Travel Awards

Overview

The Graduate Student Travel Awards offer funding to UWM master’s and doctoral students for presenting scholarly and creative works developed in UWM graduate degree programs. Students can use travel awards to participate in academic or professional activities such as conferences, performances, or exhibitions. These can be important professional development opportunities where students can receive feedback on their work and grow their professional networks. Travel awards are most often used to present work at major regional, national, or international meetings in students’ disciplines. Because students receive a single allocation for their entire time in their degree, they should consult their advisors on how to use this support most effectively. Funding is provided to help offset expenses after the travel is completed. Note: the funding may be taxable income.

Eligibility (NOTE: requirements have changed since 2024-2025; read carefully)

  • Travelers must be enrolled in a graduate degree program (not a certificate).
  • Travelers must be actively presenting, performing or exhibiting at the conference or other academic event, and must be officially recognized by the sponsoring organization. Evidence confirming participation is required before funds will be released. This typically takes the form of a letter or notice of acceptance of a submitted abstract of proposal. If formal acceptance is not available in advance of the travel request, the student may apply but funding will not be approved unless conference confirmation is received before travel begins.
  • Because forms of academic presentation and engagement are variable, other justifications for travel can be considered on a case-by-case basis, but they must be for a student product submitted, reviewed, and official acceptance received.
  • Applications are not accepted for travel occurring after graduation from the program.
  • Eligible travel is for conference attendance to present a poster, paper, exhibit, or similar product that resulted from a submitted abstract or proposal that is approved for presentation.
  • Travel for participation on a group panel that does not require individual submissions, travel for job interviews, visits to libraries, galleries or other non-product-based research, or travel for fieldwork or off-campus placements is not eligible.
  • The student traveler must be lead author on the submission; faculty members may be co-authors but not lead.
  • Only one student on a presentation will be funded, typically the lead author/scholar. If multiple students are on the same presentation and seek travel support for the one product, then the award will be split equally among them.
  • Multiple presentations to the same conference that are led by the same student author(s) will only be funded as if one presentation is made; extra funds are not provided for multiple artifacts at the same event.

Application

  • Please visit the Graduate Student Travel Support Application to apply.
  • Travelers will be asked to detail the expected expenses in their request for funds.
  • Travelers are encouraged to submit applications as early as possible.
  • Applications must be completed and submitted before travel occurs. Post-travel or incomplete applications will not be accepted.
  • Travelers are also encouraged to seek travel support through their degree program to supplement any award received through the Graduate Student Travel Awards. However, the Graduate School handles its travel awards independently; students receiving awards from their programs must submit reimbursements with their program.

Limitations

General Travel Funds offered by the Graduate School (not funds associated with AOP or other university fellowships) are limited. While we encourage applications as early in the academic year as possible, assuming the requirement of a submission and its receipt by the conference can be provided, we are sensitive to conferences that typically occur in fall versus those that occur in spring. While no explicit quota for each semester is set, we reserve the right to hold funds for spring travel to ensure not all funds are allocated to students with fall travel to the disadvantage of those with only spring.

Doctoral students are allotted a total of $1,000 for travel expenses while enrolled in their UWM degree program. Master’s students are allotted a total of $500 for travel expenses while enrolled in their UWM degree program. These funds can be spent on a single trip or can be spread across multiple trips. The Graduate School will retain records of the amount of funds available to each student based on the expenses incurred.

A student who receives support as a master’s student and subsequently enrolls in a UWM doctoral program can be allotted the full amount for both degrees, a total of $1,500. The allocation for the doctoral portion of the degree cannot be used until the master’s degree is completed.

Travelers can combine Graduate School travel funding with travel funding from AOP or university fellowships. Students who have travel funding from fellowships must use fellowship funding for travel first, because it likely will not carry over beyond the term of the fellowship.

The maximum amount of travel funding from all Graduate School sources, including funding from Travel Awards, AOP, DDF, DGSF and other Graduate School fellowship travel funding, cannot exceed $1,500 total during the student’s work at UWM. Exceptions will only be made in extraordinary circumstances with the approval of the dean of the Graduate School.

Travel Awards can be augmented with travel funding from extramural or program-level sources other than AOP and Graduate School fellowship travel funding.

Travel Guidelines

  • Awardees must comply with the state and campus travel policies and procedures and any other school or college instructions. This includes the rule that travelers will only be reimbursed for eligible expenses for the least expensive method of travel, which is not necessarily by automobile.
  • Students who are planning to drive personal vehicles or rental cars must register to become a UWM Authorized Student Driver before travel occurs by completing an online Vehicle Use Agreement (Driver Authorization) form. Approval must be received from Risk Management before rental car use in order to be reimbursed for driving expenses.
    • The cost of driving must be less than the cost of commercial airfare, including necessary costs of lodging, meals, and other incidentals that may be associated with automobile travel.
    • If it is not completed, you will be ineligible for mileage reimbursement on your trips.
    • Please complete your Vehicle Use Agreement (Driver Authorization) via the online https://fleetportal.wi.gov/.

Please email gs-studenttravel@uwm.edu for questions and assistance or contact Tiffany Nation, graduate student travel coordinator at the Graduate School at tmnation@uwm.edu. Or call 414-229-7108.