Graduate Travel Awards

Students must be actively participating at the conference by presenting a paper, poster session, or participating in a panel discussion, or exhibiting their work. The travel fund cannot provide support where students are attending only as an observer.

• 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.
• Receive only one graduate travel award during their graduate program (either one for Conference Travel or one for Research Travel, but not both). This includes master’s students planning to transfer (fast-track) or who have already transferred to a PhD program.
• 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. At the time of application and by the time of travel:
  • Thesis-based students must have completed their preliminary course work and other prerequisites (approximately the first two terms of the program and all grades must be final). Students must be actively engaged in thesis research by registering in full time thesis credits.
  • Course-based students must have completed at least two university terms of full-time coursework (grades must be final) in the program. 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.
• 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. At the time of application and by the time of travel:
  • Students must have completed their preliminary course work and other prerequisites,
  • completed their candidacy examination (students are to ensure the examination completion date is listed on their transcript),
  • be actively engaged in thesis research (registered in full time thesis credits).
• Students who are transferring or have transferred programs must meet the eligibility criteria of their current program at the time of application and at the time of proposed travel.

• GPS will only accept complete applications prior to the departure date.
• Graduate students undertaking research abroad are required to follow the process established by the Field Research Office.
• Submitting an application package does not denote acceptance of the application, nor guarantee available funds.
• Students will be notified through the portal once the application has been processed and a decision has been made.
• Incomplete applications will be rejected and students will be required to re-apply once the application is complete.
• It is student's responsibility to review their application for completeness and eligibility before submission.

1) GSMS Online Submission

Applications must be submitted through the GSMS Awards Portal. Search for "Travel Award 2024/25". The award will only be viewable during the open application dates:

• Follow the GSMS Awards Student Training Document\Apply for Awards to submit an application (available in GSMS or on GPS' website under Award Resources).

2) Graduate Travel Award application form and Supporting Documents

Upload the Graduate Travel Award application form and applicable Travel Category Supporting Documents as one PDF: 

• Application fields must be completed in their entirety; missing information will result in the application being deemed incomplete and will be rejected.
• For general allowable travel expenses guidelines that GPS follows, please refer to the University's Travel Expense Procedure. Note that not all expenses listed within this document are acceptable for Graduate Travel Awards.
• Supporting documents must be copies of originals.
• Documentation sent by email must be the original print out from student's ualberta.ca email account; information copied from the body of an email and pasted into word or excel will not be accepted.
• Confirmation letters received as an email attachment must include the organizations' particulars (organization logo, contact information, signatures, etc).
• Copies of flight, hotel, car rental receipts, and copies of the conference program are not required.
• Screenshots, JPEG, or PNG images of the application form or supporting documents will not be accepted for submission.

Conference Travel Supporting Documents

• Documentation from the conference organizers confirming student's poster or paper has been accepted for presentation OR a letter of invitation to participate in a panel discussion or to exhibit their work.
• Documentation from the conference organizers confirming student's registration; the document should outline the cost for registration and what items are included in the registration fee (meals, accommodation, etc.). Students must still send confirmation of registration if there is no registration fee.
• Documentation confirming student's acceptance/invitation and registration must be in the student's name. If student's supervisor has submitted on their behalf and subsequently the documentation has been sent in their name, the supervisor must provide an explanatory memo to be included with the application.
• Up-to-date unofficial UofA Transcript (printed from BearTracks, showing current registration)

3) University Academic Supervisor Approval

Students must send a request to their Supervisor through the GSMS Awards Portal to sign off and approve their application. 

• The Supervisor response must have a "Complete" status in order to submit the application.

4) Submit the Application in GSMS

The Submit button will not be visible until all mandatory areas of the application are complete. Applications that have been successfully submitted will show a status of “Under Review”. This indicates that you have submitted your application to GPS and it is now view-only.

Students who are offered a GPS graduate travel award are not required to submit a Graduate Award Acceptance Form; payment will be initiated automatically.

Students who do not participate in the travel/conference that the graduate travel award was approved to fund, or if their status as a graduate student changes, it is students' responsibility to notify the GPS immediately, in writing. Students may be required to repay any travel funds received.

Variable, up to a maximum value of $2000 depending on the estimate of eligible expenses provided by the student.

Students must be actively engaged in research related activities at the designated location, and the nature of the trip must be to develop their own research (not their supervisor's). Internships, exchange programs, and attendance in credited and/or non-credited courses are not eligible for research travel funding.

• 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.
• Receive only one graduate travel award during their graduate program (either one for Conference Travel or one for Research Travel, but not both). This includes master’s students planning to transfer (fast-track) or who have already transferred to a PhD program.
• 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. At the time of application and by the time of travel:
  • Thesis-based students must have completed their preliminary course work and other prerequisites (approximately the first two terms of the program and all grades must be final). Students must be actively engaged in thesis research by registering in full time thesis credits.
  • Course-based students must have completed at least two university terms of full-time coursework (grades must be final) in the program. 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.
• 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. At the time of application and by the time of travel:
  • Students must have completed their preliminary course work and other prerequisites,
  • completed their candidacy examination (students are to ensure the examination completion date is listed on their transcript),
  • be actively engaged in thesis research (registered in full time thesis credits).
• Students who are transferring or have transferred programs must meet the eligibility criteria of their current program at the time of application and at the time of proposed travel.

The following are examples of travel that would constitute a research trip. Research travel within the City of Edmonton limits is not eligible for travel award funding:

• Trips to field sites
• Visits to off-campus research stations
• Visits to archives, museums and exhibits
• Participation at a research workshop; the workshop must be interactive with other researchers and/or participants and teach relevant skills related to your research
• Participation at a research training institute; the institute can be a wide variety of experiences related to your research, and be comprised of events, seminars, workshops, etc.
• Travel to performance venues for performing art students to present their pieces, or to attend performances relevant to their research

• Graduate students undertaking research abroad are required to follow the process established by the Field Research Office.
• GPS will only accept complete applications prior to the departure date.
• Submitting an application package does not denote acceptance of the application, nor guarantee available funds.
• Students will be notified through the portal once the application has been processed and a decision has been made.
• Incomplete applications will be rejected and students will be required to re-apply once the application is complete.
• It is student's responsibility to review their application for completeness and eligibility before submission.

1) GSMS Online Submission

Applications must be submitted through the GSMS Awards Portal. Search for "Travel Award 2024/25". The award will only be viewable during the open application dates:

• Follow the GSMS Awards Student Training Document\Apply for Awards to submit an application (available in GSMS or on GPS' website under Award Resources).

2) Graduate Travel Award application form and Supporting Documents

Upload the Graduate Travel Award application form and applicable Travel Category Supporting Documents as one PDF: 

• Application fields must be completed in their entirety; missing information will result in the application being deemed incomplete and will be rejected.
• For general allowable travel expenses guidelines that GPS follows, please refer to the University's Travel Expense Procedure. Note that not all expenses listed within this document are acceptable for Graduate Travel Awards.
• Supporting documents must be copies of originals.
• Documentation sent by email must be the original print out from student's ualberta.ca email account; information copied from the body of an email and pasted into word or excel will not be accepted.
• Confirmation letters received as an email attachment must include the organizations' particulars (organization logo, contact information, signatures, etc).
• Copies of flight, hotel, car rental receipts, and copies of the conference program are not required.
• Screenshots, JPEG, or PNG images of the application form or supporting documents will not be accepted for submission.

Research Travel Supporting Documents

• Documentation from the organizers that confirms student's participation to a data collection site, workshop, summer institute, etc.
• Documentation that the associated expenses (eg. registration fee), if any, have been paid. 
• If the above documentation is not available, students are to provide a letter of support from their University supervisor commenting on the significance of the trip for their research program. The letter must outline the specific dates and location in which the student is undertaking their research, and must be written and signed on faculty/university letterhead.
• Up-to-date unofficial UofA Transcript (printed from BearTracks, showing current registration)

3) University Academic Supervisor Approval

Students must send a request to their Supervisor through the GSMS Awards Portal to sign off and approve their application. 

• The Supervisor response must have a "Complete" status in order to submit the application.

4) Submit the Application in GSMS

The Submit button will not be visible until all mandatory areas of the application are complete. Applications that have been successfully submitted will show a status of “Under Review”. This indicates that you have submitted your application to GPS and it is now view-only.

Students who are offered a graduate travel award are not required to submit a Graduate Award Acceptance Form; payment will be initiated automatically.

Students who do not participate in the travel/conference that the graduate travel award was approved to fund, or if their status as a graduate student changes, it is students' responsibility to notify the GPS immediately, in writing. Students may be required to repay any travel funds received.