Graduate Travel Awards

The Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (GPS), offers graduate travel awards to financially support graduate students who travel in the interests of disseminating their research results or developing their research. GPS has organized the Travel Award funds to give students one opportunity for travel assistance in their program. 

Allocations

Travel award funding is not a guaranteed source of funding for students and is subject to availability. This offer of financial support is intended to assist with the cost of travel expenses for students' active participation at a conference or research trip. Students should not make travel plans with the expectation that funding will be available.

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that their application is complete and successfully submitted to GPS through GSMS. Due to the competitive nature of the travel award, GPS is unable to make exceptions if the student is unable to submit their application through GSMS before funding for their requested travel window is expended. To ensure the successful submission of your application, please follow the GSMS Awards Student Training Document\Apply for Awards to submit an application (available in GSMS or on GPS' website under Award Resources).

GPS will offer as many travel awards as the annual budget will support, and will be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis. Once funding is expended, applications will no longer be accepted. GPS will offer awards until allocated funding is expended in the specified periods:

Travel times and applications dates
For travel which starts between:
Applications will be accepted beginning:
May 1, 2024 – June 30, 2024 CLOSED; Funding expended May 16, 2024
July 1, 2024 – August 31, 2024 CLOSED; Funding expended July 17, 2024
September 1, 2024 - December 31, 2024 CLOSED; Funding expended Aug 28, 2024
January 1, 2025 – April 30, 2025 TBA

GPS will only accept complete applications submitted prior to the departure date.

Travel Categories

Only one of the two categories will be considered for funding. Students including more than one conference, or both conference and research travel on their application may be rejected and required to resubmit their application. As students are eligible to receive one Travel Award during their master's or doctoral studies, national or international trips should be a highlight of a student's program.

Conference travel

A conference trip should be a highlight of a student's program. Travel will involve the student's attendance and active participation - by presenting a paper or poster, exhibiting their work, or participating in a panel discussion at a major national or international research gathering.

Value

Variable, up to a maximum value of $2000 depending on the estimate of eligible expenses provided by the student.

Eligibility

Students must be actively participating at the conference by presenting a paper, poster session, or participating in a panel discussion, or exhibiting their work. The travel fund cannot provide support where students are attending only as an observer.

  • Be registered full-time in their program at the time of application and at the time of proposed travel.
  • Have a GPA of 2.7 or higher, based on the most recent 15 credits of graded coursework (or closest approximation thereof) in their current program at the time of application.
  • Receive only one graduate travel award during their graduate program (either one for Conference Travel or one for Research Travel, but not both). This includes master’s students planning to transfer (fast-track) or who have already transferred to a PhD program.
  • Students in a master's degree program must have completed no more than four years in the master's program at the time of travel. At the time of application and by the time of travel:
    • Students must have completed at least two university terms of full-time coursework (grades must be final) in the program.
    • Course-based students are required to be registered full-time in each Fall and Winter term; spring/summer term registration is not required if full-time coursework was completed in the preceding Fall and Winter terms.
  • Students in a doctoral degree program must have completed no more than six years in the doctoral program at the time of travel. This includes master's students who have transferred to a PhD program. At the time of application and by the time of travel:
    • Students must have completed their preliminary course work and other prerequisites,
    • completed their candidacy examination (students are to ensure the examination completion date is listed on their transcript),
    • be actively engaged in thesis research (registered in full time thesis credits).
  • Students who are transferring or have transferred programs must meet the eligibility criteria of their current program at the time of application and at the time of proposed travel.
Application Procedures
  • GPS will only accept complete applications prior to the departure date.
  • Graduate students undertaking research abroad are required to follow the process established by the  Field Research Office.
  • Submitting an application package does not denote acceptance of the application, nor guarantee available funds.
  • Students will be notified through the portal once the application has been processed and a decision has been made.
  • Incomplete applications will be rejected and students will be required to re-apply once the application is complete.
  • It is student's responsibility to review their application for completeness and eligibility before submission.

1) GSMS Online Submission

Applications must be submitted through the GSMS Awards Portal. Search for "Travel Award 2024/25". The award will only be viewable during the open application dates:

  • Follow the GSMS Awards Student Training Document\Apply for Awards to submit an application (available in GSMS or on GPS' website under  Award Resources).

2) Graduate Travel Award  application form  and Supporting Documents

Upload the Graduate Travel Award application form and applicable Travel Category Supporting Documents as one PDF: 

  • Application fields must be completed in their entirety; missing information will result in the application being deemed incomplete and will be rejected.
  • Supporting documents must be copies of originals.
  • Documentation sent by email must be the original print out from student's ualberta.ca email account; information copied from the body of an email and pasted into word or excel will not be accepted.
  • Confirmation letters received as an email attachment must include the organizations' particulars (organization logo, contact information, signatures, etc).
  • Copies of flight, hotel, car rental receipts, and copies of the conference program are not required.
  • Screenshots, JPEG, or PNG images of the application form or supporting documents will not be accepted for submission.

Conference Travel Supporting Documents

  • Documentation from the conference organizers confirming student's poster or paper has been accepted for presentation OR a letter of invitation to participate in a panel discussion or to exhibit their work.
  • Documentation from the conference organizers confirming student's registration; the document should outline the cost for registration and what items are included in the registration fee (meals, accommodation, etc.). Students must still send confirmation of registration if there is no registration fee.
  • Documentation confirming student's acceptance/invitation and registration must be in the student's name. If student's supervisor has submitted on their behalf and subsequently the documentation has been sent in their name, the supervisor must provide an explanatory memo to be included with the application.
  • Up-to-date unofficial UofA Transcript (printed from BearTracks, showing current registration)

3) University Academic Supervisor Approval

Students must send a request to their Supervisor through the GSMS Awards Portal to sign off and approve their application. 

  • After entering the Supervisor’s information in GSMS, students must click save and then select send to send the email request. A confirmation message will display stating that the email is successfully sent.
    • Please refer to the GSMS Awards Student Training Document\Apply for Awards for detailed instructions
  • The Supervisor response must have a "Complete" status in order to submit the application.

4) Submit the Application in GSMS

The Submit button will not be visible until all mandatory areas of the application are complete. Applications that have been successfully submitted will show a status of “Under Review”. This indicates that you have submitted your application to GPS and it is now view-only.

Payment Information + Conditions

Students who are offered a GPS graduate travel award are not required to submit a Graduate Award Acceptance Form; payment will be initiated automatically.

Travel awards are dispersed on the pay date immediately preceding departure date, or the nearest period for which you are eligible. See Human Resources, Health, Safety + Environment’s Pay Schedules webpage for details on pay dates. 

Students who do not participate in the travel/conference that the graduate travel award was approved to fund, or if their status as a graduate student changes, it is students' responsibility to notify the GPS immediately, in writing. Students may be required to repay any travel funds received.

Research travel

Active participation is required during the specified time of travel, and is to include collection, analyzation, or gathering of information/data for research. Research travel funding is fiscal-year dependent. Students may only submit a travel award application for travel expenses incurred between April 1 and March 31 of the current fiscal year.

Value

Variable, up to a maximum value of $2000 depending on the estimate of eligible expenses provided by the student.

Eligibility

Students must be actively engaged in research related activities at the designated location, and the nature of the trip must be to develop their own research (not their supervisor's). Internships, exchange programs, and attendance in credited and/or non-credited courses are not eligible for research travel funding.

  • Be registered full-time in their program at the time of application and at the time of proposed travel.
  • Have a GPA of 2.7 or higher, based on the most recent 15 credits of graded coursework (or closest approximation thereof) in their current program at the time of application.
  • Receive only one graduate travel award during their graduate program (either one for Conference Travel or one for Research Travel, but not both). This includes master’s students planning to transfer (fast-track) or who have already transferred to a PhD program.
  • Students in a master's degree program must have completed no more than four years in the master's program at the time of travel. At the time of application and by the time of travel:
    • Students must have completed at least two university terms of full-time coursework (grades must be final) in the program.
    • Course-based students are required to be registered full-time in each Fall and Winter term; spring/summer term registration is not required if full-time coursework was completed in the preceding Fall and Winter terms.
  • Students in a doctoral degree program must have completed no more than six years in the doctoral program at the time of travel. This includes master's students who have transferred to a PhD program. At the time of application and by the time of travel:
    • Students must have completed their preliminary course work and other prerequisites,
    • completed their candidacy examination (students are to ensure the examination completion date is listed on their transcript),
    • be actively engaged in thesis research (registered in full time thesis credits).
  • Students who are transferring or have transferred programs must meet the eligibility criteria of their current program at the time of application and at the time of proposed travel.

The following are examples of travel that would constitute a research trip. Research travel within the City of Edmonton limits is not eligible for travel award funding:

  • Trips to field sites
  • Visits to off-campus research stations
  • Visits to archives, museums and exhibits
  • Participation at a research workshop; the workshop must be interactive with other researchers and/or participants and teach relevant skills related to your research
  • Participation at a research training institute; the institute can be a wide variety of experiences related to your research, and be comprised of events, seminars, workshops, etc.
  • Travel to performance venues for performing art students to present their pieces, or to attend performances relevant to their research
Application Instructions
  • Graduate students undertaking research abroad are required to follow the process established by the Field Research Office.
  • GPS will only accept complete applications prior to the departure date.
  • Submitting an application package does not denote acceptance of the application, nor guarantee available funds.
  • Students will be notified through the portal once the application has been processed and a decision has been made.
  • Incomplete applications will be rejected and students will be required to re-apply once the application is complete.
  • It is student's responsibility to review their application for completeness and eligibility before submission.

1) GSMS Online Submission

Applications must be submitted through the GSMS Awards Portal. Search for "Travel Award 2024/25". The award will only be viewable during the open application dates:

  • Follow the GSMS Awards Student Training Document\Apply for Awards to submit an application (available in GSMS or on GPS' website under Award Resources).

2) Graduate Travel Award application form  and Supporting Documents

Upload the Graduate Travel Award application form and applicable Travel Category Supporting Documents as one PDF: 

  • Application fields must be completed in their entirety; missing information will result in the application being deemed incomplete and will be rejected.
  • Supporting documents must be copies of originals.
  • Documentation sent by email must be the original print out from student's ualberta.ca email account; information copied from the body of an email and pasted into word or excel will not be accepted.
  • Confirmation letters received as an email attachment must include the organizations' particulars (organization logo, contact information, signatures, etc).
  • Copies of flight, hotel, car rental receipts, and copies of the conference program are not required.
  • Screenshots, JPEG, or PNG images of the application form or supporting documents will not be accepted for submission.

Research Travel Supporting Documents

  • Documentation from the organizers that confirms student's participation to a data collection site, workshop, summer institute, etc.
  • Documentation that the associated expenses (eg. registration fee), if any, have been paid. 
  • If the above documentation is not available, students are to provide a letter of support from their University supervisor commenting on the significance of the trip for their research program. The letter must outline the specific dates and location in which the student is undertaking their research, and must be written and signed on faculty/university letterhead.
  • Up-to-date unofficial UofA Transcript (printed from BearTracks, showing current registration)

3) University Academic Supervisor Approval

Students must send a request to their Supervisor through the GSMS Awards Portal to sign off and approve their application. 

  • After entering the Supervisor’s information in GSMS, students must click save and then select send to send the email request. A confirmation message will display stating that the email is successfully sent.
    • Please refer to the GSMS Awards Student Training Document\Apply for Awards for detailed instructions
  • The Supervisor response must have a "Complete" status in order to submit the application.

4) Submit the Application in GSMS

The Submit button will not be visible until all mandatory areas of the application are complete. Applications that have been successfully submitted will show a status of “Under Review”. This indicates that you have submitted your application to GPS and it is now view-only.

Payment Information + Conditions

Students who are offered a graduate travel award are not required to submit a Graduate Award Acceptance Form; payment will be initiated automatically.

Travel awards are dispersed on the pay date immediately preceding departure date, or the nearest period for which you are eligible. See Human Resources, Health, Safety + Environment’s Pay Schedules webpage for details on pay dates.

Students who do not participate in the travel/conference that the graduate travel award was approved to fund, or if their status as a graduate student changes, it is students' responsibility to notify the GPS immediately, in writing. Students may be required to repay any travel funds received.