conference is expected.

Per diem is calculated by multiplying the number of travel days by the designated M&IE rate for the travel destination.

If eligible for other, non-Taft Support, this amount must be listed in the application and will likely be deducted from the budget total when calculating the award. Where other funds are available for this purpose, e.g. awards through the Graduate College, such funds should be used prior to utilizing Taft funds.

If sharing resources with another traveler and paying by Venmo, Cashapp, or something similar, you will need:

1. Original payment receipt from the individual paying
2. Screenshot of your payment confirmation
3. Letter or email from original payee confirming they were reimbursed for your portion.

• Failure to obtain travel authorization prior to travel may result in the revocation of award. Where deviations from the approved application occur, the awardee must notify the Taft Faculty Chair in writing and receive written approval for the changes. The total expenses to be reimbursed or paid cannot be more than authorized, nor can line items be claimed that were not authorized.
• Full disclosure of non-Taft funds received for the proposed project, both inside and outside the university, is required. The award must not duplicate other funds granted for the same purpose, except when a deficit in the project budget is anticipated. For example, travel award may supplement funds from non-Taft sources in cases where the necessary and reasonable costs exceed the established Taft limits.
• All funds must be expended exclusively in furtherance of the award and all expenditures must comply with university policies relating to financial transactions, including the Code of Conduct and, as discussed in the Code of Conduct, the ethics laws of the state of Ohio which prohibit certain private financial interests in university matters. University Rule 3361:10-17-03(D).
• Per university policy, receipts and travel reimbursement request must be submitted through Concur, within 30 calendar days of the conclusion of the trip.