GSSA Travel Funding

About

GSSA/OGPS Travel Awards are granted to graduate students at Tulane. Graduate studies outside of GSSA may apply for funding as travel is funded in part by OGPS. However, they may only request up to $100 per travel period. This program does not fund postdoctoral researchers.

You must have an active departmental representative sign travel reimbursement forms. You can check the standing of your department and find your department’s active representatives here. If you do not have an active representative, please contact the GSSA President.

This travel award only covers registration and transportation expenses. Note that if you are planning to rent a car and/or be reimbursed for mileage (even in your personal vehicle) you must be a Tulane aurthorized driver. 

Funding will be given out in specific application periods (shown below). Available funding for a period will be proportionally split between all applicants in that period.

Travel grants are rarely funded in full. Most students receive 50-80% of requested funds. Grants are allocated based on the number of students who apply.

Travel Award Amounts

 

Students can:

  • Request up to $500 once per year OR $250 twice per year for presenting at a conference.
  • Request up to $200 once per year for attending a conference, which can be combined with a separate $250 presenting award request in a year.

*Note once per year refers to the academic calendar year, which runs from September 1st to August 31st.

 

 

All academic-related travel, including travel approved with GSSA, must be booked through Concur.

 

 

 

To Apply for Travel Funding:

 

  1. Please refer to the Application Period Chart provided below before applying for the award online.
    Application Period Chart
    Conference Start Date Application Deadline
    September 1 – December 31 August 15, 5pm CST
    January 1 – April 30 December 15, 5pm CST
    May 1 – August 31 April 15, 5pm CST
  2. Apply for the award online using the Google Doc: Spring Applications 2024.
  3. You may apply for travel funding prior to acceptance into a conference.
  4. All decisions will be made within two weeks of the application deadline. If you do not yet have confirmation of your presentation, your award will be pending acceptance of your abstract
  5. If your travel award application is approved, you will receive news of this approval and future status updates/directions from treasurer.gssa@tulane.edu.

To Be Reimbursed for Travel Funding:

The GSSA Travel Award can only be used for conference registration and travel (plane fare, gas, etc.). Food and lodging expenses will NOT be reimbursed.

Please apply for reimbursement to GSSA first, BEFORE any other funding sources.

Due to COVID-19, a singular PDF will be virtually submitted instead of the packets. 

1. To receive reimbursement for a presenting award, you must include a conference program or some item to prove that you, in fact, presented. For virtual conferences, proof of attendance can be confirmation emails from organizers or screenshots of your presence.

2. Please neatly assemble your reimbursement as indicated on the Travel Reimbursement Checklist. This should be a single PDF document. The PDF should be named ”LastName_FirstInitial_SemesterYear.pdf”, e.g. Smith_J_Fall2020.pdf. The SemesterYear field should be the semester within which the conference was held, not when the reimbursement is processed. The Travel Expense Itemization Form should be filled out listing all sources of funding within Tulane, but the amount requested must be the amount agreed upon by GSSA. You must sign the form (physical or digital signatures will be accepted). Follow the checklist and Travel Itemization Examples. Please do not put your SSN on forms for GSSA.
3. Addresses to which the checks will be mailed must be a permanent address, i.e., one that will still receive mail even though the semester has ended. Thus, no departmental office addresses will be accepted.
4. All materials must be turned in within TWO WEEKS of the last day of the conference. No exceptions will be made without approval prior to conference start date.
5. All reimbursement forms and materials must be emailed to an active GSSA departmental representative. They will review the document to be sure there are no mistakes. If your department does not have an active GSSA representative, proceed directly to step 6.
6. The GSSA representative will forward the document Jennifer O’Brien-Brown in OGPS and cc: the current treasurer.
Note: Processing times may be longer than normal. It may take a minimum of 14 calendar days from submission to a check being mailed out.

In case of any questions or concerns, please contact the GSSA treasurer directly.

 

 

If you must make changes to your award (you will no longer be presenting, you are unable to attend, you wish to shift your award to another conference, etc.), email ogps@tulane.edu and the GSSA Treasurer ASAP. Changes are not accepted after the conference has proceeded.