GSG Travel and Research Awards

Eligible NAU graduate students may only receive one award, regardless of type (domestic or international), during each academic year (however, if a student chooses to relinquish their travel funds, they are eligible to apply for another travel award within the same year). Only degree-seeking graduate students enrolled at the Flagstaff Mountain campus are eligible for travel funds. All awards are awarded on a reimbursement basis.

Applicants must:

• Be in good academic standing
• Have no academic integrity violations on their record
• Be active in their program (i.e., new students must have started their fall or spring semester to be eligible)
  • For international travel awards, must also be at least one year into your program
• Have not graduated by the time of travel (as determined by the travel return date, not the application date)
• Have not been awarded any other GSG travel award within the academic year
• If you are an NAU employee or student employee traveling on university business, you must complete:
  • The Annual Travel Certification (ATC)
  • Any additional NAU Travel Training as specified on the linked page
• If traveling for research, provide written approval/confirmation from the department chair

Applying for a travel award does not guarantee funding. Applications will be evaluated on a rolling timeline ending April 30th for travel continuing through June 30th. It is possible students may be awarded less than the amount listed or their applications may be denied due to funding limitations. Retroactive funding (funding requested to support travel that happened prior to the request date) is not available.

A travel award must be used for the specific activity/conference for which it was awarded. Official documentation of acceptance to present at a conference prior to travel and follow-up documentation that the presentation was completed are required. If a student received funding at the presenting level (Tier 1) but then only attended the conference (Tier 2), funding may be withdrawn completely or reduced.

Adherence to deadlines and providing complete and accurate information are essential to processing requests in a fair and organized manner. All submitted applications must be complete and accurate. The GSG is not responsible for inaccurate or incorrect application information.

Awards will be distributed based on the tiers below:

Domestic Travel Awards

• Tier 1: Presenting at a national, regional, state, or local conference will be awarded UP TO $1,000
• Tier 2: Attending a national, regional, and state conference will be awarded UP TO $500

International* Travel Awards

• Tier 1: Presenting at an international conference will be awarded UP TO $2,000
• Tier 2: Attending an international conference will be awarded UP TO $1,000

Eligible Expenses:

Funding may only be used to cover the following expenses:

• Conference and registration fees
• Transportation expenses to and from the conference, competition, or research site
• Lodging accommodations

Note: Food and meal expenses are not approved as reimbursable expenses by the GSG travel awards.

**IMPORTANT** If you plan to split the cost(s) with other students traveling to the same conference, the student who paid the cost directly to the vendor (ie. hotel, Airbnb, VRBO, Uber, Lyft) will be the only one reimbursed up to the awarded amount.

• If more than one individual will be staying in an AirBnB/VRBO, etc. each lodger must complete the Multiple-Occupancy Form, even if they will not be sharing bedrooms.

A PDF version of these steps is available at this link.

You MUST submit a valid copy of receipt(s) for registration, lodging, and/or transportation and official documentation that you attended the conference. Examples include a copy of your conference name badge, a program listing you as a conference presenter, or photo evidence. All documents must be submitted to NAU’s Employee Service Center (ESC)within 5 days of your return or your travel award will not be approved.

• RECEIPTS: MUST ALL BE ITEMIZED AND SHOW PROOF OF PAYMENT!!   Ref. (5) Rules of a Receipt
  • An expense summary or confirmation of a reservation is not sufficient to use as a receipt.
    • Upload reservation confirmations into the case to communicate what has and has not been booked.
  • A bank or credit card statement alone is not sufficient.
  • It is the purchaser’s responsibility to provide receipts and upload them to the case.
    • Exception: Lodging receipt – the traveler should review for errors at the time of checkout and bring back the receipt to the person who paid the expense on their PCard!!
  • Acceptable document formats to upload: .PDF, Excel, .GIF/.JPEG, or Word
    • Photos of receipts are GREAT! Use the Tiny Scanner App to convert to .PDF from your phone.
  • NAU PCard and out-of-pocket reimbursable receipts should be uploaded to the case to show all associated travel expenses.
    • Note on each receipt, or leave a case comment when uploading, who paid and how each purchase was made, i.e. NAU PCard or personal expense.

If even (1) of the above is missing, it will not be accepted. 

**When submitting a receipt, note WHO paid and if paid out-of-pocket or by PCARD**

Mileage

If you are driving to and from a conference to be reimbursed for mileage, please upload the one-way directions from your starting location to the conference location. Directions from websites such as Google Maps or MapQuest are acceptable.

2. Once this documentation is received, NAU’s Employee Service Center (ESC) will process your reimbursement. This process can take six to eight weeks.
3. You will receive your reimbursement through a choice of direct deposit or paper check available for pickup or mailed to your current mailing address in LOUIE. Note: if you select direct deposit, and you have a balance on your account in LOUIE, the reimbursement will first be used to pay off any remaining balance on your NAU student account.

*for the purposes of policy, Hawaii and Alaska are included under international travel

International travel awards are available for outstanding NAU graduate students traveling to and from a conference outside of the contiguous United States. Awards can be used for travel within the academic year.

Apply here