GSG Travel & research grants

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 in non-online programs are eligible for travel funds. 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), and not have graduated by the time of travel (as determined by the travel return date, not the application date). Retroactive funding (funding requested to support travel that happened prior to the request date) is not available.

Please note that submitting an application for a travel award does not guarantee funding. In recent years, the GSG travel programs have become highly competitive. Priority is given to students presenting at the conference of a national/international organization (please see “Travel process” below). Even so, it is possible these students may be awarded less than the amount listed due to budget limitations. An application may be denied funding due to budget limitations.

A travel award must be used for the specific activity/conference for which it was awarded. If a student received funding at the “presenting level” (Tiers 1-2, described below), but then only attends the conference, funding may be withdrawn completely, or reduced.

If applicable, official documentation of acceptance to present at a conference prior to travel and follow up documentation that the presentation was actually completed are required. Please contact GSG for documentation required of applicants requesting Tier 4 funding (see below).

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. Applications will not be considered if the information is not complete, if the information is listed in the wrong areas on the application, if the association name is not fully listed (no abbreviations, please), etc.

Please note that release of travel funding is contingent on completing post conference steps:

You MUST submit a copy of receipt for registration, lodging, or transportation and official documentation that you attended the conference. Examples include a copy of your conference name badge, copy of a program listing you as a conference presenter, or photo evidence by emailing documentation to GSGTravel@nau.edu within 5 days of your return; your travel award will be forfeited if this documentation is not received. Once this documentation is received, the Graduate College in conjunction with the GSG Travel Committee will process your reimbursement with NAU’s Employee Service Center (ESC).

Total funds for the general travel awards will be divided into 4 travel periods. Monies will be awarded based on the chart below, with priority given to applications at Tier 1 from a given college, then to those at Tier 2 from a given college, etc. Those in Tier 1 have more chance of being funded. For some colleges where the majority of students apply for funding for presenting, it is possible that only those at Tier 1 may be funded, and not always at the full amount.

It is more competitive (and thus more prestigious) to get a paper/poster accepted for presentation at the conference of a national/international organization than it is to get one accepted at the conference of a regional association, for example, because the presenter had to compete with a larger (and arguably more experienced and well-known) pool of potential presenters. Therefore, the applications in Tier 1 will be given priority. Likewise, a student who is presenting had to write an abstract, and the abstract had to be selected by the conference review committee (often prominent researchers in the field), while a student who is attending did not have to prepare an abstract highlighting their research. Therefore, the applications in Tiers 1 & 2 will be given priority over those in Tier 3 & 4.

Please note that the type of association — not the conference location — determines the tier below.

Some examples: Note that regardless of where they hold their conference, the association itself can be:

• international: International Association for Language Learning Technology
• national: American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese
• regional: Southwest Consortium of Language Teachers
• state: Foreign Language Association of North Carolina
• local: Austin Area Association for Bilingual Education

Look for keywords in the association’s name (e.g., International, American, Southwest, North Carolina, Austin). A state association does not have to have Arizona in its name; a local association does not have to have Flagstaff/Phoenix in its name. The type of association determines the tier below, not how far the student has to travel to get to the conference.

To apply for a GSG travel award: All applications must be submitted electronically by filling out the NAU Graduate Student Government travel award application. Please read the entire application carefully before beginning to fill it out.

Apply here

Funding may only be used to cover the following costs:

• Transportation to and from the conference, competition, or research site
• Lodging (but not food)
• Conference/competition registration fees

To receive travel funding you MUST submit a copy of receipt for registration, lodging, or transportation and official documentation that you attended the conference. Examples include a copy of your conference name badge, copy of a program listing you as a conference presenter, or photo evidence by emailing documentation to GSGTravel@nau.edu within 5 days of your return; your travel award will be forfeited if this documentation is not received. Once this documentation is received, the Graduate College in conjunction with the GSG Travel Committee will process your reimbursement with NAU’s Employee Service Center (ESC).

The 5 Rules of a RECEIPT
1. DATE of Purchase
2. Name of VENDOR where Purchase was Made
3. ITEMIZATION of WHAT was Purchased
4. Total AMOUNT PAID – with itemization of tax, shipping, tip, etc.
5. PROOF of PAYMENT – with notation of payment method

If even (1) of the above is missing, it is not a receipt!

International travel awards are available for outstanding NAU graduate students traveling to a conference outside of the United States, Mexico, and Canada*.  Two awards at $1,000 each are available for graduate students for the Fall and Spring terms, respectively.  Application deadlines will be November 15th for travel during the Fall semester and February 15th for travel during the Spring semester. Award winners are announced by December 1st and March 1st, respectively.  Awards can be used for travel within the academic year.

To be eligible to apply, students:

1. Must be enrolled in a program that requires research, scholarship, or creative work capstones (including, but not limited to, thesis and dissertations) at the time of the conference;
2. Must have a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA;
3. Must have completed at least one year of their graduate program;
4. Must be presenting at a conference (no workshops are considered) that is outside of the United States, Mexico, or Canada.
5. Student has not been awarded any other GSG travel award within the academic year.

Apply here