Variable, up to a maximum value of $1,500 depending on the estimate of eligible expenses provided by the student.

An eligible student can only receive one graduate travel award during a graduate program. This includes master’s students transferring or who have transferred to a PhD program.

All applicants must:

• 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

Master's Students:

• 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.
• If you are in a thesis-based program: at the time of application, you must have completed your preliminary course work and other prerequisites (approximately the first two terms of your program and all grades must be final). You must be actively engaged in thesis research ( by registering in full time thesis credits.
• If you are in a course-based program: at the time of application, you must have completed at least two university terms of full-time coursework (grades must be final) in the program by the time you travel. 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.

 
Doctoral Students:

• 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.

 

In addition to the above eligibility requirements, an applicant’s travel must fall under one of two categories in order to be eligible for funding:

Conference Travel:

A conference trip eligible for FGSR funding 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.

 
Research Travel:

• Trips to field sites
• Visits to off-campus research stations
• Visits to archives, museums and exhibits
• Attendance at workshops
• Attendance at summer institutes (for research only)
• Data collection trip relevant to your research
• Travel to performance venues for performing art students to present their pieces or to view performances relevant to their research

Please note:

1.) Research travel within the City of Edmonton limits is not eligible for travel award funding

2.) Research travel funding is fiscal-year dependent; you may only submit a travel award application for travel expenses incurred between April 1 and March 31 of the current fiscal year

To apply, you must submit all of the following documents by email to grad.awards@ualberta.ca from your ualberta.ca email account; hard copy applications will not be accepted for this award. You will receive an email to acknowledge receipt of your application. This does not denote acceptance of your application, nor guarantee available funds. You will be notified by email once your application has been processed and a decision has been made.

FGSR will only accept complete applications prior to your departure date. Incomplete applications will be rejected and you will be required to re-apply once your application is complete. It is your responsibility to review your application for completeness and eligibility before submission.

1)   FGSR Graduate Travel Award application form.

- Application fields must be completed in their entirety; missing information will deem your application incomplete and such will be rejected.

- For general allowable travel expenses guidelines that FGSR follows, please refer to the University’s Travel Expense Procedure. Note that not all expenses listed within this document are acceptable for FGSR Graduate Travel Awards.

- The application form must be reviewed and signed by the applicant’s Supervisor and Department Chair/Coordinator prior to submission to FGSR.

 

2) Supporting Documents:

If you are travelling to a conference, your application must include:

1. Documentation from the conference organizers confirming your poster or paper has been accepted for presentation OR a letter of invitation to participate in a panel discussion or to exhibit your work;
2. Documentation from the conference organizers confirming your registration; the document should outline the cost for registration and what items are included in the registration fee (meals, accommodation, etc.). You must still send confirmation of registration if there is no registration fee.


3. Documentation confirming your acceptance/ invitation and registration must be in your name. If your supervisor has submitted on your behalf and subsequently the documentation has been sent in their name, your supervisor must provide an explanatory memo to be included with your application.

 

If the nature of your trip is research development, your application must include:

• Confirmation that you have been invited to a data collection site, workshop, summer institute, etc. and, if available, confirmation that you paid the associated expenses (eg. registration fee), if any OR
• If the above is not available, a letter of support from your University supervisor commenting on the significance of the trip for your research program. The letter must outline the specific dates and location in which you are undertaking your research.

The FGSR will offer as many travel awards as the annual budget will support. Once funding in a certain section is expended, no more applications will be accepted.

If you are offered a FGSR graduate travel award, you are not required to submit a Graduate Award Acceptance Form; payment to you will be initiated automatically. However, if you do not participate in the travel/conference that your graduate travel award was approved to fund, or if your status as a graduate student changes, it is your responsibility to notify the FGSR in writing. You may be required to repay any travel funds received.