Funded by: Graduate Student Association
*Funding is disbursed as travel reimbursement following the trip.
The WCU Graduate Student Association will provide up to $16,000 in funding during the academic year to graduate students who will represent Western Carolina University at regional and national/international conferences, professional organization meetings, etc. See complete list below. Travel awards are for a maximum of $500.00 for an individual. The Executive Board officers of the Graduate Student Association reserve the right to approve the request in part or in full. A committee including at least two Executive Board officers of the Graduate Student Association will approve applications. All approvals or denials will have a brief description provided by the Executive Board officers.
General Focus: GSA travel funds support WCU graduate students' scholarly/artistic/professional development by assisting with costs related to travel to regional and national/international events.
Eligibility:
Although GSA supports experiential activities, some experiential activities include travel which is not eligible for the GSA Travel Award. For example, travel expenses related to Study Abroad courses, Practicums, Clinicals, Internships, etc., are not eligible for GSA reimbursement.
To be eligible for consideration, the student must be enrolled at WCU as a graduate student in good academic standing at the time of the application and travel. Good academic standing is defined as a cumulative 3.0 GPA. Students are only eligible for one travel award per academic year.
To receive reimbursement for Fall Travel (Fall Travel is between June 1st and December 31st), you must submit a complete application by the October 7, 2021 deadline.
To receive reimbursement for Spring Travel (Spring Travel is between November 1st and May 31st), you must submit a complete application by the February 10, 2022 deadline.
Application Process:
Students must complete the Graduate Student Travel Award Application. Each student requesting funding must complete the application. No group applications accepted. Each student traveling must submit a travel award application.
Documentation must be included with the travel award application and all scans or screenshots must be legible.
Students must include:
Documentation must be included with the travel award request.
Applications missing any of the above documentation will be considered incomplete. Students will be notified that the submitted application is incomplete and will not be considered for funding.
Use this checklist to help you prepare your application.
Award Deadlines:
Application and all application documentation described above must be submitted by the application deadline each semester. Review and approval of applications will happen at the first Executive Committee meeting following the deadline.
Fall 2021 – Thursday, October 7, 2021
Spring 2022 – Thursday, February 10, 2022
If a student would like to fill out a travel grant request for an event after the Fall semester deadline, they can submit a request by the Spring semester deadline under the condition that the Fall conference or event did not occur before the Fall October 7 deadline. (e.g. A conference which happens in late November can have a travel grant request filled out by February 10.)
Award Conditions:
Funding is determined based on the priority system and date of which the complete
grant application is received. Travel grants may only be used to cover travel (airfare
receipt required; mileage calculated if you are driving), lodging (receipt required),
and/or conference registration fees (receipt required). The priority system is as
follows for graduate students who are:
GSA has implemented a point system to provide transparency to the award process.
Proposals for the following will not be considered: Professional development to address skills required by your current position or equipment/books required by your current position/major.
Notification of Award Request:
Applicants will be notified of the GSA Executive Board’s decision via email approximately
one (1) month following the deadline. If the request is approved, please be sure the receipt lists you as the person who paid the vendor. If the request is denied, the reason for the denial will be included in the notification
email. Requests denied due to lack of information may not be resubmitted.
The GSA Executive Board will also create a ranked waitlist of requests in the event that additional funds become available. If you are approved for funding and your plans change and you cannot attend, please inform Roxane Stiles as soon as possible so that we can fund a student on the waitlist.
For more information, please contact:
Roxane Stiles (828-227-7398)
Graduate School and Research
110 Cordelia Camp Building
Cullowhee, NC 28723
Email: gsatravel@wcu.edu